Lecturer Vs teacher: Are newly conferred PhDs prepared for the classroom?

This paper argues that training for PhD students needs to be reconsidered on a more holistic level. The underlying premise of a PhD is rigorous training in research and the ability to clearly articulate and communicate original research findings in written, verbal and often visual form. Mitchell (2007) contends that research training is only one aspect of the PhD process and that training in and preparation for the classroom is just as critical for a PhD student as an emerging academic in the contemporary university. As PhD students are challenged with being a student, being a lecturer (or tutor), designing their research, reading extensively and conducting fieldwork, there leaves very little time to learn how to actually teach a cohort of university students. Building on work by Harland & Plangger (2004) and Mitchell (2007) who explored changing roles in doctoral education and potential changes in the PhD training model, this paper suggests that there needs to be, even on a very basic level, a classroom pedagogy training initiative in place, specifically for PhD candidates who will chose to remain in a university teaching environment. This paper has incorporated a unique qualitative research method, autoethnography. My personal story about the transition from being a postgraduate student to being a full time lecturer is woven through the paper reflecting on classroom pedagogy, my career as a new lecturer, and how my post-graduate experiences prepared me (or did not prepare me) for what I would encounter in and out of the classroom. While my experience as a PhD student is contextualized in a faculty concentrated on disciplines within the built environment it is possible that other disciplines lack similar preparation and guidance during PhD candidature and therefore may find relevance in this paper. It should be noted that Australian universities are the basis for this inquiry. Universities in other western countries such as the United States and Canada have varied requirements and timeframes for PhD candidacy and necessitate future analysis as contrasting higher education models of PhD training.

Key Phrase: PhD training, learning and teaching, Boyer Commission