Teaching Assistants

ABSTRACT This paper describes in detail a successful training program developed for sessional (part-time or nonpermanent) laboratory demonstrators employed in the Electrical Engineering Department of an Australian university. Such demonstrators play an important role in teaching practical concepts and skills in engineering. The success of the program relies on a centralized approach coordinated by a carefully selected Laboratory Manager responsible for the recruitment, allocation, training, and development of sessional teachers, and for assessing student satisfaction with them. The paper examines the overall impact of the program on these teachers': 1) introducing laboratory material; 2) preparation; 3) communication; 4) interest in student learning; 5) ability to respond to questions; and 6) overall effectiveness. Sessional teacher satisfaction with the training program is also examined, and the data were used to inform the program's further development. The results show that the training program successfully improved the demonstrators' teaching skills and thus led to greater satisfaction and hence learning experience of both students and demonstrators.

Building on prior research into active learning pedagogy in political science, I discuss the development of a new active learning strategy called the “thesis-building carousel,” designed for use in political theory tutorials. This use of active learning pedagogy in a graduate student-led political theory tutorial represents the overlap of several currents of political science education research. First, the graduate teaching assistant-led tutorial is a common complement to large lecture-based introductory courses in political theory. Second, where International Relations has led the expansion of active learning in political science, political theory has lagged behind other subfields (Archer & Miller 2011). The thesis-building carousel is designed to develop skills necessary for political theory classes—essay writing and peer review. The article concludes with a discussion of how active learning activities designed for specialized spaces can be modified for use in traditional classroom settings, with the example of three forms of “summary carousels.”

Written at the behest of the Teaching Support Centre in my role as Lead Graduate Teaching Assistant (2013-2014), this document serves to introduce the role of the teaching assistant to those unfamiliar with the job description and the pedagogical roles it makes the TA responsible for. "Of the many tasks you are asked to perform during your time as a graduate student at Western, your teaching assistantship can be one of the most rewarding, time consuming, interesting, and downright challenging. This handbook assembles a few things to help you along the way. It is intended as an introduction to common situations and a repository of basic strategies and tactics for what is a fluid and highly individual act: teaching."

Please note: this is a draft copy intended for observation only, and it has not been endorsed by the Department of English and Writing Studies at Western University; therefore, it in no way reflects that department's official or unofficial practices, and must be seen to exist only as a draft of a provisional document.

Language Assistants have been the most important value-add to a language class ever since they have existed, considering the high levels of primary or first-hand inputs that they bring. Being natives from various countries, they not only bring a rich linguistic perspective from their respective country, they also being along an abundant cultural perspective to learners; thus giving them an opportunity to further discover, appreciate and fall in love with the target language as well as the socio-cultural aspect.
Such programs have been extremely successful in France (Assistants de langues vivantes by the France Education Internationale), Spain (Auxiliares de conversación – Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports), many Latin American countries and the United States of America (Full Bright – Hindi, Urdu and Bengali) & United Kingdom (British Council) and moreover many Indians have participated in such programs as Assistants teaching English, Hindi, Urdu and Bengali.
The Indian education system, leaving little space for smaller classes and student-centered approaches, can take great advantage of the presence of a Language Assistant. This paper studies the attractiveness of India as a destination for Language Assistants from France, Canada, Africa, Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, and other South American Hispanic countries and the openness of such assistants to work at that post, online or in person and their motivations and expectations thereof, through a questionnaire.
Key Words: Language Assistants, Teaching Assistant, Socio-Cultural Aspect, Value Add, Native speakers, Indian Education System

Ovaj rad predstavlja tabelarni prikaz najvažnijih naučnih radova i knjiga, urađenih od početka 21. stoljeća (period 2000.-2020.) od strane profesora i asistenata koji su tenutno zaposleni na geografskim katedrama i smjerovima u okviru: Prirodno-matematičkog fakulteta u Sarajevu, Prirodoslovno-matematičkog fakulteta u Zagrebu  i Geografskog fakulteta u Beogradu.

