Jenny,

I did my MA at Purdue University and the PhD students that passed  
their preliminary exams were able to teach their own 100 level  
classes, and were encouraged to do so by the department.  No other PhD  
student taught any other level of class though.  I don't think Purdue  
had many (if any) adjuncts because of the students teaching, but there  
were far fewer sections being taught.

Best,
Dan


On Oct 16, 2009, at 5:42 PM, Jenny Reeder wrote:

> Good points, Lee Ann. I especially appreciate your point about how  
> our department is especially approachable. The minor field exam is  
> another good example. I really think we can have an educated, well- 
> thought-out proposal for them if we collect good information.
>
> A couple of clarifications/responses:
>
> I would love to be able to teach my own section. And perhaps leading  
> a discussion section would be good preparation for that.
>
> I know when I got an MA at ASU (albeit in a different department),  
> all grad students, MAs and PhDs, had the opportunity of teaching our  
> own sections. I taught Public Speaking and Small Group Communication  
> and had a great experience. I know advanced PhD students could teach  
> upper-level courses. I think Royce said there were students in the  
> ASU history department who taught their own sections.
>
> People from other schools, what have you seen?
>
> Lee A Ghajar wrote:
>> Hi, Jenny.  These are great questions. Just looking at the ideas of  
>> TAs teaching 100 level courses, a few  other questions come to  
>> mind.  First, just to clarify--are you talking about teaching  
>> discussion sessions or, in fact, the course itself?   What's the  
>> situation at other schools?  And last for the moment, and off the  
>> top--I am thinking the budget may kick in here; I wonder if it's  
>> less expensive to hire an adjunct than a grad student.  Anyone know  
>> about that?
>>
>> Re changes: We seem to have a ver approachable deparmtent, and when  
>> PhD students have worked on particular problems recently--such as  
>> sitting in on and informally interviewing prospective professors,  
>> and having representatives on the faculty grad committee--the  
>> people who made it happen  went armed with facts and precedent. So  
>> changes are definitely do-able.
>>
>> Best, Lee Ann
>> p.s. Although Jeremy taught Clio II the semester Paula Petrik was  
>> on sabbatical, he wasn't the official professor since it was a grad  
>> class and apparently the PhD is requisite for that.  Someone else's  
>> name filled in the blank.
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Jenny Reeder <[log in to unmask]>
>> Date: Friday, October 16, 2009 4:25 pm
>> Subject: Some ideas/concerns
>>
>>
>>> Hello, friends,
>>>
>>> In talking with a few of you, I've been able to formulate my  
>>> thoughts about some concerns with our program that I thought I  
>>> would raise here. I'd love your feedback--do you have similar  
>>> concerns? and what do you think we can do to make some good changes?
>>>
>>> How do you all feel about teaching experience? Is it important to  
>>> you? Do you feel like we have opportunities here to make ourselves  
>>> marketable for tenure-track positions after graduation? Do you  
>>> think we should be able to teach lower-level courses, like History  
>>> 100? Or even courses that fit our specific interest areas?
>>>
>>> I'm TAing for History 100 this semester, and the opportunity has  
>>> given me an entirely different view of possibilities (I've been  
>>> working at CHNM for the previous 3 years). While it's kind of a  
>>> pain to grade, I appreciate the experience. Now, though, I want  
>>> teaching experience. Is there a reason why we can't teach Western  
>>> Civ? Or American survey courses? It seems like it would actually  
>>> save the university money from hiring adjuncts, plus provide more  
>>> support to PhD students, plus make us more marketable for tenure- 
>>> track positions after graduation. I know some of you lead  
>>> recitations, but aren't there only two of you (Steve & Nona)? Can  
>>> more people do that? And is anybody (besides Jeremy with Clio 2)  
>>> teaching? Or can we only teach outside GMU?
>>>
>>> What say you all?
>>>
>>> Jenny
>>>
>>>