Thinking Ahead: Applications to your profession

Erin Dokter, Ph.D.Office of Instruction and Assessment

(CATTS Fellow 2005-06)

Discussion Objectives

• Describe lessons learned from the fellowship experience.

• Explain how these lessons can be applied to your personal and professional life.

Reflecting on the Experience

1. What are the big lessons you have learned from this experience?– e.g., about the school system, about teaching and

learning, about your discipline, about yourself

2. Do you feel more competent in communicating about your discipline? Please explain.

3. Do you feel more confident in communicating about your discipline? Please explain.

1. What are the big lessons you have learned from this experience?

• Substitute teaching days mean no work being done• Example is one of the best ways to teach• Teachers’ attitudes may elicit or constrain participation• Everyone has their own pace/learning style, need to take into

account when teaching• I teach more effectively around the entire room vs. just at the board• Students are smart, not always expected to be (don’t get challenged)• School system can hold kids back (stifled)• Important to think about your questions before you ask them (e.g.,

how they are phrased)• Need to encourage inquiry in math/science/engineering• Helped to communicate things more simply

2. Competence and 3. Confidence?

• Practice can’t hurt

Nationally-reported Impact of Experience

Attribute ApplicationsCommunication skills

written, oral, presentation to varied audiences

Teaching skills awareness of learners, teaching strategies, planning, assessment

Research skills design, analysis, building scientific arguments

Professional skills time managementPersonal attributes confidence

(Based on Feldon et al. (2011); Trautmann (2008); Mitchell et al. (2003))

Action Plan: Your Professional and Personal Life

Attribute Applications Communication skills Presenting at conferences,

writing opinion pieces (e.g., newspaper), Presenting products to potential customers, Expressing ideas clearly to management or employees, writing (e.g., reports), interviews

Teaching skills To explain methodically, recognize when somebody doesn’t understand & then changing on the fly to get point across, workshops, effective training, teaching classes

Research skills Designing more efficient experiments & understanding the “ins and outs”, plan better and organize, manage time, state problem in a concise way, identify information that others are missing to add to your own work

Professional skills Present information so more stakeholders can understand (appeal to wide audience), thinking on your feet, balancing multiple hats, work with different personality types

Personal attributes Patience, cooperation, sympathy, observation, conflicted about becoming a parent

Resources for Continued Professional Development

• Teaching/TA experience (department TA’s, Pima CC)• Outreach (departmental programs, continued work

with your teacher, UA Science, MESA)• Workshops/Classes on Teaching (departments, OIA)• Online Self-Paced Teaching Modules (OIA)• Workshops/Programs on Writing (WSIP, Graduate

Writing Institute)• Certificate in College Teaching (OIA)

Resource URLs

Outreach http://scienceconnections.arizona.edu/k12/teachers/acst

Workshops/Classes on Teaching http://oia.arizona.edu/blog/seminars-and-workshops-professional-development

Online Self-Paced Teaching Modules D2l.arizona.edu (Self Registration – TATO)

Workshops/Programs on Writing http://wsip.arizona.edu/workshop-serieshttp://grad.arizona.edu/gwi

Certificate in College Teaching http://oia.arizona.edu/project/certificate-college-teaching-program