Development and Evaluation of a Prep Course for Chemistry Graduate Teaching Assistants at a Research University

Marbach‐Ad, Gili; Schaefer, Kathryn L.; Kumi, Bryna C.; Friedman, Lee A.; Thompson, Katerina V.; Doyle, Michael P.

doi:10.1021/ed200563b

Cited by 73 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Much of the current literature focuses on TAs in the sciences (Dotger, 2011;Harris, Froman, & Surles, 2009;Linenberger et al, 2014;Lockwood, Miller, & Cromie, 2014;Marbach-Ad et al, 2012;Pentecost et al, 2012;Sandi-Urena & Gatlin, 2013), while a few studies address TAs more generally (Buskist, 2013;Gallego, 2014;Hardré & Burris, 2012;Santandreu et al, 2011). Some examples of TA training include discipline-specific pedagogy as an important part of the design (e.g.…”

Section: Why Tas Need Idmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Effects of Online Instructional Design Training on TA’s Perceptions of Efficacy, Competence, and Knowledge Satisfaction

Madden

Hardré

2016

JET

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Teaching assistants (TAs) in higher education are expected to teach courses in their major subject area with little to no formal instruction in the principles of effective teaching methods. The demands on TAs time are high and there is a need for easy to access, flexible, high quality instruction to provide them with the tools necessary to be effective instructors at the college level. One method of meeting this need is to provide TAs with a "toolbox" of instructional theory and methods based on instructional design principles. In order to be effective, it is important for TAs to understand the interconnected nature of effective educational principles including: instructional design, motivation, learning environments, instructional technologies and assessment. The current study looks at the effects of a self-paced online instruction designed for TAs on their teaching efficacy, perceived teaching competence and satisfaction with knowledge of the delivered instructional concepts using a pre-post, self-report design. Thirteen TAs at a southwestern research university completed both pre and post measures of knowledge and perceptions. Findings indicate that self-paced online training in instructional design concepts significantly increased TAs' satisfaction with their knowledge of instructional theory and principles, design of learning environments and instructional technology. It further increased the significance and magnitude of their understanding of the interconnected nature of instructional principles and elements of the learning dynamic and led to appreciable knowledge change in key areas. These findings provide evidence of the benefits and utility of flexible, easily accessible training in instructional principles for TAs.

show abstract

Section: Why Tas Need Idmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some examples of TA training include discipline-specific pedagogy as an important part of the design (e.g. Lockwood, Miller, & Cromie, 2014;Marbach-Ad et al, 2012). However, they tend to lack the foundations of a toolbox of principles from learning theory or a strategic scaffolding for meeting students' instructional needs.…”

Section: Why Tas Need Idmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Online Instructional Design Training on TA’s Perceptions of Efficacy, Competence, and Knowledge Satisfaction

Madden

Hardré

2016

JET

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…TA training can help prepare graduate students to teach in this new course structure. Various TA training workshops, 5 courses, 6,7 boot-camps, 8 and certificates 9 have been successful at preparing graduate students to teach; however, few papers have outlined ways in which TAs can work together with instructors to transition a course to an active format.…”

Section: Facilitating the Transition Of A Traditional Engineering Coumentioning

confidence: 99%

Facilitating the Transition of a Traditional Engineering Course to a Structured, Active, In-class Learning Environment as a Teaching Assistant

Rooney¹,

McGurk²,

Elliott³

et al.

2015 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Proceedings

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

IntroductionActive learning techniques, when properly implemented, have been shown to improve learning compared to traditional lecture. A review of active learning by Prince found broad support for active, collaborative, cooperative, and problem-based learning.1 Specifically, a meta-analysis revealed that small-group work, one form of active learning, promotes enhanced academic achievement, more favorable attitudes toward learning, and increased persistence in STEM fields.2 Despite the strong evidence, many college engineering courses uphold the status-quo, lecture-only format because changing the structure of a course takes considerable time, planning, and foresight. Particularly, faculty perceptions of institutional rewards for productive research over teaching provide little incentive for course improvement. 3 Teaching assistants (TAs) can be valuable resources in facilitating the transition of a traditional engineering course to include active learning techniques; however, prior studies indicate that people tend to teach how they were taught, 4 contributing further to this lack of course reform. TA training can help prepare graduate students to teach in this new course structure. Various TA training workshops, 5 courses, 6,7 boot-camps, 8 and certificates 9 have been successful at preparing graduate students to teach; however, few papers have outlined ways in which TAs can work together with instructors to transition a course to an active format.In this paper, we discuss tricks of the trade in how TAs can play a pivotal role alongside instructors in the course restructuring process. We provide a step-by-step outline to create and implement new classroom activities and demonstrate use of this outline through specific application in the recent restructuring of a bioengineering course. This methodology, presented in "Structured, Active, In-Class Learning (SAIL) TA Training" and an "Active Learning in STEM Courses" mini-course, both offered by the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), is used to form the basis of the goals of this paper. Specifically, we address 1) defining and communicating course goals, 2) designing activities to support these goals, 3) facilitating positive student group dynamics, 4) providing student feedback, and 5) reflection. It is important to note that this is a collaborative process between the course instructor and TA, so the steps in this system involve both parties. BackgroundThe "Active Learning in STEM Courses" mini-course is a series of four 2-hour sessions led by two staff members of the University of Pennsylvania's CTL. The objective of this mini-course is to introduce graduate students and post-docs to active learning techniques and how to create activities that reinforce and strengthen course goals. This objective is different from the "SAIL (Structured Active In-class Learning) TA Training" (also led by the same two staff members of the CTL), which aims to prepare TAs for facilitating (rather than designing) activities already defined by the in...

show abstract

“…Sometimes these trainings are accompanied by workshops conducted throughout an academic year 4 . Another type of GTA preparation is course-based [5][6][7] . Here, GTAs are invited or required to complete a course on teaching basicsessentially, an expanded version of short-term trainings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Board # 110 : Exploring Experiences of Graduate Teaching Assistants in Teaching Professional Development Groups

Nelson¹,

Gerasimova²,

Hjalmarson³

et al.

2017 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

public school system, he taught high school chemistry and independent student research at The Beacon School, where he was a principal intern. His scientific research focused on the immunology of M. tuberculosis, the bacterial pathogen that causes tuberculosis. He currently works with undergraduate and graduate researchers to investigate the evolution of microbes, and to improve how undergraduate students learn science at the university.

show abstract

Development and Evaluation of a Prep Course for Chemistry Graduate Teaching Assistants at a Research University

Cited by 73 publications

References 13 publications

Effects of Online Instructional Design Training on TA’s Perceptions of Efficacy, Competence, and Knowledge Satisfaction

Effects of Online Instructional Design Training on TA’s Perceptions of Efficacy, Competence, and Knowledge Satisfaction

Facilitating the Transition of a Traditional Engineering Course to a Structured, Active, In-class Learning Environment as a Teaching Assistant

Board # 110 : Exploring Experiences of Graduate Teaching Assistants in Teaching Professional Development Groups

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About