Cilj ovakvog tipa istraživanja je prikazati trenutni nastavni kadar koji predaje na geografskim smjerovima u Sarajevu, Zagrebu i Beogradu, kao i njihove rezultate u naučnim istraživanjima i geografskoj nauci. Ono što se boduje za svakog profesora i asistenta su urađene: geografske enciklopedije, geografski leksikoni, geografske bibliografije, geografski rječnici, geografski atlasi, geografske naučne knjige i fakultetski (Univerzitetski) udžbenici, geografski praktikumi, priručnici i vodiči, geografski školski udžbenici i radne sveske, geografske i druge naučne monografije. Način bodovanja je veoma jednostavan i poredan je po važnosti i težini izrade određenih vrsta geografskih publikacija. Ono što nije obuhvaćeno ovim prikazom jesu naučni članci, tekstovi i radovi, koji se objavljuju u određenim časopisima, žurnalima i geografskim pregledima (lokalni i međunarodni). Za svakog profesora i asistenta u tabeli su prikazani: godina rođenja, period predavanja na navedenom fakultetu, broj samostalnih, koautorskih i grupnih radova, kao i ukupan broj bodova za urađene naučne knjige i izdanja.

The Saudi Arabian Special Education Regulations define the role and requirements from teaching assistants within the educational process. Although all public special education programs are subject to such regulations, their implementation in practice sometimes appears contradictory. Therefore, special educators frequently encounter a range of problems when they fail to comply with such regulations. This article discusses how teaching assistants influence the teaching practices delivered to students with disabilities in special education settings. A qualitative case study approach was conducted using 22 semi-structured interviews. The results suggest a need to focus on the role of the teaching assistant in special education classes to ensure exposure to effective learning practices for students with disabilities. Based on these findings, a number of important implications for future practice, in terms adopting appropriate provisions are suggested.

Support for children with special educational needs (SEN) in inclusive classrooms, in many countries, continues to be provided by teaching assistants (TAs). Whilst they frequently take responsibility for instruction, they are rarely adequately trained and prepared. As TAs have ample opportunities for individualised and group interactions, this paper recommends scaffolding as the key theory to inform their practice. From a large dataset of interactions in mathematics and literacy lessons, episodes of TA scaffolding were selected. Using conversation analysis, three scaffolding roles emerged: 1) a support role that maintained learner engagement, on-task behaviour and motivation; 2) a repair function that focused on learning and fostered independence when children were in difficulty; and c) a heuristic role that encouraged students to use their own learning strategies. The paper concludes with implications for trainers and managers and how teachers can support TAs in implementing each role.

Although multiple studies have investigated teaching assistants in public schools, there is little research dedicated to the study of teaching assistants in international schools. The purpose of this study was to investigate teaching assistant wellbeing in international schools in East Asia through the lenses of locally-hired teaching assistants to discover what they consider to be barriers in their positions. Data acquisition for this descriptive perception study occurred through an online questionnaire that was completed by 134 teaching assistants working in international schools in East and Southeast Asia in March and April of 2019. The main findings of this research study were that many teaching assistants in international schools desire relevant professional development, fairer working environment, more professional and career opportunities, and more equitable salary conditions.

Writings on diversity and inclusion have been slow to consider religion along with such facts as gender, ethnicity, class and disability. Yet there are many students and families for whom personal religious belief and practice are important. The right to hold a particular belief, religious or secular, should be accepted as part of a wider spectrum of rights to equal participation in education. Teaching assistants and others (e.g. parents, mentors) who work in school classrooms alongside teachers can play an invaluable role in facilitating inclusion. Both by what they say and by their actions they can play a major role in helping students to be tolerant and respectful of difference, including religious difference. Teaching assistants and others can also be an important link between the school and the wider community. By drawing in, and going out to, the local community and working with local organisations (including faith groups) schools can develop their inclusive cultures in terms of sharing, accepting, celebrating and understanding. Developing these kinds of relationships with parents of school students and with the wider community can take time and effort but prove to be mutually rewarding.

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how Q Methodology can be used as a needs assessment tool for a Biology graduate teaching assistant (GTA) instructional training program. GTAs are used as the instructors of an increasingly diverse population of undergraduate students. GTAs are a diverse population of students with varying amounts of pedagogical preparation, research abilities, and motivation to complete their graduate study. They are often expected to prepare and grade exams, write their own syllabi, design course curriculum, prepare and present lectures, monitor student progress, hold office hours, and assign final grades, all with minimal faculty supervision. Although not all GTAs will become professors, many will, and the teaching assistantship remains the major preparation for their roles as faculty members. Since the majority of science professors have been GTAs, this instructional training program is of critical importance.

