Graduate Teaching Assistants Research Articles

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

AbstractThe 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.

Responding to incorrect ideas: science graduate teaching assistants’ operationalization of error framing and undergraduate students’ perception

BackgroundIn college science laboratory and discussion sections, student-centered active learning strategies have been implemented to improve student learning outcomes and experiences. Research has shown that active learning activities can increase student anxiety if students fear that they could be negatively evaluated by their peers. Error framing (i.e., to frame errors as natural and beneficial to learning) is proposed in the literature as a pedagogical tool to reduce student anxiety. However, little research empirically explores how an instructor can operationalize error framing and how error framing is perceived by undergraduate students. To bridge the gap in the literature, we conducted a two-stage study that involved science graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) and undergraduate students. In stage one, we introduced cold calling (i.e., calling on non-volunteering students) and error framing to 12 chemistry and 11 physics GTAs. Cold calling can increase student participation but may increase student anxiety. Error framing has the potential to mitigate student anxiety when paired with cold calling. GTAs were then tasked to rehearse cold calling paired with error framing in a mixed-reality classroom simulator. We identified GTA statements that aligned with the definition of error framing. In stage two, we selected a few example GTA error framing statements and interviewed 13 undergraduate students about their perception of those statements.ResultsIn the simulator, all the GTAs rehearsed cold calling multiple times while only a few GTAs made error framing statements. A thematic analysis of GTAs’ error framing statements identified ways of error indication (i.e., explicit and implicit) and framing (i.e., natural, beneficial, and positive acknowledgement). Undergraduate student interviews revealed specific framing and tone that are perceived as increasing or decreasing student comfort in participating in classroom discourse. Both undergraduate students and some GTAs expressed negative opinions toward responses that explicitly indicate student mistakes. Undergraduate students’ perspectives also suggest that error framing should be implemented differently depending on whether errors have already occurred.ConclusionError framing is challenging for science GTAs to implement. GTAs’ operationalizations of error framing in the simulator and undergraduate students’ perceptions contribute to defining and operationalizing error framing for instructional practice. To increase undergraduate student comfort in science classroom discourse, GTAs can use implicit error indication. In response to students’ incorrect answers, GTAs can positively frame students’ specific ideas rather than discussing broadly how errors are natural or beneficial.

Analysis of post-secondary instructors’ pedagogical content knowledge of organic acid–base chemistry using content representations

Acid–base chemistry is a foundational concept for organic chemistry, and the complexities in teaching and learning acid–base chemistry are well documented. This study aimed to investigate post-secondary instructors' pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching acid–base chemistry in an organic chemistry context. Two groups of three graduate teaching assistants and one group of three faculty instructors constructed content representations (CoRes). The three CoRes generated by these groups were qualitatively analyzed and organized into a summary compiled CoRe. Analysis of the compiled CoRe revealed eight major concepts of organic acid–base chemistry as defined by these instructors. Three major concepts were identified as foundational definitions, and five were identified as concepts that build upon these definitions. We arranged all eight concepts into a progression. Analysis of the compiled CoRe also revealed that instructors primarily leverage students’ prior knowledge when teaching acid–base chemistry. Our results serve as a reference for organic chemistry instructors and may inform further research on the instruction of organic chemistry.

THE ROLE OF THE EXERCISE PROFESSIONAL IN THE SUPERVISED VERSUS TELEREHABILITATION EXERCISE PROGRAMS FOR MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (STEP FOR MS) TRIAL

