Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) teach undergraduates directly, and many are future faculty, making it particularly important for them to be trained in using evidence-based instructional practices. We implemented and assessed a teaching professional development program for 19 biology GTAs aimed to help them develop their teaching perspectives…

This study investigated the role of Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs) in higher education and focused on their self-efficacy, pedagogical training, and performance. Given the expanding employment of GSIs and the influence of their teaching efficacy on undergraduate education, this research examined the effectiveness of a structured professional…

The focus of this research is the centralised provision of professional development opportunities for postgraduate teaching assistants (PGTAs) through accredited and non-accredited courses (ACs and NACs), and their perceived and actual benefits. Evidence on the impact of courses at the University of Birmingham (UK) is synthesised with evidence…

In this multicase study (Stake, 2005), I studied a semester-long online implementation of the "Mathematics Discourse in Secondary Classrooms" (Herbel-Eisenmann, Cirillo, et al., 2017) (MDISC) teaching professional development (T-PD)--slightly modified for the university context--which I offered to three mathematics-teaching graduate…

A comprehensive graduate teaching assistant (GTA) training program in mathematical sciences designed at one institution is being adapted and replicated at two peer institutions. Using a case study approach, this paper outlines the development of the program components, which include a first-year teaching seminar, peer mentoring and support from a…

This article explores the parallels between improvisational theater, commonly known as improv, and active teaching. Specifically, it focuses in the impact of improv techniques on instructor and teaching assistant professional development. The implementation of an active teaching seminar is analyzed, where improv techniques were used in developing…

Reform initiatives for improving undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education have identified graduate students as important stakeholders in these efforts. Graduate students often serve as graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) at some point in their graduate education and are positioned as future STEM faculty and…

San Diego State University recently embarked on a major initiative to revitalize the Precalculus, Calculus 1, and Calculus 2 sequences. In addition to program features such as course coordination, a new active learning component led by graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) was added to each of the Precalculus, Calculus 1, and Calculus 2 courses, and…

Although the high costs of implementing personnel development programs in enterprises and increasingly in universities as well are commonly accepted, the scientifically-grounded evaluation of a program's effectiveness is often neglected. The aim of this paper was to evaluate a personnel development program for academics at a German university…

Background: In the U.S. college/university setting, physical activity courses are often offered as part of the general education program, where students earn college credits towards the completion of their degree program. These courses are typically taught by graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), who face several challenges in instructing…

Interest in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is driven in part by the need to provide systematic academic development for faculty anchored in evidence-based practice such as the introduction of quality assurance frameworks. This article reports on a mixed-method evaluation of one institution's grassroots multidisciplinary faculty…

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) play an essential role in the teaching of introductory chemistry courses at many higher education institutions. On the basis of best practices suggested by the literature, we developed our GTA training course to focus on modeling best practices in the classroom, providing opportunities for incoming GTAs to try…

University of Virginia, like many other universities, has developed a chemistry outreach program (called Chemistry Learning through Experimentation, Awareness, and Demonstration; i.e., Chemistry LEAD) that visits K-5 schools and teaches inquiry-based chemistry lessons in order to engage local students with science. Chemistry LEAD is graduate…

Teacher educators simultaneously support and develop pre-service and in-service teachers. Using a situated approach, this qualitative study explored the coaching styles of graduate students who served as coaches to pre-service teachers tutoring in a university reading clinic. The study analyzed written reflections and faculty member observations.…

Since 2009, our center for teaching and learning has offered an intensive Course Design Institute (CDI) several times each year, which has now been completed by more than 600 teaching faculty, staff, and Graduate Teaching Associates from The Ohio State University. To better understand the impact of participating in a CDI on participants' teaching,…