1	Early Career Teaching Experiences and Strategies Jill McCluskey Associate Professor School of Economic Sciences Washington State University Pullman, WA USA
2	Before you Start: Find an Outstanding Teaching Mentor A mentor can attend some of your lectures and give constructive feedback Discuss issues with you that come up in the classroom during the semester Be your advocate to the Chair and other administrators Offer advice
3	Finding a Mentor Things to look for in a mentor Outstanding teacher Similar teaching style to your own Respected in the profession, university, and dept. Supportive Things to avoid in a mentor Different teaching style than your own Unhappy and/or negative person
4	Overall Approach to Teaching
5	Know every student’s first name by the third week of class.
6	Answer the 5-W’s: Who, What, When, Where, and Why?
7	Adhere to the 5-P’s: Prepare, Prepare, Prepare, Prepare, Prepare . . .
8	Don’t Replace Yourself with Technology . . . Supplement Yourself with Technology.
9	Provide Examples
10	No Boundary between Research and Teaching Incorporate cutting-edge research at both the undergraduate and graduate levels Undergraduate: Discuss unanswered problems. Ask for the students’ hypotheses. Discuss your own research as it relates to the course. Graduate: look for unaddressed problems that are related to lectures and are opportunities for research. Offer at least ten research topics that would make a good thesis or dissertation. Encourage them to write journal articles
11	Your own Evaluations: Provide Evidence of Teaching Efforts Teaching a great class is your most important objective. However, if you are an active researcher, questions may come up about time spent on teaching. Sign up for formal Professional Development activities in the area of Teaching. e.g. AAEA teaching pre-conferences University opportunities Participate in special teaching grants/projects. Have a colleague “peer-review” one of your courses. Publish a “teaching” study.
12	Student Evaluations Be smart about timing. For example, don’t hand out evaluations on the same day as you hand back an exam. Remember that they are only one form of feedback/quality measures. (There are many alternatives). They are subjective—they can vary wildly based on who is in your class. Many faculty “play games” to increase their evaluations. Faculty know who is doing this, and colleagues lose respect and discount those scores. Different departments place differing weights on evaluations.
13	Female Agricultural Economists are Invasive Species The “chilly climate” in academia: the subtle and unconscious gender bias impacting daily life. Many academic studies provide evidence that ceteris paribus students will give higher evaluations to male professors. Students expect a male professor in his 50s--not a young woman. Some male international students have trouble with a woman in a position of authority over them.
14	Supervising Graduate Students Choose to supervise students who will work hard Have high expectations for them Enlist their help in grant writing Be the student’s advocate Engage them in interesting research Praise them for their successes and let them know you appreciate their hard work.
15	Summary