PFF Promises Practitioners Better Prepared for the Professorate

The better the teacher, the more he or she needs to know about teaching techniques. The more competitive the academic job market, the more aspiring applicants need to know about distinguishing themselves from others. That's the view of Carl Huether, professor of biology and director of the university's unique Preparing Future Faculty Program (PFF).

A longtime advocate of improvements in pedagogy, Huether says, “We have been training our pre-docs and post-docs for far too long just to be researchers instead of providing them a better balance in teaching preparation and helping them discover which academic institution is best for them as individuals. The reality is that the great majority of academic positions available in the United States each year are not at major research institutions but rather in colleges and universities that emphasize teaching. These are reasons why we need to 'Re-envision the PhD,' and PFF is one component of that.”

PFF is open to all doctoral and postdoctoral students at UC and to master's degree students where it is the terminal degree. Its goal is to familiarize students with the full complexity and responsibilities of the professoriate, including the demands of teaching, research, and service. Huether sees this as a way of making graduates more competitive when they leave the university to seek jobs in academe.

Level 1 Participants enroll in fall quarter's two-credit course, Becoming a More Effective Teacher, and in winter quarter's two-credit offering, The Academic Job Search Process. They are also required to attend five of seven Teaching Assistant Workshops given by the Division of Graduate Studies and to participate in at least two reading groups offered irregularly during the academic year. Students in life sciences can take an additional one-credit course.

Students who complete Participant level expectations are invited to become PFF Fellows. Each fellow is expected to lead a reading group discussion and, more important, to engage in a 40-hour mentoring experience at any of four collaborating institutions(Miami, Mount St. Joseph, NKU, or Xavier). Fellows have access to funding for attendance at regional educational events such as Miami University's November Lilly Conference. The mentoring experience provides excellent opportunities for meeting with faculty outside UC and learning of their institutions' expectations in teaching, research, and service.

Huether sees this as a crucial element of the program “because it helps students to determine the best institutional fit for their professional interests and careers.” The students also consider it a very positive part of the program.

There is no set time or sequence for completing either level of the program, although 100-110 hours or two hours per week over a period of two years is the estimated time commitment. Successful participation in PFF is officially indicated on students' transcripts, and they are awarded a Certificate of Completion by the program and graduate division.

Huether says that besides developing teaching skills based upon how they learn and experiencing job search opportunities that will more likely place them where they want to be, PFF participants also thoroughly enjoy meeting and working with other PFF students throughout the university.

Jeri Goodman, a doctoral candidate, echoes his enthusiasm: “I completed my certificate in the spring, but the lessons I learned will stay with me throughout my academic career. The PFF classes, mentoring experience, and exposure to opportunities around UC gave me access to information, to a network of people, and to a new understanding of myself as a future university faculty member.”

More information about PFF is available at

www.grad.uc.edu/pff