Enthusiastic but Inconsistent: Graduate Teaching Assistants’ Perceptions of Their Role in the CURE Classroom

Goodwin, Emma; Cary, Jessica R.; Shortlidge, Erin E.

doi:10.1187/cbe.21-04-0106

Cited by 10 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 42 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Fewer studies focus on variation in GTA behavior when teaching lab sections of the same course [ 27 , 29 , 65 ]. Our own interview analysis with the GTAs participating in this study indicates that GTAs teaching the same CURE can have vastly different conceptions of their instructor role, which likely influences the instructional decisions made by GTAs [ 27 ]. We expect that some of the variation that students perceive about what is most or least prioritized in the classroom ( Fig 2B , Fig 2C ) is a direct reflection of the effort GTAs put toward providing students with those experiences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…GTAs who explained the pedagogical rationale for implementing a CURE, as well as the potential benefits to students from participating in a CURE, may have contributed to students’ beliefs that they were participating in the CURE for student-centered purposes. In interviews conducted with the nine GTAs involved in our study (presented in [ 27 ]), we observed that a couple of the GTAs doubted the value for students of participating in a CURE, particularly at an introductory level. While documentation of instructor talk was beyond the scope of this study, it is possible that these GTAs may have actively engaged in unproductive instructor talk, such as expressing their doubt about the pedagogical advantages of the curriculum to their students [ 62 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Immediately after the class discussion described above, students were asked to individually complete a worksheet, which was designed to probe student perceptions of what aspects of the course they thought were particularly important to their GTA. We intentionally had students respond to the worksheets after the focus group discussions because we have previously found that providing subjects with reflective activities prior to responding to interview questions can elicit thoughtful responses [ 27 ].We therefore wanted students to have spent some time thinking about their experiences in class (during the discussions) prior to responding to the worksheet in order to allow students to better recall their experiences as they filled out the worksheets. We wanted to reduce the likelihood that students rush through the worksheets with minimal reflection.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A subset of interview questions was developed to explore GTA perceptions of the presence of the five CURE constructs in their lab sections, as we were interested in how their responses would align with their students’ perceptions of experiencing the CURE constructs. Further description of the interviews and analysis are described in Goodwin et al (2021) [ 27 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Evidence suggests that GTAs, who are often novice teachers and researchers, may struggle in their capacity to successfully teach a CURE [ 27 , 28 ]. GTAs do not always embrace their role as a research mentor in a CURE classroom, and some perceive high emotional and logistical costs with teaching the CURE, including feeling unprepared to serve as research mentors, feeling they lack appropriate expertise, and struggling with the time commitment required to teach a CURE [ 27 , 28 ]. While some GTAs may have the expertise and motivation to capably teach a CURE, others may lack these attributes, which could negatively impact the experiences of students in their classes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Not the same CURE: Student experiences in course-based undergraduate research experiences vary by graduate teaching assistant

2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To expose all undergraduate science students to the benefits of participating in research, many universities are integrating course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) into their introductory biology laboratory curriculum. At large institutions, the bulk of introductory labs are instructed by graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). Graduate students, who are often teachers and researchers in training, may vary in their capacity to effectively teach undergraduates via the CURE model. To explore variation in GTA teaching and the subsequent outcomes for students, we used a case study research design at one institution where introductory biology students participate in GTA-taught CURE lab sections. We used multiple data sources, including in-class focus groups, worksheets, and surveys to explore student perceptions of the GTA-led CURE. Students perceived variation both in the ability of their GTAs to create a supportive and comfortable learning environment, and in the instructional priorities of their GTAs. We also compared student and GTA perspectives of student engagement with research elements in the CURE. While GTAs were divided in their perceptions of whether the CURE provided students with the opportunity to experience the element of relevant discovery, most students—regardless of their GTA—did not perceive that relevant discovery was emphasized in the CURE. Finally, individual GTAs seemed to influence how students perceived why they were participating in the CURE. These data imply that students in CUREs may have vastly different and potentially inequitable research experiences depending on their instructor.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Not the same CURE: Student experiences in course-based undergraduate research experiences vary by graduate teaching assistant

