The Apprenticeship Model
As a graduate student or junior scholar, how do you learn the conventions of your field? The traditional model is one of apprenticeship. You learn from an advisor. And that doesn’t mean your advisor tells you explicitly what to do (though they may), but that you pay attention to the different things your advisor does to eventually come to an understanding of what professors do, so that one day you might become a professor who knows what to do! This is one big reason the choice of advisor and advisor relationship is central to graduate student success.
Of course there are a lot of gaps and potential challenges with this model, which is very advisor-dependent, and also dependent on the graduate student understanding the system, and being proactive in their own learning. I was thinking about this with regard to my kids. Just because they watch me do the chores in the house, they don’t automatically know how to do them or that they should also do them. Parents have to say, now it’s your turn to do this, or, pay attention to how I do this so that you will learn how to do it, too. But generally, it works with some awareness-raising that this is the system: you watch me, then you try, and one day you will be expected to do it on your own. At universities over time, more and more scaffolding has been put in place to help make the conventions more explicit, and there are many academic support staff who work in service of the system to fill in the gaps. But fundamentally the apprenticeship model is still in place, and the approach that is meant to come from it, watching and learning (and challenging!) what more senior scholars do is how the academy works.
Recently a new doctoral student came to ask for advice on how to develop his academic writing skills, and how to write to get published in specific journals. Of course I can help him.… but as part of our discussion I was telling him about the apprenticeship model, that he should learn to write from his advisor. He was kind of shocked: my advisor doesn’t have time to teach me this! And I said, well, right, but do you read what your advisor writes? Learning from the advisor doesn’t necessarily mean direct instruction. I told him to read the journals where he would like to publish his own work, and that instead of just reading for content, to understand the main points, to read for style and conventions. What do the abstracts look like in this journal? How are the introductions usually set up? What moves are the authors making?
He seemed a bit skeptical, and I happened to see him in a seminar a few days later where he asked the faculty speaker the same question about how to learn to write for publication. I was pleased that the professor gave the exact same advice: dissect some of the most cited articles in your field. Learn the conventions of different journals from reading in the journals. Pay attention not just to what other scholars say and do, but how they do it.
Just as your reading proficiency should develop beyond reading for understanding, when you go to a lecture or presentation you should always go beyond listening for understanding. What does the speaker do that is effective? How do they set up their talk? What makes a presentation compelling, or not so compelling? Learning to be a student of your environment means developing the ability to notice and name specific moves that will help you develop your own communication skills. And the great thing is, you don’t have to limit yourself to one advisor. Any speaker or writer you admire can help you. So find those scholars you admire and pay attention. And then practice yourself, try it out, and get feedback. This is as much a part of any graduate program as the coursework!
Do you want a partner to help you with your communication goals? Would you like some guidance on a paper or presentation? I am here!