https://youtu.be/itqMuZmn70Q BACKGROUND The STEP for MS trial was designed and delivered by a team of medical and rehabilitation professionals with a key player being the exercise professional (EP). Our purpose is to showcase the role of the EP and methods for standardized, safe and effective exercise and behavior change intervention. DESIGN Site principal investigators who designed the intervention and implementation plan were physical medicine and rehabilitation doctors, physical therapists and kinesiologists with expertise in MS and exercise programming. The interventional EP were site staff members with varied backgrounds in delivering exercise programming to people with MS. Professional titles include personal trainer, exercise specialist, clinical exercise physiologist, graduate teaching assistant, research associate, clinical integration and research coordinator. Interventionalists had little to no prior experience using the theory-based behavior change strategies employed in the trial. METHODS To accommodate differences in EP backgrounds and expertise, standardized training on behavior change principles and exercise prescription was required. Weekly booster meetings were held via Zoom to discuss participant progress, challenges and identify solutions and modifications to the intervention while maintaining trial fidelity. Supporting materials like exercise training manuals, scripts, newsletters, logbooks and calendars were used by EPs to deliver the intervention. EPs deployed their unique skills and training to provide guidance on exercise program progression, exercise technique modification and behavior change strategies to participants. EPs and participants mutually decided on the trajectory of exercise progression based on experiences during the first 2 standardized weeks. The trajectories differed in the rate of progression with all participants meeting the exercise guidelines of 30 minutes of aerobic exercise and 5–10 strength exercises consisting of 1–2 sets, 10–15 repetitions targeting lower body, upper body, and core musculature 2 days a week, by week 10 of the program. Outcome measures were transcribed by EPs in a research database. CONCLUSION There was a varied skillset among principal investigators and interventionalists in the STEP for MS trial which provided a well-rounded intervention to people with MS. Standardized training, trial-issued supporting materials and weekly booster meetings enabled successful and standardized program implementation across 8 sites.

My Ph.D. Success Story at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana [2019-2023

I am Dr. Philip J. Kamanda, a Sierra Leonean, Ghanaiantrained academic, and lecturer at Njala University in Sierra Leone. In addition, I am a proud and fine alumnus of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. As a former Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) in the Agricultural Economics and Extension Department at the University of Cape Coast, my Ph.D. journey commenced in the 2019/2020 academic year with a two-semester coursework totaling seven courses. After my coursework in my first year of study, I successfully defended my research proposal and left for Sierra Leone in early February 2021 for field data collection

Marginalized, silenced, and struggling: Understanding the plights of Chinese graduate teaching assistants

Pursuing equity and diversity on internationalized higher education campuses has become an urgent agenda. Chinese Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) do not always have smooth experiences with this internationalization. While they are often overlooked in racial discussion in the U.S., they cannot escape the racial and cultural inequalities in the same context. Using Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems (2005) and Lee’s neo-racism (2020) as analytical lenses, this study revealed the racial and cultural challenges experienced by 21 Chinese at micro-, meso-, exo-, macro-, and chrono-levels. The study helps educators charged with the complexity of Chinese GTAs’ plights by considering contextual influences using critical concepts (e.g., neo-racism). This study is significant in addressing unique equity and diversity issues in globalized higher education using both phenomenological and critical perspectives. Finally, we call for actions on the part of higher education institutions to create more equitable and caring systems to improve all students’ academic and sociocultural experiences.

Improving teaching practices via virtual reality‐supported simulation‐based learning: Scenario design and the duration of implementation

AbstractGraduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs), or student instructors, are the crucial force in college for undergraduates' learning in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) disciplines. However, professional development of student instructors is often neglected. Providing adequate and appropriate teacher training for student instructors is a critical challenge. When the technology is available, open‐source non‐immersive virtual reality (VR) can be a cost‐efficient and accessible platform for teacher training. Empirical research of designing and implementing VR for the training on teaching knowledge and skills development is inconclusive and thus warranted. In this ex post facto study, we investigated VR‐based teacher training with 33 STEM student instructors to explore the effects on the participants' virtual teaching practices of two design factors: (1) the simulated teaching scenario and (2) the duration of training program implementation. We analysed 7604 event logs from the recordings of their virtual teaching sessions. The results of ordinal logistic regression analyses showed two factors contributed to higher odds of appropriate teaching actions. The first is the simulated scenarios that induced a more dynamic balance of domain‐specific and pedagogical knowledge for decision making in teaching; the second is the teacher training program with a longer duration. Practitioner notesWhat is already know about this topic Teacher training, especially for college graduate teaching assistants in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) disciplines, is a key for the success of undergraduate students in STEM. Virtual reality (VR)‐supported simulation‐based learning has been found effective for enhancing knowledge and skills development in diverse settings, including when being used for teacher training. What this paper adds A guiding framework for the investigation of scenario design and duration of implementation in VR‐supported teacher training. VR scenarios that encourage more dynamic balance of domain‐specific and pedagogical knowledge for decision making in teaching have higher odds for appropriate teaching acts. A longer duration of program implementation in VR can result in higher odds for appropriate teaching acts. Implications for practice We should carefully consider appropriate scenario designs in VR to enhance dynamic decision making and interactivity in simulation‐based teaching practices for teacher training. We encourage extended duration of VR teacher training programs to facilitate teachers' observant, autonomous and attentive VR‐based micro teaching practices.

SMART CUREs: a Professional Development Program for Advancing Teaching Assistant Preparedness To Facilitate Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences.

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have emerged as a viable platform to engage large numbers of students in real-world scientific practices. Historically, CUREs have been offered throughout science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curricula at both the introductory and advanced levels and have been facilitated by a variety of individuals, including faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). This latter population, in particular, has increasingly been tasked with facilitating CUREs, yet they often receive little meaningful professional development to improve pedagogical skills vital to this type of instruction. To address this disparity, we designed and evaluated a semester-long intervention to support GTAs (N = 7) responsible for leading CUREs at our institution during the Fall 2020 semester. Intervention activities included synchronous interactive discussions, reflective journaling, and asynchronous practical exercises. Analysis of retrospective postintervention survey responses and focus group interview data revealed that participants exhibited gains in their understanding of the dimensions of CUREs, strategies for mentoring undergraduates, and use of various pedagogical techniques as well as confidence in addressing and adopting those dimensions and strategies in their courses. Furthermore, participants reported finding value in the sense of community created through the intervention, which served as a means to share ideas and struggles throughout the term.

The factors of enhancing Graduate Teaching Assistants’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) performance in engineering curriculum teaching

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) play important roles in engineering education at the undergraduate level. Since there are lots of technological content knowledge (TCK) in engineering curriculums, the improvements of GTAs’ teaching skills on TCK will help the teaching effectiveness of the curriculums. As the instructor’s knowledge about technology-infused instruction for TCK is the core of the teaching skill, Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) is taken as a framework to measure the extent to which instructor can teach with technology. In this study, an online questionnaires survey covering GTAs’ program coordinator, teacher, graduate student and undergraduate student has done to explore the factors of enhancing GTAs’ TPACK performance. The quantitative analyses through a structural equation modeling approach indicates that the roles of the GTAs should be clearly recognized by the teacher, program coordinators and GTAs themselves. An evaluating procedure for GTAs should be established; The attitude and self-efficacy of GTAs should be improved through the training courses and the field trips while the promising expectation from the undergraduate student on the roles of GTAs can improve the performance of GTAs’ program. Our results will be helpful not only for engineering curriculum, but also for other curriculums.

Promoting Student Support in an Online Fundamental of Electronics Course

Contribution: This article discusses instructor decisions that support social capital development in an online, asynchronous, team-based introduction to electrical engineering course. Background: Online learning is changing how instructors and students interact with each other and course materials. There is a need to understand how to support students’ social capital development during online engineering courses. Research Questions: What aspects of an online, asynchronous, team-based, introductory electrical engineering course gave students instrumental and expressive social capital? What decisions did the instructor make to support the development of strong and weak social ties? Methodology: A case study approach was used to analyze interview data from the students, instructor, and graduate teaching assistant (TA) from an online course. Findings: The results indicate effective lecture delivery and a team-based format can provide students with instrumental social supports they need to meet learning objectives in an online asynchronous, introduction to electrical engineering course. To facilitate the development of expressive support and stronger ties, instructors should incorporate these goals in their course design decisions.

