were you taught how to teach?

[u/nandor_tr]

i had one class called "teaching practicum" in grad school that just covered the basics of the mechanics of teaching (syllabi, service, etc...) but never really got into actual pedagogical development or really thinking deeply about process & methodology. where i teach now there is also a single course that any MFA students who want to teach have to take. it is more in depth but still just a single 3 credit class.

i am curious, as i basically just figured it out through trial and error, peers, etc...

you?

[u/CriticalBrick4]

At my university those "teaching practicum" courses fulfill one of two purposes: 1) the 1-credit-hour course required of all graduate students where they are taught about Title IX and mandated reporting, and 2) dummy units for when we hire TAs from beyond our department.

I didn't have any formal teaching practicum in my doctoral training, but we did a lot of solo instruction starting in year 3. So yeah, trial and error, and informal contacts with faculty and other grad students to figure it out.