The changes in this course addressed the questions that the Department of History has about what we are preparing our graduates for. We want to prepare them for research, but in reality about 50% of our graduates move into teaching positions in liberal arts or secondary tier state institutions that require little research. Therefore, we need to make sure that our graduates have exposure to thinking critically and creatively about teaching. Even if they are in a GTA position, they are not always prepared conceptually for teaching. Often the GTAs take a template for a syllabus, tinker with it, and add their favorite ideas. Adding a teaching element to this course is a small way to help them think more rigorously about how they approach teaching.
