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Teaching Outside of Their Experties
Teaching Outside of Their Experties
Teaching outside your area of expertise can be daunting but is a reality in academia today.
Even when teaching courses about subjects you know well, there will always be some topics
you are more comfortable with relative to others. Non-experts do bring strengths to the
classroom: when teaching a less familiar subject, you're more likely to have realistic
expectations of your students, and you'll tend to focus on concrete explanations of problems
and phenomena. As with any teaching assignment, though, you will want to manage your
time, plan course content, and be respected by the students - all things we have a few
suggestions for here.
Establishing credibility
Introduce yourself, including your background, work experience, and degrees
Arrive on time or a little early
Dress professionally
Be clear about expectations and due dates
Remind students about upcoming due dates, exams, and other events
If something needs to be changed or rescheduled, ask for student preferences and
feedback
Prepare to explain confusing or difficult topics clearly and in more than one way
Do all of the course reading in advance, and be familiar with it
Learn how to field questions appropriately, and have ways of saying "I don't know
the answer"
Try to avoid
Underestimating the amount of time it takes to prepare
Assigning too much work and too many assignments
Over-preparing
These are just a few suggestions and techniques that may be helpful when you are teaching
material that you're less familiar with. Keep in mind that, as a non-expert, you have
strengths that you can use to your advantage. Furthermore, teaching outside your expertise
can broaden your knowledge base, lead to new and interesting areas of research, connect
you with faculty and colleagues in other departments and institutions, and enhance your
C.V. Let us know how it goes