STEMskiller: Skill Set Map for Mentors of Early Career Researchers
LEARNING, TEACHING, AND SUPERVISING
In general
By engaging with others in mentorship, management (e.g., management of research group staff), or classroom/online instruction environments, teaching and learning (also referred to as pedagogy, education) necessarily comes into play whenever knowledge and skills necessary for the particular situation must be transferred from mentor to mentee/student, even at advanced levels. Often teaching and learning styles are inherited from previous experience or developed “on the fly” by new mentors, managers, and instructors—but many resources exist to assist mentees in improving their teaching and learning skills while building upon (increasingly “evidence based”[1]) prior experiences of others as well as pre-existing pedagogical theories, often developed in response to societal trends and developments.[2]
[1] Wikipedia. (2020, March 9). Educational research. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_research
Useful Learning, teaching and supervising general resources:
Aalto University. (2020). Pedagogical training - main page. https://www.aalto.fi/en/services/pedagogical-training-main-page
Sample required curriculum and courses that could be used as a model for universities which do not yet include such training for instructors.
Berkeley Graduate Division Graduate Student Instructor Teaching & Resource Center. (2020). (a.) Facilitating laboratory sections. https://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/lab-sections-intro/, (b.) GSI online library. From same-named menu at: https://gsi.berkeley.edu/
(a.) Guide to improving teaching and learning in laboratory settings, including: pre-lab assignments, the pre-lab introduction, during and after the lab, asking effective questions, and managing lab partners and groups. Includes summary PDF.
(b.) Highly-relevant resources: award-winning teaching ideas;language and teaching resources for international GAs/GTAs/GRAs;how students learn;workshop handouts and videos;teaching gallery (videos of instructors in action doing different activities in linear algebra, chemistry, engineering, and psychology); and faculty talks on teaching.
MIT Teaching+Learning Lab. (n.d.). Guidelines for teaching @MIT and beyond. https://tll.mit.edu/help/guidelines-teaching-mit-and-beyond
Research-based guidelines grouped into three main categories of teaching/learning activity: design, delivery, and assessment. Includes definitions of each category and links to additional resources for more detailed information within each category, including examples for implementation.
Wikipedia. (2020, June 1). Pedagogy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy
Concise definition of pedagogy: “most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, refers to the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as an academic discipline, is the study of how knowledge and skills are imparted in an educational context, and it considers the interactions that take place during learning. Both the theory and practice of pedagogy vary greatly, as they reflect different social, political, and cultural contexts.”
Tags: All IPS; all PSR; all GL; all Comp
Peer Review: None
Table of contents:
2.0. In general
- 2.1. Learning, teaching and supervision basics for early career researchers
- 2.1.1. Teaching and learning theories, styles, and methods
- 2.1.1.1. Teaching skills: concepts, examples, definitions
2.1.1.2. Roles and expectations: concepts and definitions; resources for learning more
2.1.1.3. Learning outcomes & lesson plans: concepts and definitions, resources for learning more
- 2.1.2.1. Graduate assistant (GA), graduate teaching assistant (GTA), or graduate research assistant (GRA) training: definition, examples, why important
2.1.2.2. Recruiting international doctoral students and postdocs
2.1.2.3. Working with your international students
- 2.1.3.1. Mentoring and supervising students
2.1.3.2. Inclusive mentoring
2.1.3.3. Continuing education, ongoing self-education, and curiosity
2.1.3.4. Online teaching and learning
- 2.2. Techniques: Early career researchers in the classroom
- 2.2.1. Curriculum design
2.2.2. Course development
2.2.3. Exam preparation
2.2.4. eLearning, learning management systems, teaching technologies
2.2.5. Assessment/evaluation (including grading/marking, rubrics, course evaluation, other forms of assessment): definitions, concepts, examples
- 2.2.5.1. Feedback
2.1.5.2. Formative assessment
2.1.5.3. Summative assessment (grading/marking, including rubrics)
2.1.5.4. Self and peer assessment
2.1.5.5. Course evaluations
2.1.5.6. Assessment-outcome alignment
2.1.5.7. Academic misconduct (plagiarism, cheating)
Author: Stephanie Krueger
Peer Reviewer(s): None
Last Updated: October 28, 2021