Corinna S. Schindler, Chemistry | 2020-2021
An integral component of undergraduate teaching at the University of Michigan relies on graduate student-led discussion sections and laboratory courses. In most cases, the instructors are highly motivated first-year graduate students who are inexperienced as teachers and often have not been subjected to modern teaching practices centered on equity and inclusion. Additionally, many incoming graduate students feel overwhelmed with the sudden demands of taking graduate courses themselves, starting laboratory research, and teaching undergraduate students. In this project, we will develop a strategy that aims to improve teaching at the undergraduate level in gateway chemistry courses at the University of Michigan by bridging the information gaps of incoming graduate students who will later serve as instructors for discussion sections and laboratory courses. The expected outcomes include graduate student instructors with improved teaching skills who feel confident in their knowledge of the course material taught as part of the undergraduate curriculum. This will result in the opportunity to further enhance the quality of our undergraduate organic chemistry courses with a particular focus on including inclusive teaching practices in graduate student-led instruction.