Pedagogical Training for MFA Students

In the second year of the program, MFA students are given the opportunity to teach the introductory creative-writing seminar, English 223 (the course covers two genres, typically fiction and poetry), and/or a course in composition. To prepare for this experience, students participate in a series of training sessions covering such topics as how to put together a reading list and prepare a syllabus, what to do on the first day of class, how to lead a good discussion or workshop, how to design effective excercises and respond to student work, how to grade fairly, how to hold conferences and how to save time for one's own writing without sacrificing the quality of one's teaching. The training sessions, which are intended to be practical in nature, cover thorny and little-discussed issues such as responding to material with problematic content; responding to sexuality in the classroom; responding to racism, sexism, homophobia and anti-Semitism in the classroom; responding to students with emotional and academic difficulties; etc. Toward the end of the training program, a faculty member observes the student in the classroom and offers friendly suggestions for more effective teaching.

Support continues throughout the student's teaching career at the University, with the director of the undergraduate creative-writing program acting as a mentor and advisor to each MFA cohort. Graduates of the program may apply for a one-year post-graduate lectureship as teachers of composition; MFA students are also provided with guidance in finding a first teaching position beyond the U of M. This innovative program is one of the few of its kind in the country.