All students must take Psy 895 before being allowed to teach an undergraduate course. In rare instances Psy 895 can be taken concurrently, but there must be an acceptable rationale for this, and prior permission to do so must be obtained from the SDSU Co-Director.
The course involves developing a syllabus, choosing a textbook, and other preparations necessary before actually teaching a course. The course is taught on an individualized basis. The final requirement for the course is a formal teaching evaluation, involving a discussion of teaching philosophy, an hour being observed teaching, and both written and verbal feedback form the instructor. Teacher ratings from students in the class are also reviewed as part of completing this course. Grades for Psy 895 will be CR/NCR. Students receiving No Credit in the course will not be allowed to teach in subsequent semesters. No grade will be issued for Psy 895 until after the formal teaching evaluation is completed.
Students successfully passing the course will be able to teach as frequently as their Guidance Committee feels is appropriate.
Students who have not completed their own required JDP courses must check with the instructor of their courses about scheduled days and times before requesting a specific teaching time or assignment so that there will be no conflict. Required courses have priority. The department has the right to refuse to reschedule because of the many factors that go into preparing the department course schedule.
Final Reminders about Teaching
- Considerable advance planning is required to teach a course. Not only do the required JDP courses have priority, but so do the research and practicum placements. It is imperative that a student checks the course schedule, any practicum placement supervision times, etc. before agreeing to a specific day/time to teach. Remember that it is very difficult for the Psychology Department to change the undergraduate course schedule once it has been set.
- If a student is scheduled to teach for experience and/or extra money (i.e., in addition to the stipend) and another student experiences a last minute crisis situation of no stipend, the student with other funding may be “bumped” in order to provide income for the student needing support. To date, this has never happened and the program will do whatever possible to see that it does not.
- As a part of securing permission to teach, it is important to discuss any modifications that may need to be made in the student’s research and practicum work schedule. Conflicts that may arise as a result of the time required for teaching can usually be avoided with advance planning.