‘Treat GTAs as colleagues, rather than spare parts’: the identity, agency, and wellbeing of graduate teaching assistants

Slack, Hannah Rachael; Pownall, Madeleine

doi:10.1080/0309877x.2023.2241392

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…With agency and ownership of courses recognized to positively impact graduate students' teacher identities, future exploration of how departments can position TAs as collaborators on courses in addition to their expected contributions (i.e., grading, running sections) is necessary. For example, Slack and Pownall (2023) found that treating TAs as colleagues and not as "spare parts" positively contributed to their identity development, and our finding suggests that interactions with faculty may perpetuate perspectives that TAs are accessory.…”

Section: Normsmentioning

confidence: 53%

“…This exhibited participants' socialization as they reconciled and internalized beliefs about TAs. Slack and Pownall (2023) highlighted the importance of treating TAs as peers and colleagues, as opposed to "spare parts" (p. 1272), and our findings reveal that graduate students may be internalizing the belief that TAs are secondary and ancillary in undergraduate mathematics courses. Seeing and engaging TAs as marginal collaborators can significantly impact their broader professional identities and how they conduct themselves as future faculty.…”

Section: Insights Into Dominant Storylines and Normsmentioning

confidence: 63%

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Mathematics Graduate Students’ Teacher Identity Development: Examining Roles Within the Teaching Assistant Position

Olarte,

Swartz,

Roberts

2024

Journal of Research in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education

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The ways that serving as a teaching assistant (TA) influences the teacher identity development of mathematics graduate students is still a largely undertheorized area of postsecondary mathematics education research. Drawing on sociocultural theories and role identity theories, we qualitatively examined how interactions within the mathematics TA position prompted graduate students to take up a multitude of role identities. We found that different interactions uniquely positioned participants to assume roles, such as instructor, supporter, mentor, and learner. Some role identities were only situated within specific interactions, while others were evident across multiple interactions. Teacher identity is a complex, multidimensional construct, and we found that serving as a TA supported the teacher identity development of mathematics graduate students through opportunities to take up a myriad of role identities. Understanding the nuances and complexities of the identities and experiences of mathematics graduate students can equip mathematics departments and higher education institutions to better support their transition to the mathematics professoriate.

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Section: Normsmentioning

confidence: 53%

Section: Insights Into Dominant Storylines and Normsmentioning

confidence: 63%

Mathematics Graduate Students’ Teacher Identity Development: Examining Roles Within the Teaching Assistant Position

Olarte,

Swartz,

Roberts

2024

Journal of Research in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education

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“…As of 2016, graduate students made up 20%–30% of instructional faculty in R1 and R2 institutions (American Association of University Professors, 2018), often teaching one or more courses per semester as instructors of record. In addition to teaching, graduate students juggle multiple responsibilities including coursework and research (Park & Ramos, 2002) and must navigate their dual identities as staff members and students (Slack & Pownall, 2023). Like the undergraduates in their courses, graduate students face an uncertain job market (Bayerlein et al, 2021; Flaherty, 2020; Lund et al, 2021; Tomlinson et al, 2023), which might make them more mindful of the importance of broad-based employable skills.…”

Section: Why Teach Employable Skills?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Do graduate students aim to teach broad-based “employable” skills in online courses?

Che,

Brooks

2024

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology

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Higher education standards emphasize the importance of developing broad-based "employable" skills in undergraduate coursework. This study, conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, examined how graduate students employed as college instructors (N = 151, 67.5% psychology) addressed skill development in online courses. Instructors completed the Teaching Employable Skills survey (Che et al., 2021), the Teachers' Awareness of Goals of Students scale (Saltzman et al., 2018), and Likert-scale measures of teaching strategies. Instructors gave higher ratings and provided more examples of teaching analytic inquiry and communication skills than collaboration or professional development skills on the Teaching Employable Skills survey. Awareness of students' goals correlated positively with teaching skills. We used principal component analysis to identify clusters of related teaching strategies: lecturing/testing, research methodology, active learning, and online tools. Utilizing research methodology, active learning, and online tools was positively associated with skill development, unlike lecturing/testing. Psychology instructors utilized research methodology and active-learning strategies less than instructors in other disciplines. Results suggest that instructors may benefit from pedagogical training specifically focused on effective strategies for developing students' skills in online courses.

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“…Increasing numbers of undergraduate and post-graduate taught (Masters) students, combined with reductions in government funding of universities, and relaxed labour laws have enabled the casualisation of teaching that promotes this trend [86]. Doctoral students in these roles experience various wellbeing issues, which are considered to require, as a minimum, regular debriefing and feedback sessions for informal training, and ideally formal training by the institution [87]. As with peer writing groups, teaching has a doubling-up effect; students extend their professional knowledge and critical thinking, as well as developing transferable skills in autonomy, communication, teamworking, and managing groups.…”

Section: Teaching As a Formal Part Of Development Plansmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting the Professional and Career Development of Doctoral Students

Rivas

2024

Encyclopedia

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A doctoral student is someone studying for a doctoral degree, which is generally considered to be the highest academic qualification a university can award. The student develops research experience, while making an in-depth and original contribution to knowledge. They are supervised by university staff members (usually there are two, or a small panel) who train, mentor, and support the doctoral student. Professional and career development refers to support that helps students to not only grow as individuals and independent researchers, but to also have the option to successfully pursue either academic or non-academic roles after graduation. While this entry considers some international contexts, it is particularly oriented to the United Kingdom (UK) model, and to the most common doctoral degree, the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

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‘Treat GTAs as colleagues, rather than spare parts’: the identity, agency, and wellbeing of graduate teaching assistants

Cited by 6 publications

References 32 publications

Mathematics Graduate Students’ Teacher Identity Development: Examining Roles Within the Teaching Assistant Position

Mathematics Graduate Students’ Teacher Identity Development: Examining Roles Within the Teaching Assistant Position

Do graduate students aim to teach broad-based “employable” skills in online courses?

Supporting the Professional and Career Development of Doctoral Students

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