Tiny Tweaks, Immense Impact
A seasoned grad student offers teaching and service suggestions that made the grade.
By Sarah Jane Bork
As I near the end of my graduate program, I’m surprised by how much I’ve grown, not just in research but also in my teaching and service roles. I used to get caught up in a storm of doubt, failure, and frustration—and while I still sometimes do, I now pause to reflect and find small changes I can make to combat these concerns instead of those feelings festering. Now that I’ve gone through this process a few times, I want to share teaching and service tips I wish I’d known five years ago.
My main goal in teaching is to maximize student engagement. That steely silence in response to the “Are there any questions?” wrap-up used to stump me. I’ve since found that a simple change of phrase helps open students up. Try, “What questions do you have?” or even command them: “Ask me a question.” This shows that you expect questions instead of signaling that it’s time to move on.
The second part is crucial—I wait! I count s-l-o-w-l-y to 10. When it starts to feel awkward, you’re halfway there. Many instructors only wait a couple seconds before redirecting, setting the precedent that questions aren’t a valuable use of time. If you get to 10 seconds and still nothing, then ask, “Do you need any clarification from the discussion?” Wait five seconds, and then say, “I will out-awkward you—ask me a question!” This has never failed me. Students fear the awkwardness of silence and the prospect of sitting in class forever even more than asking a stupid question.
Another major source of disengagement is students’ lack of connection with materials.
Consider your class’s accessibility. How much time have you spent updating your materials for this? Quick changes include checking that your font size is at least 14 point, ensuring materials are online in advance for students to print, and adding language to the front of the syllabus asking students to seek accommodations as needed.
How inclusive is your classroom dialogue? In my sophomore engineering courses, I recall tallying the number of times the teachers used the words “simple,” “basic,” and “as everyone knows,” right before discussing a concept I had never heard before. Students come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, all with differing levels of resources.
Using language that passes judgment on what students should know fuels feelings of shame and frustration, rather than emphasizing the concept as intended. Instead, adjust your phrasing. Use “background” or “baseline,” rather than “basic.” Reference specific courses where concepts were taught rather than saying “everyone knows.” Use the words “core” or “key” with concepts central to the curriculum. It works!
Academic service is another area in which I have developed. Service can either be incredibly fulfilling or a huge source of stress and distraction. In volunteering your time and energy at your institution, it’s easy to get overwhelmed on a board or committee, with event planning, or in departmental fundraising. When starting your career, it can be hard saying no when someone you admire wants your time! But if you don’t go in with a plan, you can become overloaded with duties that unbalance your other work.
Before committing, ask yourself what you’re looking for. Do you want professional development? Or maybe just to socialize? Write it down. Now you can be intentional.
If you’re looking for professional development, what skill(s) are you targeting? Talk to a mentor or have a short coffee meeting with someone in a role you covet. Ask them what abilities someone in their position should have and how they developed them. Talking with several people will provide a short list of high-impact skills. Find service work that aligns with these skills and—more important—avoid the work that doesn’t.
If you need an outlet, make it fun! I still regret taking a leadership role in an organization I joined to find community. Not only was it irrelevant to skills I needed, but I was also too burnt out to make friends and network. Saying no was much easier when I reminded myself that my goal was not to step up, but instead to make connections and enjoy myself.
Prioritizing your time is a skill. Meeting a research funding deadline for your graduate students is not the same as refining a lesson plan. Ask yourself, honestly, what needs to be perfect versus what can be good enough. Give yourself grace. And remember, the biggest improvements can come from the small steps you take on the path to your career.
Sarah Jane Bork is an engineering education research doctoral candidate studying engineering graduate students’ mental health at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Image Courtesy of Sarah Jane Bork