How do you prepare yourself for a future faculty position? By making the most of your teaching as a graduate student or postdoctoral associate, and finding teaching opportunities now that will prepare you for the future.
Most graduate students serve as teaching fellows within their department as a requirement for graduation, while postdoctoral fellows are either assigned teaching or seek out teaching fellow opportunities on their own. It is critical to get the most out of the opportunity to teach and be mentored by faculty members. However, the nature of these TF assignments vary.
For graduate students looking to develop teaching skills and prepare for future faculty positions, finding additional teaching opportunities can also be essential. Finding an opportunity to lecture or to truly teach one’s own class – design a syllabus, write and give lectures – may require going outside the normal teaching fellows program.
Opportunities (linked in the sidebar) may be found within Yale via Splash, Sprout, CRSIP, ONHSA, and YYGS, at other academic institutions, or in community programs.
