What is a Teaching Postdoc?
By Aram Bingham & Rebecca Swanson
According to the American Association of University Professors, 68% of faculty members in the US are not on the tenure track. Many of the remaining 32% are in teaching-focused tenure-track positions. Having a strong instructional resume can help recent graduates obtain desirable teaching-oriented faculty positions. One way for a newly-minted PhD to improve their classroom instruction and build experience is to seek a Teaching Postdoc Fellow (TPF) position. TPFs are usually two- to three-year positions in which one works with an experienced mentor to learn about best practices and develop/expand their teaching resume. Such positions have become more common in recent years, although they can also vary in responsibilities and support provided. Our own TPF program at the Colorado School of Mines (Mines) began in 2015, and the authors of this post are a current mentor (Becky) and postdoc (Aram). We hope to provide context for what such programs can be, discuss our experiences, and summarize aspects that worked well and could be useful for others who are developing TPF programs.
In 2015, Becky and three colleagues wrote a proposal to develop a TPF position within the math department and were awarded two lines. The proposal contained minimum guidelines for the TPF: 16-18 credit hours of teaching (equivalent to 4-6 courses per year) and an expectation to remain active in scholarship and perform some service. A TPF would be expected to have no more than one prep per semester in the first year, and would have the opportunity to teach some advanced courses during subsequent years, but never an expectation to prepare more than two distinct classes in a semester. Minimum mentor expectations included regular classroom observations with feedback, monthly meetings to discuss teaching and professional development, opportunities for the TPD to participate in course development, and supporting their participation in service. The goal was to prepare TPFs for academic positions; the benefit to the institution would be an influx of ideas and energy, as well as a pipeline of faculty across the country with a Mines connection.
In 2022, Aram accepted the TPF position at Mines and Becky volunteered to be his mentor. We began meeting weekly to discuss teaching and our interests and goals. We quickly realized that we had a common desire to implement alternative grading models. We spent the fall reading about such models before determining a plan to implement “Mastery-Based Testing” (MBT) in Becky’s upcoming spring Linear Algebra classes. In order to determine the effectiveness of the model, we worked with our teaching and learning center on an assessment plan and student survey. This was also an opportunity for Aram to experience human subject research and the IRB process. In Spring 2023, Becky implemented the first round of MBT, and Aram assisted with the pre- and post-course surveys as well as regular discussions about the implementation and necessary adjustments. At the close of the Spring semester, we began the process of analyzing quantitative and qualitative survey data. During Aram’s second year, we both taught sections of Linear Algebra wherein we continued to use MBT and coordinate our teaching efforts.
This initial project led us to a number of related ones during Aram’s second year. First, we presented talks at both regional and national conferences. Second, we published a practitioner article in the International Linear Algebra Society bulletin, submitted a pedagogical article containing our data, and are in the process of writing another paper about the supports in place, including the existence of a TPF line, that made our implementation successful. Third, we served as inaugural co-fellows for our teaching and learning center, which provided us support in developing a web resource for faculty, and wherein we lead a university MBT workshop. Finally, the model has spread to other courses and faculty: Aram implemented a version of MBT he created in our introductory proof course, and Becky developed one for her topology course. This past spring, we worked with another faculty member using MBT in her sections of Linear Algebra. Most recently, Becky led faculty sessions on MBT at a university-wide intensive alternative grading workshop.
The impact of this experience has been immense. While Becky had previously been interested in alternative grading, Aram’s arrival was a catalyst for developing and implementing a successful system. This in turn led to presentations, publications, and, most importantly, a change to our own teaching practices as well as those of others. For Aram, the position also meant the opportunity to try out other modern pedagogies like flipped classrooms and active learning with the support and materials of Mines teaching faculty.
On the one hand, Teaching Postdocs exist in part due to erosion of permanent and tenure-line faculty positions and increasing reliance on contingent faculty to fill the gap in teaching needs within departments, especially in growing STEM-focused institutions like Mines. On the other hand, they present an opportunity for institutions, faculty, and postdocs to thrive if certain conditions are met:
Aligned Mentorship – We feel fortunate that our teaching interests aligned so well on the projects described above. This, however, was mostly due to chance! In order to get the most out of a TPF, we think that mentors among the teaching faculty at an institution should play a role in recruiting postdocs with compatible interests in order to ensure a rewarding experience for all parties, much as occurs for traditional research postdocs.
Space to Grow – We think it goes without saying that a TPF ought to receive active support from their teaching mentor(s) regarding regular instruction duties. But it’s important that the core teaching duties are not overwhelming so that the mentorship can extend beyond just keeping up with course prep, instruction, and grading. Few new PhDs have experience teaching more than one course at a time, so gradually adding new courses and providing materials to work from can help TPFs focus on important things like creating a positive learning environment for students, implementing new methods, and disseminating results to other faculty.
Support Beyond Classroom Teaching – To fulfill the goal of placing TPFs at future academic homes, it’s important to also support postdocs’ other professional interests. An appeal of the postdoc at Mines for Aram was the fact that faculty were interested in proposed mathematics outreach for the incarcerated, which led to him organizing a weekly Math Circle at a local county jail starting in spring 2023. Becky has supported Aram with this initiative, as well as in connecting him with local research communities in combinatorics. Another benefit of the position has been the opportunity to mentor undergraduates in research, which is often desirable experience for faculty positions at primarily undergraduate institutions.
TPF positions can bring important value to host institutions, mentors, and postdocs provided that they are thoughtfully conceived. By centering the professional development of the postdoc and opportunities for teaching innovation at the host institution, such positions can help foster a growth-minded culture around pedagogy within math departments. As the number of faculty with Teaching Postdoc experience grows, we hope such programs can help build stronger communal fabric around teaching mathematics.
Rebecca Swanson is a University Distinguished Teaching Professor at the Colorado School of Mines where she teaches a variety of courses, implements flipped learning and alternative grading, and serves her department and institution in multiple ways, one of her favorites being as co-advisor to the Association for Women in Mathematics. Additionally, she shows her appreciation for the MAA community by her continued service to the organization.
Aram Bingham was a Teaching Postdoc at Mines from 2022-2024, during which time he was a Project NExT Red ‘22, learned a lot about pedagogical theory and evidenced-based practices, and coordinated a Math Circle at the Boulder County Jail. He is taking Fall 2024 off to travel and continue extramural learning.