Learning and teaching: a confessional tale

Abstract Over the past ten years, the expansion of higher education in Brazil, through different public policies, has increased the need for a greater number of professors. However, the efforts to prepare professors have not accompanied this increase either in rate or quality, as graduate programs tend to prioritize training for research. One of the few moments - often overlooked by post-graduate programs - focused on preparing future professors is internship, where students practice teaching in graduation courses, supervised by professors (JOAQUIM, NASCIMENTO, BOAS et al., 2011; JOAQUIM and BOAS, 2011; SANTOS and HELAL, 2013). Believing that internships provide a rich environment for post-graduation student’s learning, this study aims to present elements typical of this activity. To do, we reflected on an internship based on discussions between a supervisor professor and the student, recorded in the student’s class diaries during the course of the internship and presented here in form of a confessional tale (VAN MAANEN, 1995, 2011, 2015). From the internship experience and the theoretical readings, three points were highlighted: the process of preparing post-graduate students to teach in higher education and the dilemmas they face in preparation for teaching and research; technical aspects (planning, execution and evaluation) of internship; and the experience of internship as a way of mutual learning, in which student and professor discover what it is to carry out this task. Finally, this work does not intend to finish this discussion, but to instigate reflection on teaching methods and academic careers in the national context of practical teaching and research.