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Supporting pedagogy and practices of our TAs in our undergraduate Biology courses
TILT Program: Teaching and Learning Development Grant (TLDG)
Principal Investigator: Megan Barker, senior lecturer, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science
Project Team: Elizabeth Steves, research assistant
Timeframe: September 2019 - August 2023
TILT Support: $5,000
Courses addressed: BISC 101 - General Biology
Final report: View Megan Barker's final report (PDF) and Appendix (PDF)
Description:
Although a large number of teaching assistants (TAs) are required for biological sciences courses, graduate students working as TAs in BISC courses receive no department-specific training. While TA/TM Days offer general training sessions, these do not sufficiently address the specific needs of graduate students as TAs and do not always cover useful material. Similarly, research conducted by SFU colleagues reports that many TAs begin their roles with little or no prior training and they often struggle to develop the skills required, and non-specific training has been found to be less useful.
Building on these findings, this project initially aimed to develop a course-based TA-training program for BISC 101 by integrating weekly training into course preparation meetings. Due to the rapid shift to remote learning during the pandemic, the project shifted its focus toward developing more sustainable, department-level initiatives to better support TAs, especially in online learning contexts.
In collaboration with colleagues, several initiatives were developed, including: (1) a Canvas site with a variety of resources for TAs and new instructors in the Department of Biological Sciences; (2) a two-page Quick Start Guide to TAships given to all new graduate students; (3) a series of workshops for TAs and department members; and (4) the creation of a research assistant (RA) position to maintain the website, organize workshops, and support the development of TA and instructor resources.
The project findings suggested areas for future improvement, including the continued development and regular updating of the Canvas site, as well as the expansion of faculty-wide TA support to better serve a broader range of courses and extend support to other science departments
Questions addressed:
- What training/support do our TAs currently have, and what do they want?
- What are best practices in the field, for supporting the needs of TAs?
- How can we integrate the best practices and TAs needs into our current course?
- What is the impact of our training on our TAs’ beliefs about teaching?
- What is the impact of our training on our TAs’ practices?
- What is the impact of our training on our undergraduate students?
Knowledge sharing: A Canvas site was built for Department of Biological Sciences, offering many resources and support for both instructors and TAs. It was shared broadly across the department to support teaching practices.
Keywords: Teaching assistants, graduate student support, well-being, onboarding, community of practice, integrated professional development, student experience