Approaches to developing instructional training programs for GTAs vary from departmental workshops to campus-wide instructional seminars. Program evaluation is an intrinsic part of assuring that such programs best serve GTA needs, and that GTAs can best fulfill their roles in their respective departments. Q Methodology offers a number of potential advantages over traditional survey techniques for assessing needs of GTAs throughout their graduate school career, allowing program supervisors to evaluate and modify the program relative to GTA needs. Q Methodology allows the researcher to identify and interpret various viewpoints the GTAs hold in regard to graduate school.

This is not only important to the supervisors of GTA instructional programs, but to the GTAs.

This Q Methodology study led to three GTA viewpoints (“The Emerging Teacher,” “The GTA Who Prefers Research,” and “The Anxious GTA”) that provide insight about GTA and programmatic needs. Q Methodology can provide predictor profiles, or “typologies” that are more useful than simple variables and demographic information for the classification of people, especially within program evaluation (Newman & Ramlo, 2011). “The Anxious GTA” viewpoint, which suggests a group of GTAs who may be at risk for failure in their degree program, may be further investigated for retention and program completion. The results of this study will be used to consider potential changes or updates to the existing training program that may include scaffolding, differentiation, peer or faculty mentoring, or self-directed learning strategies.

While Teaching Assistants (TAs) have been regularly used in large lecture courses and beginning design education in the United States for over 150 years, their preparation, use and empowerment has not been carefully examined.  More recently, the preparation and use of Teaching Assistants has become increasingly codified to meet the ever-changing demands and expectations of students, Teaching Assistants, faculty, universities, professions, and the general public. 
This paper is organized into three sections:  First, we will examine how the role of a Teaching Assistant has radically changed in the past 40 years, from its past focus on assisting an individual faculty in the teaching of their class to becoming an integral member of a co-teaching team of students, Teaching Assistants and faculty today.  Second, we share a series of best practices for preparing, collaborating with and empowering Teaching Assistants.  Our advice is based on the authors’ past 40 years of experience working with over 100+ Teaching Assistants and teaching over 15,000 freshmen and sophomores campus wide in both face-to-face and online classes.  Third, we will invite you, and other Teaching Assistants and faculty, to join the discussion, share your own experiences and innovations, and lay the foundations for your own future teaching pedagogy and research.  While our paper and recommendations are primarily for first-time Teaching Assistants assigned to large lecture classes and beginning design studios, they are also broadly applicable to many teaching situations in both face-to-face and online courses throughout the university.

Support staff in schools are increasingly recognized as playing an important, though often undefined, role in inclusive education. While there has been some research on how best to work with support staff, this book provides readers with a comprehensive examination of roles and responsibilities within the classroom. Issues in determining appropriate ways to work effectively with support staff are raised, along with strategies teachers can use to enhance the collaborative and reflective nature of working with others.

Undergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs) have long been shown to support student learning in higher education, but most of the research on UTAs has been done in Western contexts. The aim of this study was to pilot a UTA programme within a first-year, interdisciplinary, team-based qualitative research methods course with fieldwork component at a large university in Singapore and evaluate the overall UTA experience. The findings pinpoint the UTAs’ motivations to serve, self-assessed contributions to student learning, expected and realized challenges, personal benefits both sought and gained, and post-course reflections as well as suggestions for improvement in future programmes. These UTAs, like their Western counterparts, are committed and capable peer mentors who can collaborate meaningfully with instructors to enhance undergraduate learning.

In 2009 Strasbourg Council issued a call for tenders for an in-service training course aimed at nursery school assistants working in the city to enable them to better “communicate with non-French speaking children”. A small team of teachers and researchers from the University of Strasbourg responded to this call, firmly believing in the pivotal role played by nursery assistants in children’s language development given their close daily contact with children and their families. In this article we firstly situate Strasbourg pre-schools within the local and national context, referring to French ministerial policy documents and statistics which reflect the extent and nature of super-diversity in the region. Secondly, we describe, analyse and evaluate the content, approach and impact of this innovative course referring to qualitative data collected from course participants. Findings suggest that nursery school assistants, when empowered with knowledge about language and guided in their e...

Dawson, D., Dimitrov, N., Meadows, K. N., & Olsen, K. (2013). Bridging the gap: The impact of the Teaching in the Canadian Classroom program on the teaching effectiveness of international teaching assistants. Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario.

Bridging the Gap: The Impact of the ‘Teaching in the Canadian Classroom’ Program on the Teaching Effectiveness of International Teaching Assistants examined  TA training programs at Western University and found that a program enhanced with significant intercultural components has a positive impact on the development of international graduate students – not only as teachers, but also as graduate students.

