A Call for Graduate Student Involvement

I first heard about the New England Faculty Development Consortium when I found out the board was looking for a graduate student liaison. I am not studying learning; I am not in an education department; but I soon hope to be an educator. As a doctoral student in a research driven field, NEFDC, and similar organizations, were just not on my radar. At the suggestion of a professor at the UConn Institute for Teaching and Learning I am now involved with NEFDC and amazed by the amount of local and national organizations that focus on helping faculty develop strong teaching practices.

Organizations like NEFDC that specialize in the development and improvement of teaching and learning have a lot to offer graduate students.  By joining a community that is focused on pedagogy, graduate students are compelled to start developing their own teaching strategies early. Having exposure to teaching and learning theory, as well as practical ideas and solutions, can give graduate students more confidence in their teaching ability as they transition to faculty positions. Confidence and a known support system can make all the difference in becoming a capable instructor right off the bat.

I also believe graduate students have a lot to offer NEFDC. Graduate students are the transition point from students to professors. For many of us the undergraduate experience is only a year or two behind us, and full time teaching hopefully only a year or two away. The insight gained from the transition between being a full time student and a full time professor is currently an under utilized resource in NEFDC. As graduate students, we can look at our relatively recent undergraduate experiences from the new position as the instructor.  This insight will add a valuable new perspective to the consortium’s conversation.

I would like to encourage all interested graduate students to get involved with our organization. Both graduate students and NEFDC have a lot to gain. Please feel free to contact me at my email address below and join us at http://listserv.salemstate.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?join=nefdcgradstudents.

Molly Letsch
molly.letsch@uconn.edu
 
 

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