Some thoughts from brink of graduation:
If the option to assist in teaching had been there during my third or fourth year (in the less illustrious old system), I'd have jumped on the chance. Though teaching as the main career choice is smaller option to us than for pure chemists and biologists for example, it is one, and being there in the lab in some other role than student can really open up eyes to new career opportunities during the B.Sc or M.Sc studies.
However, this option really should be optional course, not a mandatory one integrated to the degree. Care should be taken to compensate adequately (in form of study points) the students taking part in it. And there most definitely should be some small package of guidance on how to teach in lab course, not just assuming that once the students have completed the course themselves, they're fully fit to teach there. In my opinion, even if the subject is familiar tackling it in guiding role is different than doing so in a learning one.
All in all, the possibility to assist in teaching should be seen more as an additional option of gaining different kind of experience for students, than a way of compensating for the lacking teaching resources (which hopefully will improve with the new glorious system rolling in and old one phasing out) with student aid.
Juha
-- "When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." CS Lewis
On Fri, 16 May 2008, Mikko Salin wrote:
Good idea Niko,
It may be a perfect solution. The students who end up being teachers in our department should anyway take this course (theory part) sooner or later. And then, if this course is taken in so early, the benefit in those people's teaching quality is maximized. While being a practical part of a teaching course should also overcome the legal matters. The main responsibility should anyway rest on the shoulders of "real" teachers.
And yet one more positive thing: we learn best when we teach; this is true for us teachers also. If we should teach other teachers to keep laboratory safe, we learn and pay more attention on it.
And more, feedback is given when you most desperately need it: after your first teaching sessions. In the current system we teachers are totally lost the few first days in a new practical course...
BW, Mikko
Quoting Niko Pursiainen npursiai@mail.student.oulu.fi:
Hi all,
Here are some thoughts I have regarding the idea about 3rd year students participating in the teaching of 1st year students. Basically it could be done as a course for them, perhaps with following structure:
Early in the autumn they would receive 1-2 day training in teaching in the way our staff is trained by Teaching Development Unit. Maybe they would be even willing to help here, as it is their specialty. This would be the theory part of this teaching course.
The practical part of the course would be assisting the teachers in running practicals. They would be assigned to one of the courses (Biomolecules, Methods I...) based on where they would be more helpful and also based on their course load. They would help in preparing and running said practicals and thus get good picture of how things work.
After this they would write short report on the experience and have final meeting where they would give and receive feedback.
All this would require more effort from some of the staff in terms of total hours spent, but it would also add more help for those moments where the staff is at its thinnest. For students it would give valuable teaching experience.
In summary, I see great potential in this idea of getting 3rd year students involved with teaching 1st year students' practicals. Good idea, Alex.
Cheers, Niko
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