The Future of Laboratory Chemistry Learning and Teaching Must be Accessible.

This commentary is a call to make the future of chemistry laboratories accessible and inclusive. We draw from research and lived experience to put forward a list of recommendations for laboratory-based teaching. Our authorial team includes undergraduate and postgraduate chemistry students, graduate teaching assistants, teaching-focused and traditional research and teaching academics, and a Diversity Equality Inclusion (DEI/EDI) academic expert. We all have lived experiences of disability, chronic illness, neurodivergence, and other marginalizations related to race, religion, sexuality, or other characteristics. We believe that laboratory-based chemistry learning environments, teaching, assessment, and resources should be accessible to all students and staff.

Exploring student and demonstrator perspectives of the teaching and learning provided by demonstrators during undergraduate laboratory practical sessions

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) such as demonstrators are integral to higher education teaching. However, undergraduate student perceptions on the impact of demonstrators to their teaching and learning is understudied. Similarly, demonstrator perceptions on the quality and value of their teaching also remains largely unexplored. We addressed both students’ and demonstrators’ perceptions of demonstrator teaching and learning within undergraduate Biology practical sessions at a UK research intensive university. We combine quantitative and qualitative data to explore students’ ideas around where their learning and feedback comes from, and the effectiveness of demonstrators during their practical sessions. This was paired with analogous data from demonstrators derived from the same concepts, thereby helping to assess their dynamic. Most students considered demonstrators to be important for teaching and learning in the laboratory setting by delivering high quality pedagogy, creating a positive learning environment and by being their primary source of feedback. Conversely, a small number of students raised issues regarding demonstrator consistency and lack of knowledge when compared with a lecturer. Students largely considered demonstrators to have sufficient knowledge and to be more approachable than lecturers. Demonstrators also recognised their valuable contribution to teaching and learning and largely mirrored the ideas undergraduate students had about effective demonstrators. Many demonstrators believe they need to be allocated more paid time to fully prepare for teaching and maximise their potential. Finally, we reflect on lessons learnt from both students and demonstrators regarding how demonstrators can improve their teaching and how universities can support this.

Digital learning experience of engineering students in the pandemic

During the unprecedented world crisis of COVID-19, traditional offline courses were forced to be delivered online. Most students struggled with this change of delivery approach due to difficulties in accessing online resources, overwhelming and independent work, communication and concentration, isolation and longlines issues in online learning. Therefore, providing a positive digital learning experience for students was an important concern in UK Higher Education. Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are an indispensable part of the teaching community at the University of Warwick to deliver modules and facilitate WMG engineering students’ learning. Owing to the dual identity of student and teaching staff, doctoral researchers have a unique perspective in investigating students' digital learning experiences. As students, doctoral researchers empathise with the affective impact and physical constraints of online learning that hinder the student experience and learning. And as tutors, doctoral researchers recognise the pedagogical strategies that the digital tools enable, such as peer learning or reflection. This paper provides a reflective evaluation of how effective digital tools, and their uses are supporting the constructive alignment of learning while benefiting the student experience, such as Vevox, Padlet, and Microsoft Teams. In sharing a reflexive account of experiences with digital tools for learning and teaching, guidance is provided on how students’ digital learning experiences can be improved.

