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.