Who wants to be a professor?

Cesar D. Guerrero

Computer Science and Engineering

Question?

As a graduate student, what could you do to get ready for an academic position?

• What is expected from junior faculty?

• What could I do to be prepared in advance?

Challenges for junior faculty• Teaching and mentoring: focusing on the learner rather

than the teacher, active learning, technology-mediated education, distance learning, etc.

• Research: raising research money, exploring new well funded areas, and publishing papers

• Administrative and service tasks: curriculum, accreditation, committees, community service, budgets, conferences, marketing, etc.

What is the risk?

Pictures copied from ASEE PRISM Vol. 16. Num. 5 January 2007

What can a graduate student do?Teaching

• Do not limit your TA to grading. Ask your professor for a teaching opportunity. Document your experience. Prepare your teaching portfolio.

• Do not refuse to mentor undergraduates. Instead, be proactive participating in REU programs or joining to MentorNet (www.mentornet.net)

• Join email lists and education-related organizations in your field: Tomorrow’s professor

(https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/tomorrows-professor) Engineering: ASEE(www.asee.org) Computer science: SIGCSE(www.sigcse.org)

• Keep your website updated

• Attend to workshops for teaching excellence

• Read books related to teaching:Adviser, Teacher, Role model, Friend(http://books.nap.edu/readingroom/books/mentor/)

What can a graduate student do?Research

• Establish scientific networks with other institutions

• Help your advisor to write proposals. Get familiar with the NSF web site (www.nsf.gov)

• Document your research experience as RA or any other you may have. Your web site is an excellent place to do it.

• Join email lists and academic organizations in your specific area of research.

• Get familiar with well known tools used in research:

Latex (http://www.latex-project.org/) Endnote (http://www.endnote.com/) Matlab or any other in your area

• Publish, publish, publish …

What can a graduate student do?Administrative and service tasks

• Join student organizations boards.

• Learn about accreditation in the program you might want to become Faculty.

• Do not refuse to evaluate conference papers.

• Get familiar with the activities performed by faculty in your department. Ask your advisor about them: Procedures (travel, budget, start up packages) Meetings Tenure

USF Workshops and seminars

• Graduate instruction methods (school of engineering)• Teaching Portfolio• Assessment of Student Learning • Active Learning• Real-Time Online Interactions• Blackboard• Learning-centered Syllabus • Blackboard's Communication Tools• Creating Web Pages• Clickers• Dealing with Challenging Student Behaviors• Student Learning Outcomes: Identifying, Articulating, and Achieving Them • Writing Case Studies • Developing Students' Critical Thinking Skills• What is Inquiry-based Learning? • Managing a Career as an Academic Researcher and Scholar• Writing Successful Grants for NSF Educational Funding Opportunities • Promoting Active Learning in Large Classes • Copyright Issues and Teaching • Fostering a Positive Learning Environment for all Students• Leading Online Discussions• Creating an Online Teaching Portfolio in Blackboard

http://www.csee.usf.edu/~guerrerc