What is a preceptor?â
A preceptor is a student teaching assistant. A student can preceptor for a course at the U of A in which they are currently taking or have taken in the past. The course can be in your major area but does not have to be. A preceptor works in a teaching team with their professor and TAs in order to better aid students.
How do preceptors help UA courses?
Preceptors do various things based on what the class goals are, what assignments the course has, and the course topic.
Some typical preceptor duties include holding office hours, hosting exam review sessions, and creating fun in-class activities. Preceptors have also created course Facebook pages, worked as research assistants, helped with out-of-class activities, designed course materials and study guides, created mini lectures, and even hosted peer editing sessions.
One of the least considered, but most important, roles of preceptors is to be an extra eye for the professor. As a student, you get to experience the course from the perspective of the student body. Preceptors often use this advantage to give the professor insight about what could be improved to maximize students' success. This unique view offered by preceptors is something professors may not fully get otherwise.
Why become a preceptor?
There are many benefits to becoming a preceptor!
First you earn three letter grade units. That means they count towards your GPA! The credits are called LASC 297a: Teaching Teams Specialty Training Workshop. These are considered general elective credits.
Another benefit of the preceptorship is the ability to work more closely with your professor. This can open up professional and business opportunities. Likewise a recommendation from the professor you precepted for is unique and personalized.
As a leadership role, the preceptorship is something to brag about on your resume. A teaching position is a great resume builder for those interested in Graduate school or Education careers.
The preceptor workshop focuses on developing skills for academia. This includes public speaking, group dynamics, numerical literacy, student-center learning, and more. This course can be beneficial to your academic repertoire by giving you ideas on how to better yourself as a student and a preceptor.
How many hours will the preceptorship occupy?
The preceptorship is divided into two main parts; the preceptor duties with a professor and the workshop. The duties you have as a preceptor will take 1-2 hours/week. These may be clumped in certain times and sparse in others, depending on the course schedule. The workshop is one class per week for nine weeks in a row. The workshop is a 2 hour and 30 minute course.
Why do I have to take workshop?
The workshop is meant to serve as a place where preceptors can come together with other preceptors in the program to work on their educational and leadership skills. It also serves as a contact point to ensure the success of all preceptorships. Since the overall preceptorship is 3 credits, the workshop serves as about 2 credits.
I can't be a preceptor...I am not proficient in the class topic!
You don't need to be! Preceptors are not expected to be content experts. Preceptors facilitate discussions and study sessions but they ARE NOT tutors. Often, just-in-time preceptors find themselves studying more for the class for which they are a preceptor for in order to better serve students. In turn they often find that they do better in that class.
It is important to note that if questions arise that the preceptors don't know how to answer, that is okay. In the preceptor workshop, we will develop and discuss different ways to deal with these types of situations.