Teaching Practicum for Graduate Students with Alison Melley

Dr. Alison Melley is taking the lead in shaping the future of education for graduate students that are in the role of teaching assistants or the role of teaching classes on their own. Her class is meant to help students who intend to teach and become professors in the long run too. Even if the students do not intend to become professors afterward, this class is taking the lead to help change the culture of "learning as you go" that has shaped many of the professors and teachers of today. The following interview is in regards to the class and comes with feedback directly from students currently taking the course! 

Interview with Alison Melley:

What are the concepts you wish you had your first time teaching that you are giving to your students in this class?

I wish I’d understood more about some basic “human” elements of teaching. I was so concerned about content knowledge when I first started, that I did not try to connect with students. Now my focus is around autonomy, competence, and belonging: giving students some control over their learning (autonomy), ensuring they feel confident that they *can* learn (competence), and taking steps toward helping every student feel they are connected to each other, me, and that they belong in the classroom (belonging).

What concepts do you feel are the most important for students who want to become full-time professors in the future to really grasp onto?

In addition to the above, basic learning science is primary. Understanding how people learn and how to maximize learning in the classroom is important.

What inspired you to create this class?

I was hired into the psychology department in the Fall of 2019 after they recognized the need for a course like this. They wanted to improve the graduate student experience, provide more training for GTAs, and provide higher-quality undergraduate courses.

I know this is a required course, but is this class preparing graduate students to become professors in the future, or is it for all graduate students to help make it through their Teaching Assistantships? Do you think all Teaching Assistants, around the university, would benefit from the course?

It is a course but it is structured as a training and preparation experience. The “course” designation is important because students earn credit and the faculty member facilitating has it “count” as a course in their required course load. Some departments are providing this training but it “counts” only as service for the faculty member on top of the courses they teach.

The students that take the Teaching Practicum with me are mostly 2^nd year Ph.D. students who will teach as instructors of record as part of their funding package. They are not allowed to teach independently until they complete 850. Some students are only here as a requirement, others are here because they want the training and experience to help them prepare for their future careers.

Many students teach a lab course in their first year as a “TA” before they take 850. We are working to increase the training and support for those students/TAs as well.  Yes, I believe all GTAs would benefit from a course like this.

I noticed in the Syllabus that you are helping your students to “develop strategies to engage students”, can you elaborate on what those strategies are?

This includes strategies for class discussions (online and in-person), active learning during lectures and informationdelivery, stopping frequently to assess knowledge during a class session, etc. Additionally, we focus on creating student-centered syllabi and transparent assignments (those with a clear purpose and instructions). Finally, we focus not only on understanding how people learn but on helping students to understand how they learn as well.

Does your course prepare the students for ESL and multicultural and disability and First Generation learner circumstances?

Each year we have a visit from the Office of Disability Services and we have a class session focused on inclusion and accessibility. Throughout the semester, we talk about the diversity present in our classrooms, as well as how to design courses that are accessible to all students, and where all students feel they belong. In the Spring, when the GTAs are teaching a full course for the first time, we meet frequently for supervision and this is where we discuss specific student situations and problem-solve together. We meet in small groups, so each GTA benefits from hearing about students in other classes (without identifying information, of course).

Do you feel it is important to include resources/training for Anti-Trafficking, Anti-Racism, and Mason 101 to the Graduate students and into the Syllabi? Examples of Anti-Racism Resources are here: Anti-Racist Research Methods - https://cehd.gmu.edu/faculty-and-research/anti-racist-research-methods/
Why or why not?

I am very familiar with anti-racism and believe it is important to not only include it in the syllabi but also to practice it in the classroom. I am not familiar with anti-trafficking efforts, but have it on my list of things to learn more about. I am also not familiar with Mason 101 but am planning to complete the 2-hour session this fall. 

How do you see your course changing the way professors are “made” in the academic world today? Do you think this is a course other universities should implement if they have not already?

Many other psychology departments are incorporating this type of training into the graduate curriculum. I have beendeveloping this course over the last two years – it is very different this semester than in Fall 2019. Many of the changes have come from feedback from the students themselves, and also from talking with colleagues at other institutions doing the same work. Most of us had very minimal teaching training, if any, in graduate school and were self-taught. Our hope is that this experience will become less common as we continue to enhance the practicum.

Student Feedback:

The following feedback was done through an online survey through students currently taking the course. All of the students who responded are Ph.D. students and from different programs, with the exception of 2 students being in ADP. 5 of the students are in their 2nd year and 1 is in their 3rd year. 

What were some of the initial thoughts you had before taking this class?

• "This class has helped me better understand the responsibilities of a TA, as well as how to manage my time/balance my various responsibilities, and how to set boundaries." - I.L.
• "I have learned about how to grade effectively in a way that provides valuable feedback and minimizes the grading load." - K.R.
• "It helped me feel less alone in some of the struggles and mistakes that I have had to work through and encouraged me to keep trying to be better instead of admitting defeat." - D.S.

What other kinds of trainings do you feel would help prepare you for your time here at Mason in order to teach?

• "Human Trafficking Awareness and Signs, Difficult Conversations: Talking about Race in the Classroom, and Trauma-informed teaching practices (especially coming out of the pandemic!)" - K.C.
• "Bystander Intervention training, something related to Gender Equality and/or Intersectional Feminism" - K.R. 
• "A day of training in how blackboard works would be super useful so we can organize and manage our courses more efficiently. It would also be helpful to have a full day dedicated to talking the instructor or previous TAs for the courses we get assigned to so we have a better idea of what to expect and what content the students are actually learning." - D.S.
• "Race and gender issues. What you should do when you find students don't follow the rules (Plagiarism， absenteeism)." - J.Z. 
• "I believe more teaching resources or trainings would be useful. Perhaps through the Stearns Center?"- I.L.
• "Something as practical as getting help mastering the tech in the classrooms would be super helpful. I see a lot of my professors fumbling a bit and I have never taught in a classroom with all these hook-ups." - A.H. 

As a whole, all of the students have taught classes before at one point in time and even though none of them conferred with each other. The majority of them all said that they wish they had help and guidance before teaching. They each mentioned how they have had bumps in the road to becoming better instructors, but Dr. Melley's class has so far helped them all feel more comfortable in teaching their classes and balancing their classes and workloads.