A Scaffolded Model for Preparing Doctoral Students to Teach in Higher Education

Abstract

Even though effective teaching is required when doctoral students assume positions in higher education, few doctoral programs have courses or formalized experiences designed around pedagogy for undergraduate and graduate students. The lack of pedagogical emphasis is especially concerning for newly minted doctoral students who will be preparing future special educators to teach students with disabilities in K-12 settings. In this article, the Continuum of Teaching Experiences (CTE) Model for preparing doctoral students to teach in higher education is described. This university teaching model depicts practice opportunities that promote pedagogical learning and prepare doctoral students for independent instruction of higher education courses. The CTE model scaffolds opportunities that provide doctoral students with varied entry points across a continuum of possibilities. Additionally, the CTE model is highly adaptable across multiple doctoral preparation programs, emphasizing a malleable framework that can be refined for variable programmatic needs.