Below is a list of websites and some print resources on teaching as an international student, the American educational curriculum, and language support. We’ve categorized and annotated the sources to give you a sense of how, when and why you might use them.
Though the resources below are written specifically for international students or international teaching assistants, you’ll find a lot of helpful resources on other websites on teaching and learning, such as the Graduate Center’s own Teaching and Learning Center’s Handbook, written specifically for GC students starting their teaching careers, and the Center’s Guides on topics ranging from Educational Technology to Writing across the Curriculum and how to navigate CUNY. Also have a look at the TLC’s blog, Visible Pedagogy, for many sample activities, reflections, and experiences.
General
“International Teaching Assistants Guide.” Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/itas/
This handbook provides general information about the American university system, such as typical high school preparation and cost of attendance, before it gives more details on Vanderbilt University students. It also explains what the “general characteristics of the U.S. classroom” are like, saying that it’s a mostly informal space in which students are free and encouraged to ask questions and voice opinions. It briefly mentions assignments and grading conventions. It then suggests ways in which International Teaching Assistants or ITAs can address language differences in the classroom, offering some sample phrases to use. Some of the information on the educational system might be useful, as are some of the sample phrases, and it might be interesting to read how a college projects its classroom environment to ITAs, but we feel that it assumes teaching as an ITA only presents challenges, and nothing in the form of classroom enrichment.
“International Teaching Assistant Handbook.” Wake Forest University. http://tlc.wfu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/TLC-Handbook-for-International-TAs.pdf
This handbook, which also focuses on international teaching assistants, so not so much on graduate students teaching their own classes, provides an overall characterization of the Wake Forest University’s students, like their high school background and how much tuition they pay. It also gives a basic explanation of the American curriculum, defining concepts such as electives. It then gives advice on how to interact with students in the classroom, also pointing out that classroom environments tend to be informal and that “students expect instructors to appear friendly and open to interaction.” Finally, this handbook suggests some phrases international TA’s can use when speaking with students during office hours or in class.
Overall, this handbook, which borrows heavily from Vanderbilt’s TA guide, gives a clear but basic overview of what it can be like to teach in American classroom but the section on classroom interaction maybe reveal more on how such colleges see international TAs and their potential disconnect with a supposedly more informal and “friendly” American classroom environment.
“Being an International Teacher” Ohio State University Center for the Advancement of Teaching https://ucat.osu.edu/bookshelf/international/international-teacher/
This link takes you to Ohio State’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching’s main overview of resources for international instructors. It provides links to other sites on the educational system, US classroom culture, communication strategies, phrases for teaching and a glossary of American academic jargon. Unlike Vanderbilt and Wake Forest’s handbook, this site starts by saying that international faculty and TAs are highly valued, and their communication strategies, for example, emphasize a dialogical process, in which the instructor and the students are mutually engaged in the learning process. So, even though it still offers resources to overcome differences, it sees international instructors as adding value to the classroom and their interactions with students as beneficial to both.
“Tips for Surviving as an International Teaching Assistant.” Duquesne University Center for Teaching Excellence. http://www.duq.edu/about/centers-and-institutes/center-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-and-learning/surviving-as-an-international-ta
As the word “surviving” in the title indicates, this list of tips focuses mostly on how to communicate clearly and overcome the accent “barrier” and how to “overcome” cultural differences. More even than the previous two handbooks, which still contain some useful practical information about the American educational system, this resource seems to view the international background of the ITAs more as a hurdle to be overcome than an asset to be build on.
Ekaterina Ashavskaya, “International Teaching Assistants’ experiences in the U.S. classroom: Implications for Practice.” Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 15.2 (2015): 56-69 http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1059429.pdf See also: http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolitais/issues/2014-05-21/4.html
This article presents results and recommendations based on a qualitative study of the experiences of ITAs in their first semester teaching at American colleges. Samples of common challenges have to do with classroom management, and instructional, linguistic and cultural differences. The study finds that ITA preparation programs and their home departments need to do more to support international instructors, which may include “buddy programs” as a means of cultural exchange and education between U.S. undergrads and ITAs, and preparation classes in “global English.”
Heike C. Alberts, Helen D Hazen, eds. International Students and Scholars in the United States: Coming from Abroad, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013 (online access through GC library)
Sarkisian, Ellen. Teaching American Students: A Guide for International Faculty And Teaching Assistants in Colleges And Universities. 3rd Ed. 2006. Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard U. Print: link to entry
