Teaching While Learning

Reality often means teaching before you are ready. We get emails about Teaching Assistantships and feel that is maybe what we should do alongside classwork or writing. I was never a TA, but I had experience teaching for the Honors College at my University as an employee. I get wanting to be a TA, and a tuition discount or waiver is a major incentive. So, why not? I had the luxury of starting with a one-hour reading course. These courses offer a wide range of topics and are meant to prepare students to talk about more than just textbooks or to work on projects. It’s a chance to take a weird class and mention it in an interview or an essay. Being able to say, “I took a class on Honeybee Biology,” “Propaganda,” or “Readings in Espionage” sounds better in an interview or discussion (for the student). For me, it was an easy way to start teaching.

I will say that one of the hardest parts of teaching, early in your career or even later as a full tenure-track professor, is not knowing everything. Students don’t always understand that you’re not an expert on everything you’re teaching. They expect you to know it all. I address this on day one with a general about-me slide that includes my research interests. I say in person that I’m an expert on x and that I’m not an expert on everything. You don’t know everything, and you can’t; why hide that? Let students know your specifics, and if they ask a question you can’t answer, that’s okay. I say that’s outside my expertise, but let’s look it up and see what we can find. It’s important to remember that you are still in the learning process and that teaching is an evolving process. It changes all the time, especially with AI. Allow teaching to become a similar space and figure out what works and what doesn’t. It’ll make you better.

Pedagogy is about learning; it’s a feedback loop. When we assume the role of the educator, students’ comprehension or confusion becomes the raw data we use to rebuild and deepen our own knowledge – the loop. Student questions reveal gaps in our learning and assumptions, adding to the loop. Sometimes they clarify what you need a bit more information on or what you didn’t realize you lacked. In my class, I often say I think the year is x and then say, “Fact-check me.” While I ask them not to have their phones and computers out, this is one time it’s okay. Students love Google and fact-checking. It’s a fun shared experience if you phrase it that way. And it makes you relatable and a bit more real in their eyes. You are willing to say, “I might be wrong; let’s see.” This is a great way to build trust.

Fact-checking reminds you that scholarship is communal, not solitary. Teaching while learning strengthens your intellectual flexibility. Remember, you don’t teach because you’ve finished learning; you teach because learning is the work (the loop). Embrace the role of teaching while learning! Build your confidence in the best way you can.