Project Description
The study examined two TA training programs – one with substantial intercultural content and designed expressly for international TAs, the other a general program with limited intercultural content – to determine their impact on the transition of international graduate students to Canadian higher education. Both programs include “microteaching sessions” where TAs receive detailed feedback on a ten-minute lesson that they teach and modules on effective teaching techniques. The intercultural program also addresses such issues as cultural differences in the role of instructors and students, expectations for student engagement and strategies to help international students bridge cultural differences in communication styles with their students and supervisors.

Students from a variety of disciplines who enrolled in both programs between January 2011 and January 2012 participated in the study. At the beginning and end of each program, participants completed a series of self-report questionnaires and some also participated in follow-up focus groups.  Canadian TAs participating in the general program were included in the research as a comparison group.

Findings
The international TAs who participated in the intercultural program made greater gains in their overall teaching effectiveness in the microteaching session, although other analyses found no significant differences between the three groups. However, the focus group interviews, which took place four to seven months after the programs, revealed considerable differences between the two training programs in terms of long-term impact. Participants in the intercultural program evidenced a shift towards more student-centered approaches to teaching and an increased ability to achieve active learning in their classrooms.

As the authors note, these students “saw themselves as facilitators of learning rather than transmitters of information.” Several TAs also said they noticed both effective and ineffective teaching techniques by their professors more keenly.

Given that differences between the two program outcomes were more evident in the focus group discussions conducted several months later, the authors suggest that the impact on effective teaching is long-term and may emerge several months after program completion.  The authors also note that participants in the intercultural program were, on average, somewhat older and had more prior teaching experience, whereas participants in the general program were mostly novice teachers.


Further research/policy implications
The report encourages colleagues at other institutions to consider replicating the research with their own related programs, and notes that future research should examine such programs for long-term changes in teacher behaviours.

Universities should invest in enhanced intercultural training for their international TAs, according to the report. “Given the large number of international graduate students who are teaching in our undergraduate programs, we feel it is essential that these students receive training in teaching, both for the students they will teach, and for their own academic success…The competencies that [these students] develop in the program are necessary in a global society – competencies that would also be a valuable skill for Canadian graduate students,” the authors say. “If resources allow, universities may consider developing a graduate student development program enhanced with intercultural communication components for all of their teaching assistants.”

The National Education Policy, 2020 emphasizes on the need to generate awareness as well as conduct research on various aspects of the emerging disruptive technologies. Chatbots are one of the disruptive technologies which are finding its way into education. Chatbots are the software programmes which can take the form of text/voice; facial mode or robots and can act like a helping hand to the teacher. Chatbots with and without educational intentions are being used in education for various purposes. With educational intention, chatbots developed on the basis of socio-constructivist approaches of learning can be used for various purposes like providing interactive quizzes, acting like virtual tutors, programmes for exercise and practice, assessment, answering questions, delivering videos of past lectures. Chatbots developed on the basis of behaviorist and cognitivist approaches of learning are used to perform various activities which do not have educational intentions like answering the FAQs related to course, handling many repetitive questions raised by students regarding project guidelines, deliverables, deadlines, grades, etc. Chatbots in education is less explored area and acceptance of chatbots by education stakeholders and its integration and effectiveness in education need to be explored further.

In this paper we argue that Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) are in a liminal position between taught students and fully fledged academic staff. This unique position provides the context for their knowledge about learning and teaching, which is situated in the particularity of their perspective. This singular perspective can be broadened through the kind of scholarly activity involved in student-staff partnership to better reflect the multiplicity of student experiences. GTAs' unique position allows them to better bridge the perspectives of staff and students, such that they can play an important role mediating between the two and providing invaluable insight to teaching and learning enhancement. Furthermore, GTAs have much to gain from working in partnership, in particular gaining a sense of being valued in a role that often feels dismissed. Nevertheless, there are particular dangers of the relationship falling into a familiar apprenticeship pattern and not fulfilling GTAs' expectations if staff fail to buy-into the ethos of partnership.

Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) are postgraduate research students who contribute to the teaching of undergraduates while they pursue their own doctoral research. This paper reports on a mathematics-specific 10 learning hour introduction to teaching for postgraduate mathematics research student GTAs. The principles that guided the design of the course are discussed and results from our practitioner research are presented. We found that ‘training’ could not be delivered in such a short course yet, paradoxically perhaps, education could be achieved, given the qualities of our GTA participants.