2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Graduate teaching assistants impact student motivation and engagement in course‐based undergraduate research experiences

et al. 2023

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The drive to broaden equitable access to undergraduate research experiences has catalyzed the development and implementation of course‐based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). Biology education has prioritized embedding CUREs in introductory labs, which are frequently taught by graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). Thus, a CURE GTA is expected not only to teach but also to support novice student researchers. We know little about how GTAs perform as research mentors in a CURE, or how the quality of their mentorship and support impacts undergraduate students. To address this gap in knowledge, we conducted a phenomenological study of an introductory biology CURE, interviewing 25 undergraduate students taught by nine different GTAs at a single institution. We used self‐determination theory to guide our exploration of how students' autonomous motivation to engage in a CURE is impacted by perceptions of GTA support. We found that highly motivated students were more likely to experience factors hypothesized to optimize motivation in the CURE, and to perceive that their GTA was highly supportive of these elements. Students with lower motivation were less likely to report engaging in fundamental elements of research offered in a CURE. Our findings suggest that GTAs directly impact students' motivation, which can, in turn, influence whether students perceive receiving the full research experience as intended in a CURE. We contend that practitioners who coordinate CUREs led by GTAs should therefore offer curated training that emphasizes supporting students' autonomous motivation in the course and engagement in the research. Our work suggests that GTAs may differ in their capacity to provide students with the support they need to receive and benefit from certain pedagogical practices. Future work assessing innovative approaches in undergraduate biology laboratory courses should continue to investigate potenital differential outcomes for students taught by GTAs.

show abstract

Preservice elementary teachers' perceptions of their science laboratory instructors in a phenomena‐based laboratory and how it impacts their conceptual development

Sangha,

Donnelly‐Hermosillo,

Nelson

2024

J Res Sci Teach

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Phenomena‐based approaches have become popular for elementary school teachers to engage children's innate curiosity in the natural world. However, integrating such phenomena‐based approaches in existing science courses within teacher education programs present potential challenges for both preservice elementary teachers (PSETs) and for laboratory instructors, both of whom may have had limited opportunities to learn or teach science within the student and instructor roles inherent within these approaches. This study uses a convergent parallel mixed‐methods approach to investigate PSETs' perceptions of their laboratory instructor's role within a Physical Science phenomena‐based laboratory curriculum and how it impacts their conceptual development (2 instructors/121 students). We also examine how the two laboratory instructors' discursive moves within the laboratory align with their's and PSETs' perceptions of the instructor role. Qualitative data includes triangulation between a student questionnaire, an instructor questionnaire, and video classroom observations, while quantitative data includes a nine‐item open response pre‐/post‐semester conceptual test. Guided by Mortimer's and Scott's analytic framework, our findings show that students primarily perceive their instructors as a guide/facilitator or an authoritarian/evaluator. Using Linn's knowledge integration framework, analysis of pre‐/post‐tests indicates that student outcomes align with students' perceptions of their instructors, with students who perceive their instructor as a guide/facilitator having significantly better pre‐/post‐outcomes. Additional analysis of scientific discourse from the classroom observations illustrates how one instructor primarily supports PSETs' perspectives on authentic science learning through dialogic–interactive talk moves whereas the other instructor epistemologically stifles personally relevant investigations with authoritative–interactive or authoritative–noninteractive discourse moves. Overall, this study concludes by discussing challenges facing laboratory instructors that need careful consideration for phenomena‐based approaches.

show abstract

Enthusiastic but Inconsistent: Graduate Teaching Assistants’ Perceptions of Their Role in the CURE Classroom

Cited by 10 publications

References 42 publications

Not the same CURE: Student experiences in course-based undergraduate research experiences vary by graduate teaching assistant

Not the same CURE: Student experiences in course-based undergraduate research experiences vary by graduate teaching assistant

Graduate teaching assistants impact student motivation and engagement in course‐based undergraduate research experiences

Preservice elementary teachers' perceptions of their science laboratory instructors in a phenomena‐based laboratory and how it impacts their conceptual development

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About