What happens when you ask students to independently interpret historical texts and treaties – and do so using new technology? What misconceptions might students make about disciplinary fields, based on instructors’ own biases? How does one effectively gauge students’ comprehension and keep them engaged in class? These were just a few of the questions graduate students presented and discussed at the 2020 Graduate Teaching Showcase.
Graduate students compete for the chance to deliver quick, compelling talks about their own teaching at the annual Graduate Teaching Showcase, co-sponsored by the Faculty Innovation Center, UT Libraries and the Graduate School. Now in its fourth year, this event highlights a range of topics and issues that graduate student instructors encounter in their classrooms: from broad, philosophical questions about pedagogy to discrete, immediate concerns about students’ learning. Seven graduate students from across campus were selected to present at the Showcase. The Showcase brings together a variety of people from across disciplines and different roles on campus; over 60 people, including faculty, staff, and undergraduate and graduate students, from over 25 departments and units on campus came to the event.
This year, Dr. Daina Ramey Berry, Associate Dean for Graduate Education Transformation and Oliver H. Radkey Regents Professor of History, opened the event and energized the crowd with a compelling account of her own development as an instructor. She recalled a formative experience early in her graduate student career when she taught her first lesson and it did not go as smoothly as she (or her students) had hoped. Dean Berry then shared how those experiences have shaped her approach to teaching and how she cultivates her students’ openness to learning through sharing her own ideas, opinions, and emotions as they relate to her course. Her authenticity and openness about her growth around teaching resonated with many in the audience.
In between blocks of presentations, audience members interacted with each other during two discussion times to reflect on the talks. One attendee commented, “Hearing about the different ways I can engage students is extremely helpful! I think hearing ideas from a variety of schools and disciplines is a great way to inspire diversity and community.” Other attendees appreciated the chance to learn about new teaching methods and takeaways for their own teaching contexts.
After engaging in discussion and hearing the presentations, the event closed with a reflection activity in which all attendees were presented with a square piece of paper and asked to write what they learned or what they hoped to apply to their own teaching practice. On the other side of the paper is a printed image of rhizomes, when arranged next to each other, represent the multiplicity of ideas and entry points for learning about teaching. Participants shared a range of ideas and comments, from “compliance is not equity,” to “teach with heart” and “embrace technology in the classroom rather than fear it.” Attendees gathered and read each other’s reflections and continued their conversations around teaching at UT Austin.
View all of the presentations here or click below to view individual talks.
Gauging and Engaging Your Students with Instapoll, Rebecca A. Zárate (RAZ)
Confronting Ableism in the Classroom, Dani R. Soibelman (Communication Studies)
Building Better Teachers: Using Role-play to Create Content Experts, Richard Wong (Department of Mathematics)
Team-Based Learning: The Relationship between Teamwork and Work Experience in a Classroom Assignment, Brett W. Robertson (Communication Studies)
Treaties, Technology, and Trusting Your Students in English 314, Alexandrea Pérez Allison (English and Mexican American & Latino/a Studies)
Why do we teach subjects as if they are perfect? Organic Chemistry: From Mustard Gas to Anti-Cancer Drugs, Chris Wight (Department of Chemistry)
Fostering and Supporting Diversity in Podcasting and Audio Storytelling, Kelsey Whipple (School of Journalism)
