May 6 – 7, 2011, University of Toronto

CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES

In graduate school, students must navigate a path between their work as emerging scholars and the expectations associated with becoming a practicing professional, whether within or beyond academe. While expectations for completing degree requirements may be made clear to students in a graduate program, expectations for working beyond the degree are often less successfully communicated. Students are not always fully prepared for the range of   responsibilities associated with an academic position. They may lack the interpersonal and project management skills necessary to initiate and oversee research projects or contribute effectively to course planning or program reviews. They may not have had sufficient opportunities to learn about and practice teaching in their discipline. Graduates can at times face challenges in the non-academic workplace as well, where expectations for effective communication and decision-making are high.  Graduate students therefore experience a tension between the idealized role of the intellectual or researcher and the reality of the expectations associated with a professional workplace.  Navigating Your PATHwill bring together faculty members, administrators, educational developers, librarians, student support staff, professionals, and most importantly, students from all over Canada, the United States and points beyond to examine the latest research and practices in graduate student development and Teaching Assistant (TA) training. In discussing how we prepare graduate students for teaching, curriculum planning, research, publishing, grant-seeking, report-writing, public speaking, community work, etc., we hope to clarify for graduate students (and those who work to support them) the paths that lie ahead.