Molly Snyder
English
MSU-Bozeman
This fall, after three years of deliberation, I finally accepted my fate: graduate school. And what better way to fund my education and gain teaching experience than to be a graduate teaching assistant. I had never taught, so I assumed that I would receive sufficient training before teaching my own composition course. But, the instruction I received, a three-day training seminar and a teaching guide, did not and could not prepare me for the challenges that lay ahead.
Fortunately, the English department at MSU-Bozeman supports its GTAs. When I told a professor about my anxieties, he handed me The Chicago Handbook for Teachers: A Practical Guide to the College Classroom. How could I deny the guidance offered from a text that claims on the cover to be "indispensable for graduate students"?
In The Chicago Handbook for Teachers, the many authors explain how to teach a successful college course. They do not claim to offer pedagogical theories, often useless anyway, but to instruct new teachers on ways to handle the challenges of teaching: "basic aspects of college teaching: designing the course, preparing for the first class, leading a discussion, managing classroom dynamics, delivering a lecture, supervising research and writing, giving and grading exams, evaluating your own teaching, dealing with diversity issues, and making use of new electronic resources" (viii).
Its condensed discussions of these basic challenges are what distinguish their book from other texts.
Brinkley et al. chose the title "handbook" to imply that teachers should "consult it periodically for help in dealing with particular questions or problems" (viii). Although the authors' teaching experiences are limited to history, the handbook is not course specific, and teachers from other areas may benefit from their suggestions.
The authors divide the text into ten brief chapters that could be separated into two parts. The first seven chapters offer recommendations on ways to deal with classroom challenges, from course planning to evaluating teaching. Then the last three chapters present other aspects of teaching: teaching as a graduate student, teaching in a multicultural classroom, and using electronic resources in the classroom.
The first part of the handbook covers issues that other resources do not. The authors suggest using photocopied packets instead of textbooks, and encourage teachers to use simulation exercises, debates, panel discussions, and other group activities to encourage students' participation. They also provide methods of evaluating teaching, such as using intermediaries and video cameras.
In the second part, the authors provide guidance for instructors like me, who are both students and teachers. They remind graduate students of the professional and ethical concerns of their position: "There is usually a very large imbalance of power in your relationship with the professor in charge of your course, particularly if the professor is important to your future in other ways. It is important, therefore, to manage your relationship with the instructor carefully and to ask for help when you need it" (121).
Regardless of personality differences and varying opinions, TAs must remain professional. Likewise, TAs have authority over their students, and "should also maintain a professional distance from them" despite their closeness in age (122). They also stress keeping grades confidential and avoiding departmental politics. But, for me, the most helpful suggestion is on job-market preparation. They recommend making a dossier, preparing for interview questions, and keeping a portfolio of syllabi, assignments, and course evaluations.
The last chapter discusses using "new" electronic resources in the classroom. This chapter is both helpful and flawed. Few other resources provide ways to improve teaching by using new technologies to perform administrative tasks, choose readings and other sources, assign papers and presentations, and create lectures and discussions.
Even though the handbook's purpose is "practical," its "Contents" section is not. It provides only the basic elements. Had the authors also listed the subsection headings, teachers who "have very little time for each of the many preparations demanded of them" would find the handbook more effective (ix). Let's say that I have questions about office hours and turn to The Chicago Handbook for Teachers for help. I assume that this issue is discussed in the chapter "The First Weeks." But, I must flip through the entire chapter to locate the heading "Establishing the Dynamics of Office Hours," the sixth and last subsection of the chapter. The authors could have listed these subheadings in the "Contents."
Although the first part of the text is mostly organized by the order in which teachers will likely face challenges, the organization deteriorates in the chapter "Testing and Evaluation." The headings of the subsections appear to have been shuffled; the heading "Keeping Students Informed about Tests" precedes "Planning for Examinations." Ordinarily, teachers need to be aware of when they will administer tests before they can inform students of exam dates. Similarly, "Constructing an Examination" comes after "Handling Missed Exams," surely inverting the normal order of these things.
By discussing a broad spectrum of classroom issues in a mere 185 pages, the authors sacrifice in-depth coverage of the issues. Beginning and experienced teachers may benefit from the handbook if all they seek are brief explanations and suggestions. To use the handbook as the only resource guide in teaching would be a mistake. It should be used in conjunction with another guide that spends more time boring into these topics. The authors acknowledge their inability to address many pedagogical issues and provide an extensive list of additional resource guides.
The Chicago Handbook for Teachers met the few expectations that I had. Since the authors professed to attend only to the basic challenges of the classroom, I was not disappointed. While beginning teachers may benefit from this book, it should not replace actual educational training.