Preparing Future Biology Faculty

Abstract

Formal professional development programs for biology graduate students interested in becoming faculty members have come far; however, programs that provide advanced teaching experience for seasoned graduate teaching assistants are scarce. We outline an advanced program that focuses on further training of graduate teaching assistants in pedagogy and mentoring opportunities within a biology department. The Graduate Teaching Scholars Program provides opportunities for individualized instruction and learning while working with a faculty mentor. Graduate teaching scholars attend workshops, have their teaching evaluated, and serve as mentors for new graduate teaching assistants in the department. Students in the program are able to contribute to departmental education initiatives while growing professionally as teachers and future faculty.