Training in Teaching

Mentored Teaching Experiences

One of the career paths for graduates of the Biomedical Science Graduate Program is in academia where classroom or online teaching is required. A mentored teaching experience can be invaluable to graduates seeking academic positions because selection committees often value prior teaching experience.  The following are opportunities to receive training in teaching while enrolled in the Biomedical Science Graduate Program.

Biological Sciences Mentored Teaching Experience

A mentored, one-semester teaching experience is available to graduate students and is arranged by the Department of Biological Sciences. This experience can include being a teaching assistant in an undergraduate biology lab course. The biology lab courses run 2-4 hours each week and the Ph.D. student would be assigned one section.  Additionally, the Ph.D. student would enroll in 1 credit of BIOL 5019 Supervised Experience in Teaching section corresponding to the particular class being taught that semester. Supervised Experience in Teaching meets for another 2-4 hours once each week. This prepares one to teach the lab each week and it also documents the teaching experience on the Biomedical Sciences student transcript. Each lab period starts with a short 10-20 minute lecture on the subject matter followed by the actual lab. Following completion of the lab, students write lab reports on the subject matter that are graded by the Teaching Assistants. The Teaching Assistants would be responsible for conducting regular quizzes and exams. Thus, graduate students enrolled in BIOL 5019 obtain a full, mentored teaching experience. 

If you are interested, please contact Dr. Dhirendra Kumar at kumard@etsu.edu in the Department of Biological Sciences.

Note: Biomedical Sciences Ph. D. students receiving assistantships through the Department of Biological Sciences already participate in this experience. This notice is to let other students know of this opportunity. 

For students working in departments other than the Department of Biological Sciences, please contact your advisor (if selected) or Dr. Beaumont, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education, for approval if you would like to participate in a supervised teaching experience.

Health Sciences Mentored Teaching Experience

A mentored, one-semester teaching experience is available to graduate students and is arranged by the Department of Health Sciences.  This opportunity includes being a teaching assistant in an undergraduate health sciences laboratory course and/or teaching one or more lectures in an undergraduate health sciences course.  Students will enroll in 1 credit of HSCI 5019 Supervised Teaching to document the teaching experience on the student transcript.  The Supervised Teaching Health Sciences course, HSCI 5019, is designed to offer graduate students an opportunity to gain exposure to teaching undergraduate students in a controlled setting.  The course will focus on both teaching undergraduate laboratory classes and meeting on a bi-monthly basis to discuss the teaching process with a faculty member (Dr. Sean Fox) and peer graduate students. While technical knowledge is extremely important, soft skills are also required for important accomplishments in the highly competitive professions that graduates pursue.

If you are interested, please contact Dr. Ranjan Chakraborty at chakrabr@etsu.edu in the Department of Health Sciences.

Please contact your advisor (if selected) or Dr. Beaumont, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education, for approval if you would like to participate in a supervised teaching experience.

Other Training in Teaching

ETSU offers the following courses in the training of teaching for which Biomedical Sciences graduate students are eligible to enroll.

GRAD 5110 Teaching Pedagogy for the Graduate Teaching Assistant  

Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Training

The purpose of the Graduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching is to prepare and develop current and future public and private section higher education educators to design and deliver curricula effectively to diverse student bodies. The program develops educators’ understanding of higher education, its various sectors, and theories and practices for effective teaching and learning at the post-secondary level. This certificate includes 15 credits of coursework and has a separate application and admission process.  Presently, the Graduate Certificate in Higher Education is administered through the Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis Department and has tuition costs that must be paid by the student rather than the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program.   Students must also obtain approval from their faculty advisor before enrolling.  Please visit the current Graduate Catalog for more information.