The Philosophers' Cocoon

Most of our discussions at the Cocoon on improving one's job-market competitiveness have focused on publishing. There are probably good reasons for this, as an ability to publish effectively is important for tenure and promotion at most tenure-track jobs. However, at the Cocoon conference this past weekend, I and another tenure-track faculty member from another institution were asked a really good question by several grad students: what should PhD programs and candidates do to improve candidates' competitiveness for jobs at teaching-focused institutions? I'm actually a bit disappointed we're never discussed this question before, as it became quite clear during our conversation (viz. agreement between the other faculty member and I) that grad programs could probably do a much better job in this regard. Allow me to explain.

Although I am sure different PhD programs approach things differently, my overall sense–both from personal experience in grad school and speaking with grad students this past weekend–is that grad programs tend to give students relatively narrow experience teaching, having them TA or teach classes primarily in (A) widely taught introductory courses (Intro, Logic, Ethics, etc.) or (B) their particular Areas of Specialization. This was broadly my experience. I attended two PhD programs–first Syracuse for two years, then transferring to Arizona. At both schools, some students had research assistantships, and so didn't TA for their first few years. The rest of us tended to TA for intro-level courses (again, things like logic, ethics, etc.), and then teach our own courses, usually but not always in our AOS, as we proceeded through the program. In my case, I taught a number of intro courses, as well as some specialized courses in my Ethics AOS, such as business ethics. Fortunately, since both of my programs placed priority on teaching experience, I taught a few courses outside of these areas: an intro-level philosophy of science course as well as a course in philosophy of religion. Finally, I also taught a few summer courses outside of my AOS at a local community college related to my cognitive science minor.

At least offhand, this approach seems to make sense: grad students are not only best qualified to teach common intro-level courses (intro, ethics, etc.) as well as courses in their AOS; these also appear to be the most likely areas they will be asked to teach if hired into a tenure-track job. However, is this really the best approach–particularly when it comes to making candidates competitive for jobs at teaching-focused institutions? Allow me to share my experience, which the other faculty member in the conversation (who also works at a teaching institution) concurred with.

Teaching-focused schools often have very small departments, often with a pretty large array of courses they need to have taught, both at an introductory level but also for electives and major or minor. Because many teaching-focused schools (like most universities these days) rely heavily on adjunct labor, their primary teaching need in making a tenure-track hire may not be the kinds of common intro-level courses that PhD students get most of their experience as TA's or instructors. Instead, at a teaching school, the school may need a new tenure-track hire to teach upper-level courses both in their AOS but also outside of their AOS. For instance, small schools may have major requirements and electives in a broad range of areas, such as ancient philosophy, modern philosophy, logic, metaphysics, etc. Further, because such schools may have few full-time faculty–who may or may not be qualified to teach some of these courses, or, even if they are qualified, might not want to teach them–teaching-centered departments may have reason to prefer candidates with broad teaching experience; a person who can be a kind of "jack of all trades", with a track-record teaching not just a narrow band of courses in their AOS, but a wide variety of courses. Interestingly, both of us–myself and the other faculty-member from a teaching school (who previously had a job in at least one other teaching school)–appeared to agree upon this.

But now if this is right, what does it mean for PhD programs and job-candidates? It would seem to mean that, at least as far as obtaining teaching jobs are concerned, PhD programs and (some) job-candidates may not be approaching teaching-experience in the most optimal way. Instead of providing grad students primarily with narrow opportunities to teach common intro-level courses and courses in their AOS, grad programs and candidates should–at least as far as is possible–look for broader teaching opportunities, such as having students TA for courses outside of their AOS as well as teach less-common lower-level courses outside of their AOS, such as courses in the history of philosophy, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, etc. Obviously, there may be serious institutional constraints here. Some schools may not be permitted to have grad students teach a variety of courses–which they may not be able to do much about. But this brings me to another issue: opportunities to teach at community colleges and other nearby institutions. Most grad schools, or so I've heard, contractually obligate grad students not to pursue outside work while in their programs. Although I understand why this is–such constraints may incentivize students to focus on finishing the program instead of getting side-tracked on other things–it may be worth having a discussion whether students successfully proceeding through their programs should be afforded some opportunities to teach a broader array of courses, perhaps at nearby community colleges. Finally, of course, since not all programs provide summer funding, and so students may be free to seek outside work opportunities during summers, grad students might consider teaching summer courses outside of their AOS at nearby institutions as well.

Anyway, I'm curious: what kinds of teaching experience are grad students receiving in their programs? What kinds of opportunities to teach outside of their programs do they have? And, how much flexibility do grad programs have here?