1: Graduate Student Internships as a Pathway to the Profession of Educational Development

Abstract

Educational developers can help create a cadre of well‐prepared new professionals by mentoring them during graduate study. Through an educational development intern position, we created a mentorship opportunity for graduate students interested in the field of educational development as a career opportunity. Teaching center staff, participating graduate student interns, and the field of educational development benefited from the model.

Mentoring Graduate Student Staff in a Center for Teaching and Learning: Goals and Aligned Practices

“…The principles of good mentoring hold true in CTL settings—GSS, like other graduate students, benefit from clear expectations, regular meetings, feedback, inclusivity, and tailored mentoring (University of Michigan, Rackham Graduate School, ). Such careful mentoring requires effort, dedication, and reflection on the part of the mentor (Zachary, ; Linder et al, ). Fortunately, just as investment in mentoring for faculty can improve productivity and experiences for everyone involved (Barry, ; Yun & Sorcinelli, ), such effort can have rich rewards not only for the graduate students being mentored, but also for the CTL itself.…”

“…Exactly what structure GSS responsibilities take varies quite a bit. At University of California‐Davis, for example, GSS help to facilitate the TA orientation, provide individual consultations, and facilitate workshops (Huntzinger, McPherron, & Rajagopal, ); while the GSS position at Ohio State constitutes a fuller, 20‐hour a week position encapsulating similar activities, but also more substantive teaching duties, teaching center administrative responsibilities, and professionalization activities, such as conference attendance (Linder et al, ). Such capacity‐building might focus on the programs and services offered by the CTL, but may also help to develop departmental collaborations.…”

“…While typically instituted for the purpose of advancing a CTL's mission, a GSS position also offers the potential for an outstanding professional development and leadership opportunity for the graduate student who occupies it. With intentional mentoring, such an opportunity has the potential to be a transformative experience for the student while also improving CTL programming (see, e.g., Huntzinger et al, ; Linder et al, ).…”

“…In addition to work on graduate student mentorship, our contribution can also be situated within the literature on what might be called “educational development development.” Educational developers have investigated training, mentorship, and career pathways into educational development (Gosling, McDonald, & Stockley, ; McDonald & Stockley, ; Stefani, ), with some focused specifically on how GSS positions within CTLs might play a role in this process (Linder et al, ; Meizlish & Wright, ). While the exploration of and preparation for a possible career in educational development is one of several professional development goals we articulate below, our aim is to think expansively about the many kinds of developmental goals GSS positions are well positioned to advance.…”

Developmental Stages of New Graduate Student Instructional Consultants: Implications for Professional Growth

“…Their self‐assessments of expertise and consulting strategies largely represent characterizations of working with graduate students, as graduate students. Because graduate student educational development experiences are an important pathway to faculty development careers (Linder et al, ), their development as consultants is an important area of study. However, their experiences may not best approximate the transitions that faculty‐to‐faculty developers encounter.…”