The Rewards of Being a Graduate Teaching Consultant

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CRLT is currently accepting applications for our Graduate Teaching Consultant (GTC) team. For more information about the program, including a link to application materials, click on our GTC page [2]. In this guest blog, current GTC Melody Pugh, a Ph.D. student in English & Education, highlights some rewards of her participation in the program.    

I taught my first college level writing course in the Fall of 2005.  I’d had no formal training in how to teach writing, and in fact, I was teaching a course that I had never actually taken myself.  Thankfully, I was surrounded by generous teacher-scholars who mentored me toward excellent teaching.  They took time out of their busy schedules to think with me about the challenges of curriculum design, classroom management, and writing assessment. 

When I came to the University of Michigan for further graduate study, I received formal training both from my department and from CRLT. But I also knew how valuable I’d found the informal mentoring that I received early in my teaching career, and I wanted to offer similar guidance and support to other new teachers. So when I learned about the GTC program, it knew it would be a great fit for me. And it has been. Here’s why:

1) Learning the Language of Teaching
Some great teachers do things by instinct, but far more often we develop as teachers through sharing successful ideas and materials with one another. The professional development I’ve received as a GTC has taken these practical exchanges to the next level, giving me language to talk about what great teachers are doing and why their strategies succeed.  

2) Benefiting from Peer Mentoring
Interacting with other GTCs has helped me revise and refine my teaching practice by offering me a place where I can be honest about the challenges and successes of teaching. As I interact with other GTCs, I learn about best practices for teaching in other disciplines and expand my repertoire of instructional and classroom management strategies.

3) Witnessing Great Teaching
In my capacity as a GTC, I observe classes and talk with thoughtful instructors about their practice. I also hear firsthand from students what’s working well, and how instructors can adapt their pedagogy to meet the demands of a changing educational environment. In short, I get to be a witness to great teaching across the University of Michigan.

I hope you’ll consider applying to be a GTC [3]. It’s been an invaluable opportunity to be a part of the University’s commitment to encouraging excellent teaching.