SECTION A. BACKGROUND
Overview of Responding Departments and
Their GTAs
- 38 departments that employ GTAs
completed the survey in Spring 2013
- 774 GTAs reported among the 38
departments
- 549 (71%) involved primarily in
classroom teaching as instructors of record or assistants to
instructors of record
- 225 (29%) involved primarily in
labs as lab supervisors, instructors of record for labs, or
assistants to instructors of record for labs
- 55% reported as master’s-level
GTAs; 45% doctoral-level
- 7 departments reported “significant”
increase in number of GTAs since 2011 survey
- most frequently reported functions
for Departmental GTA Coordinators
- write memoranda of appointment
to new GTAs
- coordinate with faculty needing
GTAs
- assign all GTAs to their duties
each semester
- ensure that each GTA has a
faculty mentor
- provide initial orientation for
new GTAs after the University-wide workshop
- provide regular group meetings
for GTAs
- conduct classroom visits
- provide individual meetings with
GTAs, often to follow up classroom visits
- deal with policy issues
- solve various problems that
arise each semester
- ensure that each GTA completes
UA’s online “Preventing Sexual Harassment” tutorial
- assign GTAs to teams to observe
experienced GTAs
- assure that written evaluations
occur for each GTA during the semester and/or at semester’s end
SECTION B. DEPARTMENTAL
ORIENTATION ACTIVITIES BEFORE OR DURING THE FIRST GTA SEMESTER
GTA *Instructors of Record or Assistants
to Instructors of Record
Courses on Teaching
- 58% of departments do not
require a course in teaching before GTAs teach or assist
- 31% require a course in
teaching
- 13% do not require a course
but do require GTAs to have teaching experience
- 7% provide an optional course
in teaching
- 60% require GTAs to work as
in-class assistants before they teach; 40% do not
- 66% of GTAs are assigned or
choose a mentor
Methods That Departments Use Most
Frequently to Prepare GTAs to Be Classroom Instructors of Record or to
Assist Classroom Instructors of Record
- 60% provide their GTAs
resources related to syllabi
- 50% provide workshops/seminars
- 47% provide handouts on
teaching, handling classroom issues, departmental procedures,
etc.
- 29% provide lectures or
seminars on teaching by experienced faculty
- 26% provide teaching
handbooks, manuals, etc.
- 21% provide instructional
videos on teaching
Methods to Prepare GTAs to Be Lab
Instructors of Record or to Assist Lab Instructors of Record
- 32% have lab TAs assist with
other labs before they are responsible for their own
- 3% have lab TAs take a class
in leading a lab
- 53% use other methods to
prepare lab GTAs, the most frequently used of which are:
- lab-specific training by
instructor of record and/or more-experienced lab GTAs
- 1- to 2-day departmental
workshops
SECTION C. ACTIVITIES FOR GTAs AFTER THE FIRST GTA SEMESTER
Percentage of Departments Using Selected
Methods To Enhance Ongoing GTA Development After the First GTA Semester
- 71% provide ongoing
mentoring/supervision
- 34% provide periodic workshops,
seminars and colloquia on teaching
- 16% provide visiting scholar
seminars
- 16% provide lectures on teaching
- 10% provide practicums
- 5% provide focus groups
Formal
vs. Informal Evaluation Methods
- 55% employ primarily or
exclusively informal evaluations of their GTAs
- 41% employ primarily or
exclusively formal evaluations of their GTAs
Informal
Evaluation Methods That
Departments Most Frequently Use
- Consistent observation by
mentors, other faculty, experienced GTAs and peers
- Regular meetings with
coordinator (weekly/biweekly are the most typical meeting
intervals)
- Regular e-mail and phone
contacts with coordinator
- Interviews of the students
with whom each GTA interacts
- Faculty/graduate committee
meetings to discuss individual GTAs
- Feedback from head/lead GTA in
departments that use one
- Classroom or lab visits by
coordinator
- Classroom or lab visits by
faculty in addition to the coordinator
- Meetings with individual GTAs
as problems or ineffective teaching methods are observed
Formal Evaluation Methods That
Departments Most Frequently Use
- Written Evaluations
- number of written
evaluations of GTAs in departments each semester
- 76% 1-3
- 22%
0
- 3% 5 or more
- 0% 4-5
- Classroom or lab visits with written
record of factors such as the following:
- class preparation
- knowledge of material
- professionalism/overall
demeanor
- delivery of material
- engagement of the
students/techniques used to ensure engagement
- SOI survey results
- department-specific or
college-specific end-of-semester evaluation forms
- mid-semester evaluations
- outcomes matrices/rubrics
- summative classroom teaching
evaluations
- self-evaluations by GTAs
- videotaped class lectures (by
13% of departments; evaluated formally and/or informally)
SECTION D.
