Doctoral Student Teaching Development Programs Make a Difference
February 3, 2015
Mark Connolly
Only 19% of college students receiving a bachelor’s degree will graduate with a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degree, despite industry demands for workers with training in a STEM field.
Poor teaching is a primary reason for students’ switching out of a STEM major, and poor teaching remains a source of concern for those students who remain.
At research-intensive universities teaching development activities are seldom offered to doctoral students in a coordinated fashion, says WCER researcher Mark Connolly, who studies postsecondary teaching and learning, graduate education.
Connolly says that one’s self-confidence as a teacher is a strong predictor of successful teaching performance, and that doctoral training is a crucial time to develop that confidence. That’s especially important when one considers that one of every three STEM PhDs will teach college courses within 6 years of completing a doctorate.
