Graduate Teaching Assistants Views of Their Own Teaching Practice Competence

Rachel Louis Kajfez; Holly M Matusovich

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Conference: 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Publication Date: June 23, 2013
Start Date: June 23, 2013
End Date: June 26, 2013
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Training and Mentoring of Graduate Teaching Assistants
Tagged Division: Graduate Studies
Page Count: 13
Page Numbers: 23.648.1 - 23.648.13
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--19662
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/19662
Download Count: 533

Paper Authors

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Rachel Louis Kajfez Virginia Tech orcid.org/0000-0001-9745-1921

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Rachel Louis Kajfez is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. She earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Civil Engineering from The Ohio State University where she specialized in construction. Currently, Rachel is a Dean’s Teaching Fellow, is a Departmental Ambassador, and is actively involved in ASEE. Her current research interests include graduate student motivation and identity development.

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Holly M Matusovich Virginia Tech

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Abstract

Graduate Teaching Assistants Views of Their Own Teaching Practice CompetenceGraduate teaching assistants (GTAs) serve a variety of roles in engineering classrooms includingprimary instructor, lab supervisor, grader, classroom assistant, and more. Althoughresponsibilities vary, the importance of GTAs to undergraduate students’ learning experiences isoften quite high. Therefore, it is important that GTAs be appropriately trained for theirclassroom roles. Developing and improving such training in meaningful ways requiresunderstanding GTA experiences, in their own words and from their own perspectives. To date,little is known about GTA experiences. Even less is known about GTA views on theircompetence, and literature shows that competence beliefs are particularly important in teachingexperiences in general. This study specifically examines the competence views of GTAsinvolved in first-year engineering programs with regard to their knowledge and application ofteaching practices or pedagogy. The research is framed in self-determination theory where thethree basic needs of competence, relatedness, and autonomy foster motivation. Note that thispaper focuses on only one part of teaching competence, i.e., knowledge of teaching practices.To begin to understand GTAs’ views of their teaching practice competence, interviews wereconducted with GTAs at a variety of institutions selected because they have common first-yearengineering programs, i.e., all engineering students take the same introductory engineeringcourse. For this paper, five qualitative interviews have been analyzed, each from a differentinstitution. The interviews were approximately one hour long and were conducted over thephone. They were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim for analysis. A case study approachwas used to analyze the results where open coding was the main analysis technique.Based on the analysis, GTAs report little to no training on teaching practices in their first-yearengineering programs, but they do indicate that training is provided through other venues at theuniversity. Many comment that basic training is required at the university level before one’s firstterm teaching but no formal training is required afterwards. They do receive training on the“what” of teaching (the content), but the “how” of teaching (teaching approaches and practices)is often overlooked. This paper will expand on these finding including recommendations forimproving GTA teaching practice competence. As the field of engineering education continuesto develop, the GTAs, who are, in many cases, future educators and the first face studentsencounter in their engineering journeys, need to develop competence in the “what” and the“how” of teaching to ensure future engineers are getting the best education possible.

Citation
Format

Kajfez, R. L., & Matusovich, H. M. (2013, June), Graduate Teaching Assistants Views of Their Own Teaching Practice Competence Paper presented at 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia. 10.18260/1-2--19662

TY - CPAPER
AB - Graduate Teaching Assistants Views of Their Own Teaching Practice CompetenceGraduate teaching assistants (GTAs) serve a variety of roles in engineering classrooms includingprimary instructor, lab supervisor, grader, classroom assistant, and more. Althoughresponsibilities vary, the importance of GTAs to undergraduate students’ learning experiences isoften quite high. Therefore, it is important that GTAs be appropriately trained for theirclassroom roles. Developing and improving such training in meaningful ways requiresunderstanding GTA experiences, in their own words and from their own perspectives. To date,little is known about GTA experiences. Even less is known about GTA views on theircompetence, and literature shows that competence beliefs are particularly important in teachingexperiences in general. This study specifically examines the competence views of GTAsinvolved in first-year engineering programs with regard to their knowledge and application ofteaching practices or pedagogy. The research is framed in self-determination theory where thethree basic needs of competence, relatedness, and autonomy foster motivation. Note that thispaper focuses on only one part of teaching competence, i.e., knowledge of teaching practices.To begin to understand GTAs’ views of their teaching practice competence, interviews wereconducted with GTAs at a variety of institutions selected because they have common first-yearengineering programs, i.e., all engineering students take the same introductory engineeringcourse. For this paper, five qualitative interviews have been analyzed, each from a differentinstitution. The interviews were approximately one hour long and were conducted over thephone. They were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim for analysis. A case study approachwas used to analyze the results where open coding was the main analysis technique.Based on the analysis, GTAs report little to no training on teaching practices in their first-yearengineering programs, but they do indicate that training is provided through other venues at theuniversity. Many comment that basic training is required at the university level before one’s firstterm teaching but no formal training is required afterwards. They do receive training on the“what” of teaching (the content), but the “how” of teaching (teaching approaches and practices)is often overlooked. This paper will expand on these finding including recommendations forimproving GTA teaching practice competence. As the field of engineering education continuesto develop, the GTAs, who are, in many cases, future educators and the first face studentsencounter in their engineering journeys, need to develop competence in the “what” and the“how” of teaching to ensure future engineers are getting the best education possible.
AU - Rachel Louis Kajfez
AU - Holly M Matusovich
CY - Atlanta, Georgia
DA - 2013/06/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Graduate Teaching Assistants Views of Their Own Teaching Practice Competence
UR - https://peer.asee.org/19662
DO - 10.18260/1-2--19662
ER -