A Case Study of a Multi-Institution Replication of a Comprehensive GTA Teacher Training Program

ABSTRACT

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 peer TA Coach, a Critical Issues in STEM Education seminar, and K–12 outreach to inform understanding of the pipeline. Additionally, adaptations due to institutional context and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic are described. Implications for components of the comprehensive program, based on GTA-provided feedback, are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Graduate teaching assistant
• professional development
• peer mentoring
• active learning
• equitable practices
• TA coach

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation through an initial award to the University of Colorado Denver [DUE #1539602] and a collaborative award to the University of Colorado Denver, Auburn University, and the University of Memphis [DUE #1821454, 1821460, and 1821619].

Notes on contributors

RaKissa Manzanares

RaKissa Manzanares (B.S., University of Southern Colorado; M.S., Ph.D., University of Northern Colorado) is an associate professor C/T at the University of Colorado Denver. She has over 20 years of experience teaching undergraduate courses and is highly involved and committed to the mathematical education of pre- and inservice teachers. Additionally, she provides teacher and mentor training for graduate teaching assistants and faculty within her department. Her research interests focus on the four primary areas of mentoring, innovative teaching, development of attitudes and beliefs about mathematics and the learning of mathematics, and embodied cognition and gesturing in the learning of mathematics.

Jessica Webb

Jessica Webb (A.B., Princeton University; M.A., Teachers College, Columbia University; Ph.D., University of Memphis) was a member of the research team for Promoting Success in Undergraduate Mathematics through Graduate Teaching Assistant Training. She currently serves as a casual worker for Johns Hopkins’ Center for Research and Reform in Education and as an adjunct instructor at the University of Memphis. Her research interests include attitudes and beliefs about mathematics and survey development.

Leigh M. Harrell-Williams

Leigh M. Harrell-Williams (B.A., Virginia Wesleyan; M.S., University of Georgia; Ph.D., Virginia Tech) is an associate professor of quantitative research methods in the Counseling, Educational Psychology and Research Department at the University of Memphis. Her research interests broadly include statistics and mathematics education, with a focus on teacher and student attitudes and beliefs, and instrument development.

Gary A. Olson

Gary A. Olson serves as Director of General Education Mathematics at the University of Colorado Denver and is a senior instructor in the Department of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences. He has over 15 years of experience teaching undergraduate courses and provides teacher training for graduate teaching assistants and professional development for faculty interested in incorporating active learning techniques into the classroom. He advocates for the use of both tactivities and techtivities in the classroom to promote reasoning and connections throughout the undergraduate curriculum.

Scotty Houston

Scotty Glen Houston (B.S., 2008; M.S., 2010; Ph.D., 2017, University of Memphis) is an instructor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Memphis. His research interests include remedial math education, graduate student teacher training, and instructional design in undergraduate mathematics courses. He has 9 years of teaching experience at the community college and university level teaching and serves as Department Aide assisting faculty and graduate students with online course delivery.

Melinda Lanius

Melinda Lanius is an assistant professor of Discipline-Based Education Research in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Auburn University. She received an undergraduate degree in Mathematics from Wellesley College and a Ph.D. in Mathematics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests include undergraduate students’ psychological stress – math anxiety, academic distress – in the math classroom and graduate teaching assistant professional development.

Kelsey Funkhouser

Kelsey Funkhouser (B.S., University of Washington; M.S., Ph.D., Michigan State University) is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Mathematics & Statistical Sciences and in the College of Liberal Arts & Science Dean’s Office as well as a lecturer in the Physics Department. She is focused on STEM education research with a background in physics and astronomy.

David Shannon

David Shannon (Ph.D., University of Virginia) is the Humana-Germany-Sherman Distinguished Professor in Educational Research and Evaluation at Auburn University where he teaches and coordinates the quantitative research methods coursework. His research interests are focused on issues related quantitative research methods, program evaluation, and broadening participation in the STEM disciplines.

Josias O. Gomez

Josias O. Gomez (B.S., King University) is a doctoral student and graduate research assistant at the University of Memphis Department of Mathematical Sciences. His research interests include post-secondary mathematics instruction, graduate student teaching training, graph theory and combinatorial ergodic theory.

Michael Jacobson

Mike Jacobson is a mathematician and Professor of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences in the Department of Mathematical & Statistical Science at the University of Colorado Denver. He served as Department Chair from 2003 to 2012 and was on loan serving as a program officer in EHR/DUE at the National Science Foundation. His mathematical specialization is in combinatorics and in particular graph theory. He has published more than 150 mathematical papers. His research interests in mathematics education include teacher preparation, interactions between mathematics, engineering education with the impact of an early engineering design experience and preparing Graduate Teaching Assistants for the next stage of their professional career, as a university faculty member.

Lora Merchant

Lora Merchant has been an instructor of Mathematics for over 25 years. She received her MS degree in Discrete Mathematics from Auburn University in 2002. In 2009, she completed her Doctorate of Philosophy in Secondary Mathematics Education. She was a visiting associate professor in the Curriculum and Teaching Department at Auburn for 2 years and is currently a full-time faculty member in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Auburn University. She is the coordinator of all the Precalculus Courses.