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Category: Graduate Students

Webcameras that Facilitate Better Conversations Virtual Guests: Perhaps “OWL” Being See You…??

OWL camera in carrying case

by Nathan Loewen, Department of Religious Studies What is this? Have you tried using a basic computer web camera to capture conversations in a classroom? Prof. Loewen has experimented with dozens of methods since 2009. With the arrival of the REL digital lab at UA’s Department of Religious Studies in 2021, things have changed. Among the digital tools being collected by Prof. Jeri Wieringa is the OWL Pro, which is a 360-degree camera, mic, and speaker combined into one device. […]

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Teaching Grad Students Academic Writing

Butterfly pupae at different stages of maturity

by Daniel Riches, Department of History To me, the most important role we serve as teachers of graduate students, especially early-career graduate students, is helping them along the path of transition from being students of a field to becoming (admittedly junior) professionals in that field. This process of becoming a professional is, in my opinion, the very core of graduate education and deserves careful attention, though surprisingly few graduate courses seem to make their role in this process explicit, and […]

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Supporting Successful Graduate Thesis and Dissertation Projects

close-up of shoes walking up stairs

by Delores M. Robinson, Geological Sciences How do we best help our graduate students graduate on time? This is a question the Department of Geological Sciences asked ourselves in 2013. We had quality graduate students, but the time needed for them to reach graduation seemed excessive. The Graduate Program Committee identified the problems and began to change the graduate program to address the problems. Another post is required to outline the problems; however, one specific problem was that the MS […]

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Working with GTAs: Advice from the Experts

"from the real experts" written on the top edge of a book

by Jolene Hubbs, Department of American Studies What can we do to support our graduate teaching assistants in carrying out their responsibilities confidently and capably and in developing their own pedagogic repertoires? To find out, I surveyed my own current and former GTAs, asking them to tell me about their varied experiences working with faculty members. They offered me a veritable cornucopia of insights into what made for stellar as well as, ahem, not-so-stellar experiences. Here are their top three […]

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Teaching Graduate Students: The Public Value of Their Work

kids sitting on a ledge

by John Giggie, Department of History In this faculty blog on graduate teaching, I would like to share a few observations on possible ways to help graduate students in American history think about the public value of their work. My hope is that as students broaden their identities as public intellectuals they will deepen their commitment to their craft and discipline. My ideas are based most recently on my experience working with graduate students to co-design and co-teach a new […]

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Why Workshops Matter for Professionalization, Productivity, and Life!

table with people's hands, pens and paper

by Jenny Shaw, Department of History One of the most important skills graduate students learn is how to receive, assimilate, and act on feedback from peers and mentors. Often, as with peer review, feedback comes anonymously, and in written form, so responses can be contemplated and thought through. But at conferences, seminars, and public talks, scholars have to respond in person and in real time. Similarly, giving feedback in written or oral form is another essential skill and one that […]

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Mentoring Graduate Students and Uncertain Job Markets

dense fog over a mountainside

Mentoring Graduate Students in an Age of Uncertainty by Holly Grout, Department of History Mentoring graduate students is one of the most rewarding, as well as one of the most challenging, things that we as faculty do. On the face of it, our role is relatively straightforward: we advise our students through coursework and research; we teach them the tools of our trade; we acquaint them with the norms and practices of our profession; and we prepare them (as best […]

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Mentoring Graduate Teaching Assistants

As the supervising faculty member, you have the opportunity to shape your graduate teaching assistants’ development as educators, as well as how they support your role as the professor. We asked several faculty members how they guide GTAs in managing the classroom, interacting with students, and otherwise balancing the pressures of teaching. Here’s what they had to say. Offer Guidance “My GTAs attend every lecture, and we meet as a group once a week to discuss course issues, assignments, and to problem-solve […]

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