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Preparing future faculty

Preparing future faculty
Dr. Maike I. Philipsen (third from left) leads a Preparing Future Faculty class during the Fall 2006 semester.

Tomorrow’s professors will be better prepared to enter the classroom, thanks to people like Maike I. Philipsen, Ph.D., a professor in the School of Education’s Department of Foundations of Education.

Dr. Philipsen, who teaches in the VCU Graduate School’s Preparing Future Faculty Program, says more universities are realizing the importance of preparing students how to teach when they enter academia.

“Most of us are prepared in research methods, but most professors know little starting out on how to prepare a good lecture, assessment, classroom teaching,” said Dr. Philipsen.

“You tend to learn it over time through trial and error.”

The Preparing Future Faculty Program consists of five components, the first three of
which are taught by Dr. Philipsen.

• GRAD 601: explores the history of colleges and universities, government structure, tenure and promotion, and a typical day in the life of university faculty. Also, panels of junior and senior faculty members are invited to talk about the job application process such as writing a good cover letter.
• GRAD 602: explains how to put together a good lecture, effective discussion, design appropriate assignments and exams, grade papers, deal with troubled students, motivate students, and use technology in the classroom.
• GRAD 604: covers teaching in the professions, such as art and nursing.
• GRAD 605: focuses on the teaching profession and emphasizes preparation for the full range of faculty responsibilities.
• GRAD 606: gives students experience and practice in clinical/field or studio instruction under the tutelage of a senior faculty mentor at a local institution that most closely mirrors the institution type they would like to enter.

Students receive one credit per component. Many universities include preparatory courses as part of other classes, often as a workshop. According to Dr. Philipsen, VCU’s program is unique in that it’s offered separately for credit.

“This program appeals to people regardless of disciplinary background because they don’t get this level of preparation in their own field, said Dr. Philipsen. “A nurse is taught all about the discipline of nursing but should that person decide to go into higher education where does he or she learn how to teach nursing, structure her day, or prepare for tenure?”

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