University of California Berkeley School Psychology

Eight Things about Teaching I Wish I Knew as a Graduate Student
by: Neil Lutsky, Carleton College (Nlutsky@carleton.edu)
1998-99 President, Society for the Teaching of Psychology (APA Division 2)

Have you ever faced the icy stare of a frozen computer screen that has lost hours of unsaved work? Have you ever spent time in a foreign country without the requisite language? Have you ever read a wine list where neither the vineyards or varieties of wine cited serve as even grossly discriminative stimuli? Are you a graduate student who wants to become a teacher of psychology or learn more about teaching and who is seeking an advanced degree at a major university or professional school? At one time or another, I have been in all of these situations. In which, do you suppose, did I feel most helpless?

In retrospect, now 25 years and 1200 miles removed from Harvard Square, I wish I knew then a number of things I know now about careers in psychology that involve teaching. Here are eight that I hope may help you as you consider your interest, aspirations, and prospects in teaching.

1. You can make a living by teaching psychology.
Academic positions in psychology are not always and chiefly research positions. There are many schools like mine (Carleton College) that are primarily teaching institutions; there are major universities that increasingly value teaching excellence; there are numerous positions at two-year institutions; and there are joint positions that combine teaching and counseling and clinical responsibilities.

2. Developing an effective and thoughtful approach to teaching can help you gain employment.
Most hiring committees are looking for evidence of applicants' teaching experience and expertise. However, many job applicants respond in stereotyped ways in their job letters and fail to address teaching substantively in application materials. It is in your interest to gain teaching experience as a graduate student and to show that you are as thoughtful and knowledgeable about teaching as you are about research or practice.

3. Resources are available to improve your teaching of psychology.
You may not have millions of years to allow Darwinian processes of blind variation and selective retention to mold you into that effective teacher. Why not capitalize on modeling? Excellent suggestions for teaching can be found in published works (e.g., the APA series of Activity Handbooks for the Teaching of Psychology, Vols. 1-3, or Ware and Johnson's Handbooks of Demonstrations and Activities in the Teaching of Psychology, Vols. I-III, published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates), on the web (e.g., see the Society for the Teaching of Psychology's Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology On-Line at http://www.lemoyne.edu/OTRP/), or at the teaching programs at various professional and teaching-oriented conferences.

4. Teaching of Psychology, Teaching of Psychology, Teaching of Psychology.
For stimulating articles on teaching, suggestions for effective demonstrations, and the latest on uses of technology in teaching, among other things, this is simply the best journal available to teachers of psychology. Check your library, department office, or subscribe yourself. All members of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology receive the journal, and Society membership itself costs only $13 for graduate students. See the Society's web site at http://spsp.clarion.edu/Division2/d2.html for additional information.

5. Teaching itself is a dynamic, challenging, scholarly endeavor.
Teaching is one of the most intellectually exciting activities I know. In part, this is due to the inherent character of the challenge; in part, this is due to ongoing changes in subject matters as well as in the conditions of teaching (including available technologies, new strategies of education, and student abilities). Ernest Boyer's 1990 book, Scholarship Reconsidered, helped catalyze professional discussion and appreciation of the scholarly nature of teaching. In turn, tenure and promotion committees are increasingly taking a broader view of what constitutes an important scholarly contribution. The trend is to value and expect faculty to demonstrate scholarly vitality as teachers. Diane Halpern and her collaborators have a seminal piece in press in American Psychologist which addresses this reconceptualization of the role of teaching in scholarship in psychology. I recommend that you look for it.

6. Teaching and research do not constitute a zero-sum relationship.
It isn't necessary to sacrifice a commitment to research (or practice) in order to teach. In fact, many schools are looking for faculty to involve undergraduate students in meaningful research activity, and discussing research in a teaching context may itself help strengthen a research program. For additional discussion of this issue, I encourage you to look to the Council on Undergraduate Research (http://www.cur.org/).

7. Teachers of psychology are great dancers.
OK, so I'm the exception to the rule. My point, in marked contrast to Robert Putnam's provocative thesis in his article "Bowling Alone" (namely that Americans increasingly disaffiliate themselves from groups), is that there are communities of people out there that care deeply about teaching. These communities of teachers meet periodically to share ideas about effective teaching, to discuss issues in higher education, and, at times, to go out dancing. Seek these communities out at the annual meetings of APA and APS, at regional meetings (e.g., WPA), and at regional teaching conferences.

8. You could lead a fulfilling professional career as a teacher of psychology.
The students will be there. The jobs will be there. The challenges will be there. The opportunities for lifelong intellectual growth as a psychologist will be there. It is difficult for me to imagine another career path that is as rewarding, as stimulating, and as engaging as one teaching psychology. If you are so inclined, I urge you to pursue such a calling, and I hope my brief comments above assist you as you do so. Don't hesitate to get in touch if I can be of any help.
Neil Lutsky
Department of Psychology
Carleton College
NLUTSKY@CARLETON.EDU
Northfield, MN 55057
Phone: (507) 646-4379
FAX: (507) 646-7005
www.carleton.edu/curricular/PSYC/lutsky/Lutsky98.html
Society for the Teaching of Psychology,
President, 1998-1999
Society Homepage:
http://spsp.clarion.edu/Division2/d2.html