CHANGES IN DEPARTMENTAL GTA TRAINING
Changes in the Last 2-3 Years That
Departments Feel Have Improved GTAs’ Performance the Most
- required first-time GTAs to assist
in one of the large survey courses taught by experienced instructors
- began having lab instructors sit
in the lecture for the first semester
- began more in-depth orientations
for lab assistants and lab instructors
- provided lab GTAs with more
detailed course materials
- developed a Graduate Handbook for
the first time, which spurred the development of a departmental GTA
Handbook
- developed a Lab Manual for GTAs
- made continuing financial support
contingent on satisfactory GTA performance
- began more in-depth orientations
for lab GTAs
- reduced lab orientation’s focus on
administrative issues and increased the focus on pedagogical issues
in the discipline
- moved to outcomes-based assessment
of our GTAs
- doubled the practicum course
contact hours
- initiated first-year training to
conduct discussion sections for large lecture classes
- began using a “head GTA” to assist
with GTAs’ class management and to meet with GTAs more often than
GTA coordinator or other faculty can
- revised curriculum in our course
on teaching to include guest lectures on the art of teaching, how to
present seminars, and how to advise undergraduate students
- began to feature experienced GTAs
in panel discussions on teaching
- improved teaching observation form
to focus more on active learning by undergraduate students
- began to have GTA coordinator
present a session on effective teaching methods of selected job
candidates, with a focus on helping GTAs prepare for teaching
demonstrations they might be asked to give when interviewing for a
faculty position
- increased collaboration between
GTAs and faculty members
- began to offer teaching workshops
2-3 times per year
Changes Being Considered For
the Future
- 24% increase the amount of
mentoring and supervision
- 21% refine the mentoring process
- 21% increase the number of class
visits by faculty and veteran GTAs
- 13% rotate the faculty members in
charge of initial GTA training and ongoing GTA development
- 10% expand the existing teaching
evaluations
- 8% begin videotaping GTAs
- 8% increase the number of meetings
with GTAs
- 5% develop new teaching
evaluations
- 5% provide colloquia or seminars
on teaching
- 5% develop a handbook/manual for
GTAs
- 5% establish a task force or
committee to address GTA issues specific to our department
- 3% begin team teaching
- 3% begin offering a course on
teaching in the discipline
Things That Prompted Departmental
Decisions to Change GTA Training
- needed to make the teaching
experience the best it can be
- needed to demonstrate continuous
improvement, to maintain accreditation, and to document GTA training
for ongoing program review
- needed to improve performance of
underperforming GTAs
- wanted to begin offering a
semester-long course on specific aspects of teaching for GTAs,
because workshops are not enough; for example, a course that focuses
on teaching writing, teaching culture and related topics
- needed to review how things are
done, in anticipation of new departmental hire
- needed to supervise our GTAs more
closely
- increased our concern for
maintaining the highest-possible level of instruction for our
undergraduates
- needed to enhance the professional
development of our GTAs
Additional Services Departments Would Like
To See the University Provide
- motivate ITAP/English Language
Institute to have stronger focus on lab supervision
- provide STEM-focused teaching
workshops for GTAs
- continue the Graduate School’s
workshop for new GTAs
- restore the service of having GTAs
videotaped in their classes, once conducted during the AY by the
Center for Teaching and Leaning
- provide more assistance on how to
handle disruptive students
- give departments “senior GTA”
lines to serve as peer mentors for new GTAs and assist GTA
coordinators
- provide a list of training videos
- provide departments more faculty
lines, to avoid having GTAs teach advanced undergraduate courses
- provide a course on
professionalism
- fund departments to bring in
experts on pedagogy or have their GTAs attend local conferences on
teaching
- increase the recognition by UA
administration of the need for close supervision of GTAs by
experienced teachers
________
*Instructors of
Record: GTAs must complete 18 graduate semester hours in the
teaching/lab discipline before serving as instructors of record and/or
assigning course grades. For more information, see
SACS
18-hour Rule for Teaching Assistants
in the Graduate School’s online A-Z site index.
|
University of Alabama |
Graduate School |
Site Index |
Contact |
Last Update
09/16/2014