“You don't actually experience it until you're actually in it”: A translanguaging simulation for preservice teachers

“You don't actually experience it until you're actually in it”: A translanguaging simulation for preservice teachers

Lesson Study in Introduction to International Relations

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) who run independent sections for larger lecture courses typically receive insufficient feedback. Course evaluations, already flawed by numerous biases, offer an amalgam of student reactions to lecture and section, even when comments specifically laud or criticize section instructors. Course designs also vary greatly: Some professors meet regularly with their team of GTAs; others delegate to a lead GTA; and many simply let their GTAs do anything that gets students talking. Instead, we advocate a team-orientation approach: Lesson Study. Modifying the use of Lesson Study in science education, in turn adapted from a Japanese approach gaining popularity among K–12 educators, we concentrate on mentoring that emphasizes collaborative learning, rather than likeability surveys. Sections use a common assignment, which facilitates GTA participation in design and evaluation. The team meets in advance to confirm common pedagogical goals and again after sections to debrief. Insights may lead to immediate adaptations in subsequent assignments in the same term or revisions to the original assignment in subsequent semesters. Overall, this approach centers the collective articulation of lesson plan design and delivery through deliberately reflective practices that benefit both faculty members and GTAs.

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

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.

Mentoring New Online Graduate Teaching Assistants: From Concept to Practice

ABSTRACT Much has been written concerning large, public universities and their utilization of graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). However, most small, private colleges and universities do not use teaching assistants for online instruction. Therefore, providing online graduate students opportunities to build and hone their teaching practice is vitally important to the academy’s future. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to explain two frameworks that were developed to fill a gap in the literature pertaining to mentoring online doctoral graduate teaching assistants. The researchers summarize these frameworks, which focus on providing a teaching progression when mentoring doctoral teaching assistants in online courses. The framework employs a step-by-step, weekly progression over six weeks that develops graduate teaching assistants’ ability to teach online courses through weekly mentoring meetings and self-reflection to develop as future faculty.

Engagement of Students in an Organic Chemistry Lecture/Lab Course via Social Media Using Twitter

A teaching team composed of a faculty member (lecture) and a graduate teaching assistant (lab) endeavored to engage students enrolled in several sections of the same organic chemistry course through the use of social media. Students were encouraged to follow both instructors on Twitter and were asked to share aspects of the class using the social media site. Instructors regularly posted content and links relevant to the course and interacted with students, modeling professional social media interactions. Although the extent of student participation was limited, it was determined that this is a possible complementary outlet for class communication, sharing of information, and limited data gathering. In the lab courses, students were found to be more reticent to engage but did use the “follow” function to add the lab instructor to their Twitter networks. Lab and lecture courses were surveyed in order to determine factors affecting student engagement on social media. Results of the surveys and data collected in both courses are discussed with an emphasis on best practices.

Teacher identities of graduate teaching assistants: how we (De)legitimise GTAs’ role identities

ABSTRACT Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) are doctoral researchers who are paid to teach. Building on work exploring identity construction in doctoral education and in the GTA context, this study uses role identity theory (McCall and Simmons 1978) as a theoretical framework to explore the factors influencing GTAs’ teacher identity development. Role identity theory emphasises the importance of social interaction and negotiation of identity with those in similar and opposing roles. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine GTAs from a variety of STEMM disciplines. From a role identity perspective, we found that the development of GTA teacher identities was strongly influenced by the behaviours and values of others, whilst maintaining the autonomy of the individual. We conclude with a set of recommendations for academic leadership and practice that consider the institutional cultures within which teaching and learning are situated to suggest how GTAs can be supported to develop their identities as teachers.

Navigating tensions and asserting agency in language teacher identity: A case study of a graduate teaching assistant

This paper reports on a qualitative case study of an often-overlooked language teacher: The graduate teaching assistant (GTA). The study relies on the theoretical premise that teachers’ professional learning is a process of identity construction. During this process, teachers experience tensions as they are introduced to professional authoritative discourses (ADs) and negotiate internally persuasive discourses (IPDs). In the qualitative case study of Karina, a GTA at a US University (State University, henceforth), we address the research question: How did Karina navigate her identity tensions as a GTA in the German program at State University? Our findings detail the effect of authoritative discourses in the program, and a GTA's agency in developing her own IPD.