Abstract

A clear gap exists between graduate students’ teaching experience and the expectation of new faculty in colleges of agriculture. Current training provides insufficient opportunity to improve pedagogical skills for graduate students. As an organized practicum, PhD students in the Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky can participate in a training module in which they design and teach a one-credit course. In this study, we used a survey of 48 faculty and graduate students and course evaluations to assess module outcomes. Respondents found the one credit teaching module to be valuable and effective. Graduate teaching outcomes were comparable to the college and university averages. Statistical evidence shows that teaching a one-credit course is an innovative training module in preparing graduate students to be the instructor of record for three-credit courses and further teaching responsibilities in their future academic career.

Keywords: teaching, graduate, pedagogy, module, one-credit