Renowned professors welcome new faculty with sage advice

First-day nerves can affect anyone - whether sitting in a class or teaching in one. With the back-to-school season upon us, writer Dominic Ali asked members of U of T’s Teaching Academy to share some insights and advice.

Karen Reid, senior lecturer, Department of Computer Science

How did you feel on your first day of the job here at the U of T?
I definitely suffered from the impostor syndrome. I was sure that my students would figure out that I didn't know enough about what I was teaching.

What's the best piece of advice you ever received from a mentor?

In terms of teaching, the best advice I have received is to always try to see things from the student's point of view. It is sometimes hard to remember how new the material and the experience are to students, and also how many different demands they have on their time.

What makes U of T different from other universities?
There are so many amazing opportunities here for students, staff and faculty; innovation is truly valued at all levels. U of T gets a lot of credit for being a great research university, but I don't think most people realize the incredible passion and devotion poured into teaching here.

What do you hope new faculty members get out of their experience here?
I hope they learn to love teaching and working with other great teachers here. I hope they will find the kind of inspiration from their students that makes them look forward to the start of classes in September.

What's the most important thing you've learned from your students over the years?
What terrific people they are!  They have such varied and interesting backgrounds, different goals, and different measures of success. It is a real pleasure to watch them as they make many transitions from new first year students to graduates and alumni.

Mark Kingwell, professor, Department of Philosophy:

How did you feel on your first day of the job here at the U of T?
Relieved to be employed, but shocked at how little I really knew about teaching. I was doing a third-year class in psychiatric ethics, a subject I had never thought about when I was handed the assignment. Maybe a good thing—like Socrates, I at least had the virtue of knowing I knew nothing.

What's the best piece of advice you ever received from a mentor?
Never take yourself too seriously. Also, strategic use of profanity is oddly effective in large lecture halls.

What makes U of T different from other universities?
The combination of size and quality. It’s daunting to have so many smart students scrutinizing your every intellectual move. Plus, they judge your clothes.

What do you hope new faculty members get out of their experience here?
I just hope they love it as much as I do. I’m one of those people who has days where I can’t quite believe they pay me to do this. It’s the best job in the world.

What advice do you have for new teaching staff at the U of T?
Make sure you prep enough material so you don’t run out of things to say 20 minutes before class is over. Happened to me once in a large intro course. Pretend that you have suddenly taken ill—this will generate a mixture of sympathy and confusion, the perfect exit cover.

What's the most important thing you've learned from your students over the years?
Humility and philosophical charity: an awareness of the range of ways people engage a subject. Also, that they really, really hate reading Thomas Aquinas. I can’t see why —he’s awesome!

Zubin Austin, associate professor, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy:

How did you feel on your first day of the job here at the U of T?
I’m a graduate of the University of Toronto, so for me it was a “Welcome Back Kotter” kind of moment—it was strange having former teachers suddenly become my colleagues. But more than that, I just felt proud to be part of such an amazing institution at the centre of such a great city.

What's the best piece of advice you ever received from a mentor?
“People solve their own problems—you can help them talk and think things through, but no matter how well intentioned you may be, you can’t fix everything.”

What makes U of T different from other universities?
I love that we are at the centre of a great, growing, dynamic, diverse, interesting and entertaining city. Toronto is the living laboratory that supports the work of so many of us as researchers and teachers.

What do you hope new faculty members get out of their experience here?
A love for this city, this campus, our history, and the opportunities to grow personally and professionally that this place offers.

What advice do you have for new teaching staff at the U of T?
Don’t sweat the small stuff—find a way to connect to your students as people first, and as learners next.

What's the most important thing you've learned from your students?
I learn way more from them – about life’s struggles and triumphs, about resilience and optimism, about success and failure – than I could possibly ever teach in a one semester course!

Yu-Ling Cheng, director of the Centre for Global Engineering (CGEN) and a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry.

How did you feel on your first day of the job here at U of T?
That was a long time ago, but excited and looking forward to a new phase in my career.

What's the best piece of advice you ever received from a mentor?
In terms of teaching, keep it simple. If I cannot explain something simply, then it means I need to work on understanding it better myself.

What makes U of T different from other universities?
An unusual combination of research excellence and a focus on students.

What do you hope new faculty members get out of their experience here?
I hope they experience the joy of teaching. Teaching can be immensely rewarding; when you have that special connection with a class or a group of students, it is a joy to teach.

What advice do you have for new teaching staff at the U of T?
Know your material thoroughly. Develop your own teaching style. Set high standards and help students reach them.

What's the most important thing you've learned from your students over the years?
Probably the "can do" attitude that many students have. It's amazing what some students accomplish.

Ivan Silver, professor, Department of Psychiatry:

How did you feel on your first day of the job here at the U of T?
I felt nervous about whether I knew more than my students especially senior students who were just a bit younger than I was. I was also excited about teaching at the University of Toronto. I remember my parents were proud that I was teaching here.

What's the best piece of advice you ever received from a mentor?
“Don’t be afraid of taking risks in your teaching. Be innovative, be creative, be yourself!”

What makes U of T different from other universities?
I think U of T values good teaching in ways that I have not seen at other universities. This is especially true in the health professions. The University of Toronto has a constant challenge of personalizing its teaching and education and making students feel valued at the largest university in Canada.

What do you hope new faculty members get out of their experience here?
I hope that faculty members have as much fun and get as much satisfaction as I have from teaching here. I hope that teachers will seize the opportunity to innovate and change teaching to make it even more relevant, scholarly and engaging.

What advice do you have for new teaching staff at the U of T?
There are stages of teacher development that you will move through as you gain more experience. Take the opportunity to have your teaching observed from a trusted peer. It’s a fabulous way of improving your teaching performance. The observer will see things with your teaching that you cannot perceive. Doing this early in your career will speed up your development as an expert teacher.

What's the most important thing you've learned from your students over the years?
The most enjoyable aspect of teaching are the relationships you develop with students. Your students become your colleagues and sometimes, your boss. The quality of teaching and learning relationships that you cultivate is key to a positive learning environment and culture at the university.