Developing teaching competences of PhD students as future academics
Developing teaching competences of PhD students as future academics

Summary/Abstract: Development and improvement of teaching competences is a crucial requirement for providing high quality education service. Centers of Excellence in teaching and learning, functioning successfully in many foreign universities, play a significant role in this process. There are various ways of improving teaching skills, such as psychological and pedagogical education, IT competences, deep knowledge of the subject, pronunciation improvement (rhetoric), the use of active methods, openness towards new experiences and criticism, positive attitude to teacher’s activities, observing the colleagues’ teaching style. The purpose of our research was to study the readiness of PhD students as future teachers to develop their teaching competences. The research was carried out at Wroclaw University of Life and Environmental Sciences during the 2013–2016 academic years when PhD students were doing a course on Teaching Methods at this educational institution. After completing the course, PhD students were offered to answer a questionnaire to determine their readiness to develop their teaching competences. The results of the study show that PhD students as future teachers are aware of their teaching shortcomings and can solve them effectively, particularly after doing the course on Teaching Methods. The results obtained prove the necessity to organize special centers in the structure of universities which will focus on improving teaching competences and support professional development of the academic staff and PhD students.

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