Why universities should provide less support for postgraduates who teach Sean Brocklebank, PhD student, Economics University of Edinburgh
Mar 28, 2015
Why universities should provide less support for postgraduates who teach
Sean Brocklebank, PhD student, EconomicsUniversity of Edinburgh
Preliminaries
I’m a 4th year PhD student in Edinburgh’s School of Economics
Acting this year as “head tutor” (no one knows what that means) and leading reforms of the 1st year undergraduate curriculum
Caveat emptor: these slides based largely on impressions and anecdotes (there is only a sprinkling of actual social science)
The point
I will argue: Most postgraduates don’t need much
support; it’s better to think about empowerment
Those that do need support should mainly get it from other postgrads, and/or they should be given less demanding jobs
The problem as some see it
The problem as I see it
Postgraduates who teach are not all the same They differ significantly in:
Motivation Personality Language ability Teaching skills Background knowledge …
One-size-fits-all support policies aren’t appropriate (especially if they are targeted at the weakest postgrads) The best teachers will be most encumbered
The solution
On existing support structures: I have never heard of a postgrad expressing
thanks for teaching support from outside their department
But I have heard of thanks for support inside of departments
Only ‘locals’ know have the level of knowledge necessary to be useful (content knowledge, marking norms, curriculum, etc.)
This suggests (non-scientifically) that the support which exists should be provided by other postgrads
How would it work?
Most departments already know which of their postgrads are better teachers Put them “in charge” of a big course, and
have them “apprentice” new postgrads New postgrads must attend the first few of
the senior tutor’s tutorials Senior tutor provides advice, guidance, etc.
Most departments also know who the weaker teachers are (often for language reasons) If they must work (e.g. for scholarship) then
have them mark essays and have the other postgrads tutor more
Benefits of empowerment
There are benefits to learning to let go Postgrads are aware of weaknesses of the
course which lecturers may not notice Research suggests that workers who feel
empowered have better morale and are more productive, innovative, creative and committed
Takeaway: think less in terms of supporting postgraduates and more in terms of empowering them
Source: Carter, 2009, Am J of Ec and Bus Admin, Managers Empowering Employees