You Learn When You Teach: A Narrative Pedagogy for Faculty and Doctoral-Level Student Teaching Assistants

Authors

Lauren A. Acosta MS, RN, PhD Candidate, College of Nursing, The University of ArizonaFollow
Penny M. Overgaard PhD, MSN, RN, College of Nursing, The University of ArizonaFollow
Natalie M. Pool PhD, RN, BSN, College of Nursing, The University of ArizonaFollow
Susan M. Renz PhD, DNP, RN, GNP-BC, University of Pennsylvania School of NursingFollow
Janice D. Crist PhD, RN, FWAN, FAAN, College of Nursing, The Unviersity of ArizonaFollow

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand the meaning of online co-teaching for PhD faculty and teaching assistants (TAs). Narrative pedagogy underpinned the inquiry, which was designed to advance the discourse on mentorship of PhD future faculty. A faculty member and TA authors kept concurrent weekly journals or after-the-fact written reflections. The authors analyzed data as a team using a five-phase interpretive phenomenological analysis process to interpret the meaning of co-teaching for faculty and TAs. Lines of inquiry, central concerns, exemplars, shared meanings, and paradigm cases supported the overall interpretation, “You Learn When You Teach.” Co-mentorship should be a requirement for nursing faculty preparation programs. Five strategies for ensuring success of PhD nursing students’ development as professional nurse scholars are recommended. Doctoral programs (e.g., PhD; DNP) would benefit from a unified approach to faculty preparation, guided by theories such as narrative pedagogy.

Keywords

Narrative Pedagogy, Doctoral Education, Graduate Teaching Assistants, Mentoring

Author Bio(s)

Dr. Acosta and Dr. Overgaard recently graduated with their PhDs and Dr. Pool is Clinical Assistant Professor in the Integrative Nursing Faculty Fellowship (INFF) and Continuing Professional Education Programs, at College of Nursing, The University of Arizona. Dr. Renz is Director, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Program and Advanced Senior Lecturer A, at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Dr. Crist, Associate Professor, conducts community-based participatory research with narrative pedagogical interventions with Mexican American family caregivers. She teaches the required PhD qualitative research course and doctoral gerontological elective course. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: jcrist@email.arizona.edu.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgement to Dr. Linda R. Phillips with early recommendations on literature review.

Publication Date

11-22-2019

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2019.3626

Recommended APA Citation

Acosta, L. A., Overgaard, P. M., Pool, N. M., Renz, S. M., & Crist, J. D. (2019). You Learn When You Teach: A Narrative Pedagogy for Faculty and Doctoral-Level Student Teaching Assistants. The Qualitative Report, 24(11), 2891-2902. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2019.3626