Journal of Research in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education

A Pilot Study of Supporting GTA Professional Development and Educator Identity in Engineering

Gokce Akcayir 1,
Janelle McFeetors 1,
Mijung Kim 1 * ,
Kerry Rose 1,
Marnie Jamieson 1,
Kristian Basaraba 1,
Qingna Jin 2,
Duncan Buchanan 1
1 University of Alberta2 Cape Breton University* Corresponding Author
Download PDF
Journal of Research in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, Online-First Articles, pp. -
OPEN ACCESS VIEWS: 58 DOWNLOADS: 34 Publication date: 13 Apr 2024
ABSTRACT
Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) significantly contribute to the learning and experiences of undergraduate students. Thus, supporting and enhancing GTA pedagogical knowledge and competencies can improve the learning experiences of undergraduates. Towards this goal, a discipline-specific pedagogical professional development program was created for GTAs in the Faculty of Engineering at a Canadian university. This case study explores the perspectives of participating GTAs, including how they engaged in learning about teaching, what they learned, their emerging educator identity formation, and the challenges they faced during the program. Situated learning theory informed the analysis of participant interviews and focus groups. Findings indicate that GTAs appreciated the situated and embedded nature of the program, reporting limited prior familiarity with pedagogical tools and practices and their application. Results also highlight the need to align GTA roles and responsibilities, providing opportunities to put their learning into practice with the pedagogical knowledge they developed in the program.
KEYWORDS
Teaching assistants, professional development, educator identity formation, community of practice, engineering education, situated learning.
CITATION (APA)
Akcayir, G., McFeetors, J., Kim, M., Rose, K., Jamieson, M., Basaraba, K., Jin, Q., & Buchanan, D. (2024). A Pilot Study of Supporting GTA Professional Development and Educator Identity in Engineering. Journal of Research in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education. https://doi.org/10.31756/jrsmte.722
REFERENCES
  1. Agrawal, A. (2018). A Multiple-case study exploring the experiences of international teaching assistants in engineering. (Doctor of Philosophy), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10919/84458
  2. Altalib, H. (2002). Situated cognition: Describing the theory. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED475183.pdf
  3. Bale, R., & Anderson, M. (2022). Teacher identities of graduate teaching assistants: how we (De)legitimise GTAs’ role identities. Teaching in Higher Education, 1-16. doi:10.1080/13562517.2022.2109015
  4. Barr, M., & Wright, P. (2019). Training graduate teaching assistants: What can the discipline offer? European Political Science, 18(1), 143-156. doi:10.1057/s41304-018-0175-6
  5. Boman, J. S. (2013). Graduate student teaching development: Evaluating the effectiveness of training in relation to graduate student characteristics. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 43(1), 100-114. doi:10.47678/cjhe.v43i1.2072
  6. Boudreau, J., & Anis, H. (2019). Teaching assistant training in engineering design. Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA)(0). doi:10.24908/pceea.vi0.13746
  7. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
  8. Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32-42. doi:10.2307/1176008
  9. Bubbar, K., Dimopoulos, A., Korpan, C., & Wild, P. (2017). An overview of the teaching assistant consultant program for developing competency in novice engineering graduate teaching assistants. Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA)(0). doi:10.24908/pceea.v0i0.7335
  10. Chadha, D. (2015). Evaluating the impact of the graduate certificate in academic practice (GCAP) programme.
  11. International Journal for Academic Development, 20(1), 46-57. doi:10.1080/1360144X.2014.940956
  12. Chen Musgrove, M. M., & Schussler, E. (2020). The Ph. D. Panic: Examining the relationships among teaching anxiety, teaching self-efficacy, and coping in Biology graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). Journal of Research in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 5, 65-107. doi:10.31756/jrsmte.114SI
  13. Easton, L. B. (2008). From professional development to professional learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 89(10), 755-761. doi:10.1177/003172170808901014
  14. Ebbers, S. J. (2015). The SAGE encyclopedia of educational technology. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc. Retrieved from https://sk.sagepub.com/reference/the-sage-encyclopedia-of-educational-technology. doi:10.4135/9781483346397
  15. Fernández-Cézar, R., Henar, H., Francisco, P., & Cristina, S. (2020). Is there any impact of teaching vector spaces from real problems? The case of first year engineering students. Journal of Research in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 3(3), 125-139. doi:10.31756/jrsmte.332
  16. Gardner, G. E., & Jones, M. G. (2011). Pedagogical preparation of the science graduate teaching assistant: Challenges and implications. Science Educator, 20(2), 31-41. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ960634
  17. Goel, L., Johnson, N., Junglas, I., & Ives, B. (2010). Situated learning: Conceptualization and measurement. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 8(1), 215-240. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4609.2009.00252.x
  18. Hardré, P. L., & Burris, A. O. (2012). What contributes to teaching assistant development: differential responses to key design features. Instructional Science, 40(1), 93-118. doi:10.1007/s11251-010-9163-0
  19. Harper, K. A., Zierden, H. C., Wegman, K. R., Kajfez, R. L., & Kecskemety, K., M. (2015). Teaching assistant professional development through design: Why they participate and how they benefit. Seattle, Washington. https://peer.asee.org/24806
  20. Hsu, H.-C. K. (2019). Creating a diverse and inclusive STEM-eLearning environment through an online graduate teaching assistant training module. New York, New York. https://peer.asee.org/33801
  21. Johri, A., Olds, B. M., & O’Connor, K. (2014). Situative frameworks for engineering learning research. In A. Johri & B. M. Olds (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of engineering education research (pp. 47-66). Cambridge University Press.
  22. Kajfez, R. L., & Matusovich, H. M. (2013, 23-26 Oct. 2013). The practical applications of understanding Graduate Teaching Assistant motivation and identity development. Paper presented at the 2013 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE).
