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Graduate Apprenticeships in Teaching Literature

Background

Our program is committed to preparing graduates students for teaching as well as research. We strive to send well-prepared TAs into the classroom, and to help our graduates develop dossiers that show a range of teaching assignments. We currently qualify students to teach writing through the course ENGL688 (Teaching Composition), taught the first semester of the first year of the MA. The initial teaching of ENGL110 is accompanied by a weekly or bi-weekly practicum. There is similar follow-through with teaching ENGL312 (Written Communications in Business).

The graduate committee has approved Apprenticeships as one method for students to qualify for teaching literature classes. A student may also qualify to teach literature by serving as a TA in a large lecture course in which the student instructs the members of a discussion section.

Guidelines :

Graduate students may set up an apprenticeship at any time after the first semester of their second year of the MA. The apprenticeship should be arranged in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies, the Associate Chair, and a faculty member teaching a 200 or 300-level course in literature, film, or journalism. In most cases the course chosen will correspond to the student's future emphasis in teaching. The student is expected to learn about teaching by "shadowing" a faculty member from the planning stage through the completion of a course. The student's role is not to be confused with that of a teaching assistant. While the faculty member and apprentice should arrive at their own written set of expectations, typically the apprentice would:

  • Meet with the faculty member to discuss the nature of the course (genre, period, topic), the development of a description for the course booklet, and the development of the syllabus.
  • Discuss goals and methods for the sessions which the student will attend. Methods may include lecturing, eliciting discussion, group work, problem-based learning, in-class writing.
  • Discuss the rationale and preparation for writing assignments and tests and the commenting and grading involved.
  • Participate in some way in the teaching of the course (teach or team-teach a few sessions, grade a set of papers).
  • Make a retrospective assessment of the course, including possible changes for the next time.

At the start of the apprenticeship, a written plan will be drawn up by the faculty member and the student; at the end, the faculty member will certify that the student has carried out these expectations, supplying a signed copy of the plan (signifying any significant revisions to it) for the student's file in the graduate office.

The faculty member will remain available to review course materials, respond to concerns, and visit classes when the student teaches his or her literature course. Faculty will be able to offer support for the student's dossier, writing letters based on the student's performance as an apprentice as well as an independent teacher.

     


Department of English, 212 Memorial Hall
University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716
Phone: 302.831.2361   Fax: 302.831.1586   Email: english@udel.edu