Establishing an Effective Teaching Persona
As you prepare to introduce yourself and your course, spend
some time thinking hard about self-presentation: what kind of
persona do you want to project in your teaching? Of course, every
teacher already has a strong personality, likes and dislikes,
and a series of selves or personae, all of which are important.
But every teacher also assumes certain positions or locations
within the classroom and the University, and these also call
for careful thought.
Your course description and syllabus already project a teaching
persona, one you may want to examine closely and even reconsider.
You should probably aim for a tone that is friendly, firm, and
fair. The following questions will help you establish that tone:
- How will you refer to students? Most instructors
use first names, but some ask students about this issue. You
should probably avoid class nicknames, since some students
may be offended at them.
- How do you want students to refer to you? Many instructors
resolutely sign responses and email messages with first names,
only to be persistently referred to by students as “Professor” or “Dr.” Unless
you have a very strong preference to describe yourself as a
graduate teaching assistant or lecturer, it’s probably
wisest and most consistent with PWR terminology to use “instructor.”
- How will your age, gender, race, ethnicity, and any other
aspects of your identity write themselves into your teaching
persona? Identity is a crucial element of all teaching
lives (and student lives), so reflecting on aspects of identity
and their relationship to your teaching persona is especially
important.
- How will your choice of demeanor, dress, and language
affect student perception? Again, there are no rules
to follow here, but you should be aware that students draw
conclusions based on such characteristics all the time and
that such conclusions affect your teaching environment. In
general, more formal clothing suggests authority and credibility.
- How will your knowledge of rhetoric and writing as well
as of your topic relate to the persona you project?
These aspects will inform students’ responses to you
and to each other as much as they will their papers – yet
another reason why reflection and preparation is so crucial
to a successful class.
You may want to ask yourself these questions periodically as
you redefine your ever-evolving teaching persona.
