Lend a helping hand? GSTA Goals for 2023.
Submitted by Skye Mendes, GSTA Chair
GSTA closed our 2022 Corners by reflecting on high points in teaching and sharing our gratitude, with several steering committee members mentioning how mentors have made their teaching experiences so special. The generosity of spirit amongst teachers is robust, particularly within STP. The collaborative nature of our community leads GSTA to kick off 2023 by sharing our goals and the ways STP News readers (most of whom are not graduate students!) are uniquely positioned to help us accomplish them.
GOAL 1: Continue to connect teaching-interested graduate students with one another.
Lend a helping hand?
If you teach at a university, share information about STP and GSTA with the relevant graduate programs at your school! Have graduate TAs at your institution? Suggest STP/GSTA be mentioned during any TA training events! Graduate students often hear about societies to join based on their research interests but might not realize they have a home in Division 2 regardless of SoTL experience! There are commonly financial concerns that make graduate students wonder whether the costs of memberships are worth the benefit; we want to shout from the rooftops that joining STP at the reduced graduate student rate is only $15 for the year and it is not necessary to hold broader membership in APA to do so. In terms of value, membership provides access to all the benefits you know and love! (In my experience, I find the posts in the STP Facebook group in one day alone are often wisdom worth $15!) Those who join STP as a graduate student automatically become members of GSTA, and we’re excited to see that membership grow.
GOAL 2: Facilitate professional development opportunities targeted to GSTA members.
Lend a helping hand?
As our 2023 Steering Committee convenes, we’ll be finalizing the various formats our professional development opportunities will take, but one thing we know for certain is there is a crowd with vast collective expertise reading this today. Have a favorite teacher-training activity or demo in your back pocket that you’d be willing to repurpose and deliver to graduate TAs over Zoom? Let us know! Recently go through the process to land your first full-time position and live to tell the tale feel ready to share what you learned on a panel? Drop us a line! Serve on search committees and want to tell GSTA members how to stand out or what pitfalls to avoid? Can’t wait to hear from you! Been collecting nuggets of wisdom throughout your career and are willing to be interviewed in a written Q&A to be published as a future GSTA corner? Give us a shout! As our GSTA steering committee plans, it will be helpful to know who might have space on their plate to help out. If you are interested in any of the above or another idea or recommendation, please send a note to the new GSTA Chair (Skye Mendes) at gsta@teachpsych.org.
GOAL 3: Plan for sustainable GSTA steering committees.
Lend a helping hand?
Consider forwarding the email calling for GSTA steering committee members that likely arrived to an inbox near you from the STP Listserv just a few days ago, Tweet a direct link to the application, re-tweet our own call from @stp_gsta, or contact us (gsta@teachpsych.org) if you’d like a copy of the call. We look forward to reviewing applications after the 2/1 deadline and welcoming new committee members who will have quick paths to further leadership (e.g., a new member will transition to the Associate Chair role when our current Associate Chair graduates, midway through 2023). This plan aims to increase continuity and momentum on future projects, something that has been challenging with GSTA’s relatively brief terms in comparison to other STP committees. Sharing our call for members widely also helps with Goal 1 since it puts GSTA on the radar of future members, even if they don’t wish to serve in a leadership capacity.
Thank you for your time and consideration of how you can support STP’s graduate student members. We wish a wonderful year ahead to all in the STP community!
