Describes a training program for graduate teaching assistants at the University of Aukland and a survey showing that support for such training across the campus was inconsistent; while teaching assistants often understood the efficacy of such programs, "decision makers" often did not. (EV)

Describes guidelines used in a teaching assistant development course for the University of California, Davis' physics department, and provides examples of activities that the guidelines inspired. The development course focused on meeting both short-term course preparation goals, and long-term professional development goals. (EV)

Describes an instructional design process, the Gagne, Briggs, and Wager (1992) Events of Instruction, and applies it to a topic to demonstrate its utility. Suggests that directors of graduate teaching assistant programs can use the information to integrate instructional design training into existing programs for teaching assistants. (EV)

Describes a collaborative language-focused curriculum design project in a 3-week training workshop for international teaching assistants. The design attempts to deal with the shortcomings of short and intensive programs. Outlines the theoretical underpinnings and structure and process of the curriculum design effort. (SLD)

Presents a "how to" plan for a workshop for a group of teaching assistants (TAs) from a variety of disciplines. The workshop aims to help TAs learn more interactive teaching methods with less reliance on the lecture, with the idea that such methods can help their students to become learners. (EV)

Describes and evaluates a four-session training program for Multidisciplinary Engineering Laboratory (MEL) teaching assistants at the Colorado School of Mines. The sessions focus attention on student development approaches to learning. (EV)

Cornell University's College of Engineering TA Development Program trains experienced engineering graduate students, called TA Fellows, to deliver instruction in teaching to new teaching assistants (TAs). Two TA Fellows act as co-facilitators at all times, in all workshops. The instruction is grounded in engineering case study and delivered using…

Presents innovative international teaching assistant (ITA) training programs at two Ohio public universities that focus on sensitizing new ITAs to cultural differences and teaching strategies commonly used in American classrooms. The training programs are designed to reflect and incorporate each institution's own culture, such as the geographical…

Describes a half-semester course for incoming graduate teaching assistants that provided six weeks of discussion, six formative observations, and six peer reviews and culminated in a summative performance evaluation. The course was based on literature supporting the importance of social interaction in workplace learning. Provides results of…

Describes a "Basics of Teaching Physics" course as an approach to training teaching assistants (TAs) in science, math, engineering, and technology (SMET) departments. The regular graduate course is based on constructivist learning: TAs construct their own understanding through guided questions, problem solving, reading and analyzing papers,…

Describes a training program for graduate teaching assistants that utilizes examples, coaching, evaluation, and "prep meetings," conducted like a class in cooperative learning, but emphasizing teaching techniques as well as subject matter. Notes program effectiveness is assessed by classroom evaluations, student feedback, and self-evaluations.…

Reports the perspectives of two female graduate students who completed a peer mentoring program as part of their training as graduate teaching assistants. The metaphors of a "journey" and a "road map" are used to integrate the perspectives of a former peer mentor and graduate teaching assistant dyad. (DB)