From isolation to community: Strengthening biology TA teaching confidence through practical training

What helps graduate teaching assistants feel more confident, connected, and prepared to teach? A TILT-funded project in SFU's Department of Biological Sciences found that practical training, peer community, and accessible teaching resources can significantly improve TA preparedness while creating a stronger culture of teaching and learning across the department.

The Project

Megan Barker, senior lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences, led this project with research assistant Liz Steves between 2019 and 2021. The initiative focused on improving professional development opportunities for graduate teaching assistants (TAs) supporting undergraduate biology courses, including BISC 101 and BISC 102.

The project emerged from a common challenge: many graduate students begin teaching with little formal preparation and often experience anxiety around tutorial planning, student engagement, grading, and classroom facilitation. Through literature reviews, focus groups, workshops, resource development, and the creation of a Biology Teaching Resources Canvas site, the team developed an integrated TA training model tailored to the needs of biology graduate students.

One of the most significant findings was that effective TA development depends less on the number of training hours and more on opportunities for practice, reflection, feedback, and community building. The project also highlighted the importance of departmental support and ongoing access to teaching resources.

Project Highlights

Focus groups with 23 biology TAs identified recurring challenges, including student engagement, lesson preparation, tutorial structure, and time management. In response, the project developed workshops on online teaching, tutorial facilitation, breakout-room moderation, feedback strategies, active learning, and student engagement. A centralized Canvas shell provided TAs with teaching resources, tutorial plans, accessibility guidance, and technology support.

The project produced measurable improvements in TA confidence and preparedness. Participants reported preparedness ratings increasing from an average of 2.5 before training to 4.6 after training. TAs also reported greater confidence using new teaching techniques and valued opportunities to learn from peers experiencing similar teaching challenges.

Looking Ahead

The project established a foundation for ongoing TA development within Biological Sciences through reusable resources, workshops, and community-based learning practices. Its findings reinforce the value of practice-based teaching development, peer mentorship, and departmental investment in graduate instructor training. The team's recommendations, including maintaining a dedicated teaching resource hub and continuing structured TA support, offer a scalable model that could benefit other departments seeking to strengthen graduate student teaching and student learning outcomes.