Fostering Mentorship: Graduate-Student Taught Courses

Having completed two semesters worth of college classes, I’ve encountered my fair share of professors– all with differing backgrounds, levels of experience, instruction strategies, and areas of focus. This diversity is one of Duke’s greatest strengths. But perhaps the most intriguing student-teacher dynamic that I’ve observed is one in which an instructor is able to relate to their pupils on a fundamental level. Fostering these unique relationships are none other than the 500 or so graduate students who double as professors. To maximize mentorship opportunities, it is imperative that students explore a variety of educational avenues and take graduate-student-taught classes. 

Tessa Bolsover, a PhD candidate and graduate-student professor of Writing 101 (Writing the Senses), navigates the varying dynamics in classes taught by long-term versus graduate-student instructors. “There are definitely benefits to both,” Bolsover attests. While long-term professors offer an “irreplicable depth of knowledge,” there is value in the “exciting and reciprocal” experience of being taught by a new teacher. Here, learning becomes a two-way street. By experimenting with instruction techniques in a unique and dynamic classroom environment, “everyone is learning from and with each other.” 

The three graduate-student-taught courses that I have enrolled in not only fostered collaborative environments but allowed students to receive greater personalized-attention. Whether on account of the relatability of a teacher who, like us students, is pursuing a degree in real time, or even just the smaller class size typically allocated to graduate-students, it feels noticeably comfortable to seek academic help from these instructors. 

Further, the teachers themselves may be more inclined to dole out this personalized attention. Bolsover, though acknowledging the variety of factors involved (teaching style, class size, course load, etc.), notes that many of her graduate-student peers “put a lot of time and effort into student feedback and meeting with students one on one.” 

The significance of this extra attention is not to be overlooked; taking classes taught by graduate students could be a worthwhile opportunity for mentorship.

But these courses accomplish more than a familiar classroom space for undergrads; they serve as invaluable experience for graduate students as well. When asked about the most enjoyable part of her role as a teacher, Bolsover responds enthusiastically: “The students! It’s been a gift to work with such a thoughtful and imaginative group of first-years.” Indeed, creativity flows freely in a space where learning goes both ways. Bolsover further praises her students’ “open-mindedness and willingness to experiment,” emphasizing that it “makes teaching exciting” and allows her to “experiment pedagogically as well.”

Even with these highlights, teaching a class while pursuing a degree of one’s own is not an easy feat. Not only does teaching a course require a time commitment of at least two days a week, but the course matter itself needs to be thoroughly developed beforehand– a task that, in conjunction with the immense workload of writing a dissertation, has proved “more challenging than expected” for Bolsover. 

While Bolsover acknowledges the challenge that comes with taking on the extra work of teaching, what she appreciates most about her role is the liberty that the university grants her: “graduate students get to design their own course from scratch—giving us free reign to teach the materials we’re excited about and to adapt syllabi depending on the needs and curiosities of our students.”

Duke as an institution is working to make these teaching experiences more accessible. In the English Department specifically, graduate students are provided with ample opportunities to teach either an English 90 S course or a Writing 101 course as part of the Thompson Writing Program. 

Supporting efforts to uplift graduate students as teachers is vital at this time. As Tessa Bolsover declares–and in my own experience–programs such as these “cultivate unexpected modes of engagement and dynamic new ways of thinking about education.” Graduate-student-taught courses remain, to put it simply, “an excellent resource for students.”