  23. Kajfez, R. L., & Matusovich, H. M. (2020). The role of identity in understanding graduate teaching assistants: A mixed methods analysis. International Journal of Engineering Education, 36(3), 1049-1061. https://www.ijee.ie/1atestissues/Vol36-3/20_ijee3933.pdf
  24. Kurdziel, J. P., Turner, J. A., Luft, J. A., & Roehrig, G. H. (2003). Graduate teaching assistants and inquiry-based instruction: Implications for graduate teaching assistant training. Journal of Chemical Education, 80(10), 1206. doi:10.1021/ed080p1206
  25. Lang, F. K., Randles, C. A., & Jeffery, K. A. (2020). Developing and evaluating a graduate student teaching assistant training course in the chemistry department of a large American university. Journal of Chemical Education, 97(6), 1515-1529. doi:10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00686
  26. Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation: Cambridge University Press.
  27. Lee, S. W. (2019). The impact of a pedagogy course on the teaching beliefs of inexperienced graduate teaching assistants. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 18(1). doi:10.1187/cbe.18-07-0137
  28. Lemke, J. L. (1997). Cognition, context, and learning: A social semiotic perspective. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
  29. Luft, J. A., Kurdziel, J. P., Roehrig, G. H., & Turner, J. (2004). Growing a garden without water: Graduate teaching assistants in introductory science laboratories at a doctoral/research university. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 41(3), 211-233. doi:10.1002/tea.20004
  30. McFeetors, P. J. (2014). Authoring themselves as mathematical learners: Students’ experiences of learning to learn high school mathematics (Doctoral dissertation), University of Alberta.
  31. Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Case study as qualitative research. In S. B. Merriam (Ed.), Qualitative research and case study application in education (pp. 26-43). Jossey-Bass.
  32. Mintz, J. A. (1998). The role of centralized programs in preparing graduate students to teach. In J. P. M. Marincovich, & F. Stout (Ed.), The professional development of graduate teaching assistants (pp. 19-40). Anker Publishing.
  33. Nelson, N., & Brennan, R. (2021). Covid-19: a motivator for change in engineering education? Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA). doi:10.24908/pceea.vi0.14945
  34. Nicklow, J. W., Marikunte, S. S., & Chevalier, L. R. (2007). Balancing pedagogical and professional practice skills in the training of graduate teaching assistants. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, 133(2), 89-93. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)1052-3928(2007)133:2(89)
  35. O’Neill, G., & McNamara, M. (2016). Passing the baton: a collaborative approach to development and implementation of context-specific modules for graduate teaching assistants in cognate disciplines. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 53(6), 570-580. doi:10.1080/14703297.2015.1020825
  36. Reeves, T. D., Marbach-Ad, G., Miller, K. R., Ridgway, J., Gardner, G. E., Schussler, E. E., & Wischusen, E. W. (2016). A conceptual framework for graduate teaching assistant professional development evaluation and research. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 15(2). doi:10.1187/cbe.15-10-0225
  37. Serow, R. C., Van Dyk, P. B., McComb, E. M., & Harrold, A. T. (2002). Cultures of undergraduate teaching at research universities. Innovative Higher Education, 27(1), 25-37. doi:10.1023/A:1020416306430
  38. Shadiow, L., & Weimer, M. (2015). How do I make choices about who I am as a teacher? Retrieved from https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/philosophy-of-teaching/how-do-i-make-choices-about-who-i-am-as-a- teacher/
  39. Sharpe, R. (2000). A framework for training graduate teaching assistants. Teacher Development, 4(1), 131- 143. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530000200106
  40. Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4- 14. doi:10.3102/0013189x015002004
  41. Slaughter, J., Rodgers, T., & Henninger, C. (2023). An evidence-based approach to developing faculty- wide training for graduate teaching assistants. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 20(4). https://doi.org/10.53761/1.20.4.17
  42. Smith, E. R., & Semin, G. R. (2004). Socially situated cognition: Cognition in its social context. In Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 36, pp. 53-117). Academic Press.
  43. Smith, J. K. (1992). Interpretive inquiry: A practical and moral activity. Theory Into Practice, 31(2), 100-106. doi:10.1080/00405849209543530
  44. Stanberry, M. L., & Payne, W. R. (2018). Active learning in undergraduate STEM education: A review of research. In M. S. S. A. Kiray (Ed.), Research highlights in STEM education (pp. 147-164). ISRES Publishing.
  45. Theobald, E. J., Hill, M. J., Tran, E., Agrawal, S., Arroyo, E. N., Behling, S., . . . Freeman, S. (2020). Active learning narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math. Philosophical and Cognitive Sciences, 117(12), 6476-6483. doi:10.1073/pnas.1916903117
  46. Verleger, M., A., & Diefes-Dux, H., A. (2013). A teaching assistant training protocol for improving feedback on open-ended engineering problems in large classes. Atlanta, Georgia. https://peer.asee.org/19135
  47. Vermunt, J. D. (2015). Situated Learning. In R. Gunstone (Ed.), Encyclopedia of science education (pp. 969-972). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.
  48. Webster-Wright, A. (2009). Reframing professional development through understanding authentic professional learning. Review of Educational Research, 79(2), 702-739. doi:10.3102/0034654308330970
  49. Wenger, E. (2013). Dr Etienne Wenger: Learning in landscapes of practice. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn3joQSQm4o
  50. Williams, M., & Moser, T. (2019). The art of coding and thematic exploration in qualitative research. International Management Review, 15(1), 45-55.
  51. Young, S. L., & Bippus, A. M. (2008). Assessment of Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) training: A case study of a training program and its impact on GTAs. Communication Teacher, 22(4), 116-129. doi:10.1080/17404620802382680
LICENSE
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.