Teaching Fellows Program
Teaching Fellows Program
Department of Psychology
Auburn University
Purpose and Rationale
The Department of Psychology currently has in place a rigorous training and supervision program for its first-year graduate teaching assistants. This program consists of a year-long, two-hour credit course involving theory and research in college and university teaching in general and in the teaching of psychology in particular. In addition, these students acquire minimal classroom teaching experience by teaching multiple discussion sections of introductory psychology throughout the year.
Unfortunately, in the second year and beyond, relatively few graduate students receive further intensive training and experience in college and university teaching. Experimental and I/O graduate students generally have opportunities to serve as laboratory assistants or graders in 2000 level courses and above. Clinical students only occasionally have the opportunity to hold teaching-related assistantships beyond their first year in graduate school.
This relative lack of sustained, rigorous teaching experience may place those graduate students interested in academic careers at a competitive disadvantage when they enter the job market. In particular, lack of opportunities for our students to become teachers of record means that our students leave their PhD programs without gaining adequate classroom teaching skills, experiences, and insights. This aspect of their professional development at Auburn is incomplete.
The majority of teaching positions for new PhDs are available at small liberal arts colleges where high quality teaching experience is a key component of the job requirements. To strengthen the teaching credentials of our graduate students, the Teaching Fellows program that provides opportunities for further training and experience in college and university teaching as a teacher of record and documented recognition for that experience has been created. This is a voluntary program.
Requirements for Entry into the Teaching Fellows Program
In order to qualify for entry into the Teaching Fellows Program, graduate students must satisfy each of the following requirements.
- Hold a Master's Degree and be in at least your second year of graduate school or beyond
- Be in good standing in their respective graduate programs
- Have the written permission of their major professor and their respective graduate program director
- Satisfactorily completed PSYCHOLOGY 7120, The Teaching of Psychology
- Satisfactorily completed or be concurrently enrolled in an advanced seminar in The Teaching of Psychology
- Provide the Undergraduate Program Director with a copy of their Vita
These requirements will be specified in a document that must be signed by graduate students applying to the program, their major professor, and program director.
Selection of Teachers of Record
Completion of the above requirements qualifies graduate students for selection as teachers of record. Teachers of record shall be selected based on a combination of departmental need and expertise in the content of the course being taught (e.g., under normal circumstances a clinical student will be given priority to teach a section of abnormal psychology or a student whose interests and training rest in social psychology will be given priority to teach social psychology and so on. . .).
Should the number of students expressing a desire to become a teacher of record exceed the opportunities to become such (i.e., not enough courses are offered for graduate students to teach), then the point system outlined below shall be used to determine a priority wait list. Those graduate students with the highest scores will have first priority. Once graduate students have served as teachers of record, they are considered to have "graduated" from the Teaching Fellows program and are no longer eligible to serve as teachers of record, unless the need arises and no other graduate students are available to serve as a teacher of record.
Priority Point System . For each of the items below with a checkmark in the "Yes" column, graduate students will receive 1 point. In the case of a tie, the tie-breaker shall be temporal proximity of graduation with the PhD.
| Dissertation Currently Being Conducted | ___ |
| Dissertation Proposed | ___ |
| MAP or Quals Completed, Including Orals | ___ |
| Presentation of Posters/Papers at Regional/National Meetings | ___ |
| Presentation at Research/Teaching Festivals | ___ |
| Peer-reviewed publications | ___ |
| Total Points: | ___ |
Program Parameters
Students who participate in the Teaching Fellows program will have the opportunity to teach one or more undergraduate psychology courses at the 2000 or 3000 level, depending on the instructional needs of the Psychology Department. Each Teaching Fellow will be supervised by a faculty member whose expertise falls within the domain of the class being taught by the Teaching Fellow. Such supervision will involve a pre-semester meeting regarding development of a syllabus and textbook selection, and weekly meetings to discuss any and all aspects of the teaching of the course. In addition, the supervisor will observe the Teaching Fellow at least once during the semester and provide both written and verbal feedback to enhance the Teaching Fellow's development as a teacher. Teaching Fellows will also be similarly observed by the Undergraduate Program Director purely for formative evaluation as an instructor.
After completion of teaching as teachers of record, Teaching Fellows will receive a certificate/plaque recognizing them as such at the annual spring Teaching Festival. Such recognition may be noted on their vitae and in their job applications.
Department of Psychology Auburn University Teaching Fellows Program Application