LEARNING TO TEACH: Graduate student instructor and CEE Ph.D. Kofi Inkabi taught a CEE design class a year after he took the same class. He says that adjusting to the role of teacher was a shock at first.

Graduate student instructor talks about his journey from student to teacher

CEE Ph.D. Kofi Inkabi dreamed of being a college professor, but after teaching his first class as a graduate student instructor (GSI), he wasn’t so sure he had what it took. The shock of transitioning from student to teacher with so little preparation left him feeling daunted and doubting his career choice.

Inkabi’s first stab at teaching was for a class he took the year before, CE 180/290E: Construction, Maintenance and Design of Civil & Environmental Engineered Systems.

When he took the class, his GSI simply supervised students as they met in groups, but Inkabi had a great idea on how to improve the discussion section. He added supplemental lectures on material not covered in class.

His first lecture didn’t go as well as he expected.

“The students just sat there with blank stares. There was no interaction, and I don’t think they got the material,” he says.

Inkabi was discouraged and felt as if his professional aspirations were dashed. He spoke to Professor Robert Bea, who taught the class.

“I told Professor Bea that I wasn’t cut out to be a professor. He said that I shouldn’t give up because I failed the first time. He suggested that I relate the material to personal experience to help the students connect to it better.”

At the next class Inkabi apologized to the students for giving them too much dense information to digest and went over the material again, this time using a PowerPoint presentation and many personal examples from his professional experience. To his amazement, the students gave him a round of applause at the end of the class.

Currently, new GSIs receive little training and, in a belt-tightening climate, there is little hope for more. GSIs are currently given a day-long orientation and a policy handbook before being sent out into the classroom.

In an effort to improve his teaching skills, Inkabi has sought the advice and experiences of his fellow GSIs and visited the GSI resource center. He also solicits feedback from his students. But he contends that the best teacher for teaching is simply experience.

“It’s very hard to train someone to be a teacher. The most important thing is to be committed to learning as you go. Like everything, teaching takes practice,” he says.

Inkabi was recently interviewed by U.S. News and World Report about the difficulties and rewards of student teaching and the resources available to student instructors. The story will appear this spring to complement the publication’s annual ranking of U.S. graduate schools.

Now in his second year as a GSI for the same class, Inkabi is more confident but he’s not relaxing. The process of forging relationships with students and gaining their trust is an ongoing effort. He’s finally comfortable with his transition from student to teacher and says that teaching is the best learning experience.

“I feel prepared for my career because I no longer have preconceived notions about what a professor is and does,” he says.

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