The Stanford Psychology Department has been the top-ranked department in the country for nearly two decades. Although that reputation is earned by the pioneering research and original theories of the faculty and graduate students, we also take pride in our commitment to teaching excellence, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

The Importance of Teaching at Stanford University

More than fifteen years ago in his speech to the Academic Council, then Stanford president, Donald Kennedy, urged us to increase the "attention we pay to teaching."

At about that time, the School of Humanities and Sciences offered a statement about “excellent” teaching that may be helpful in designing training programs for teachers, in general, and for Teaching Assistants, in particular.

“The primary goal of teaching is to present students with important ideas and texts, facts and artifacts, and methods of inquiry and analysis in a manner that promotes learning, stimulates critical and imaginative thinking and expression, and equips students to function as independent scholars in uncovering new facts and insights. Whatever achieves this goal constitutes excellent teaching.”

Since that time, the University administration has instituted a number of successful teaching initiatives, and some of these have focused on the important role of Teaching Assistants (TAs) at Stanford. Because of the importance of this role, it is generally agreed that TAs should receive training for their role in teaching students. Training in the basic responsibilities of teaching is available in the Center for Teaching and Learning, and, it is hoped, training in discipline-specific methods, as well as in basic responsibilities, would be available in department and programs.

The psychology department offers annual TA training workshops for new TAs, and resources from these events can be found on this site. Graduate students with an interest in year-long teaching mentorship and extended teaching responsibilities may choose to participate in the Psychology One Teaching Program, and students wishing to receive more experience designing and teaching their own courses can do so through Stanford’s Summer Session Program.