180. Becoming an Educator w/ Dr. Alaina Talboy

You’re in graduate school, so you’re probably pretty smart. You’ve learned a lot of material over the years, and managed to apply that knowledge in tests, papers, and projects.

But ‘knowing a lot’ doesn’t mean you’re ready to teach others. Becoming an educator takes time, dedication and attention.

This week, we talk with Dr. Alaina Talboy about the skill of teaching others, and how you can apply that in careers outside the classroom.

We’re joined once again by Dr. Alaina Talboy, author of What I Wish I Knew: A Field Guide for Thriving in Graduate Studies. We last talked with her about why you should never refer to yourself as a ‘graduate student‘, and how to find teaching opportunities during your graduate training.

This week, we look more closely at the philosophy of education, and how you can develop your personal teaching style.

Develop Your Teaching Style

Looking back on her first teaching experience, Dr. Talboy recognizes she was not ready for the classroom.

“When I went into to teach my first session, I sucked at public speaking,” she recalls.

“I read from the slides, I was inflexible, and I didn’t really know what it meant to be an educator. And I will fully own that I was atrocious as a teacher that first year. I had a lot of issues I had to work through.”

Thankfully, she recognized the need for improvement. She sought out mentors who could help, and started to think carefully about her own unique teaching philosophy.

“I had a conversation with my teaching advisor and asked: ‘Does this get easier’? Because I was worried it would never get easier. And I would never really get an understanding of what it meant to be an educator.”

Her mentor’s response shaped Dr. Talboy’s approach. “She told me, ‘Think about the professors that you really like: what is it that you liked about them? And then at the same time, think about the professors you hated and what did you hate about their classes?”

That reflection led to a motivating insight: “I realized I was doing the stuff that I hated!” she says. It came from a place of fear and inexperience, but no matter the source, it was hindering her ability to reach her students.

So she started to think once again about those classes and professors that she admired. What were they doing that was so engaging? Was it just interesting subject matter? A good sense of humor? Their oratory skills?

Over the next weeks and months, Dr. Talboy began to emulate her best professors – modeling her teaching on theirs. She ‘tried on’ their styles, and found out which ones fit.

She learned that she didn’t have the comedic timing to be like her ‘funny’ professors, but she did have a passion for neuroscience and ‘geeking out’ that could draw students into her enthusiasm.

“And that is the way that I find I am actually connecting with my students because I get very passionate,” she says. “I get very animated.