Supervised College Teaching from the Supervised College Teacher's Perspective

The atmospheric science department at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) offers a three-credit course entitled �Supervised College Teaching� to advanced graduate students that have successfully completed the preliminary examination to enter the Ph.D. program. This course affords an opportunity to develop and execute a full course from start to finish under the direct supervision of a faculty member. During the spring 2015 semester, the lead author participated as a student-teacher in this course under the supervision of the second author, teaching the �Forecasting Mesoscale Processes� course. This course is offered as a cross-listed 400-level undergraduate and 500-level graduate course and serves as UAH's mesoscale meteorology course offering. This presentation serves as a comprehensive synopsis of the �Supervised College Teaching� experience from the eyes of the supervised college teacher. Topics discussed include the technical details of the execution of the experience, expectations by the student-teacher before the course, challenges both anticipated and unforeseen during the semester, the importance of the student-supervisor relationship to the successful classroom experience, and how this experience will prove advantageous to the student-teacher in the future. Key successes and important needs for improvement on the part of the student-teacher are addressed. Finally, a few techniques utilized in the class are briefly highlighted.