Elisabeth E. Schussler

Does Instructor Type Matter? Undergraduate Student Perception of Graduate Teaching Assistants and Professors

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are used extensively as instructors in higher education, yet their status and authority as teachers may be unclear to undergraduates, to administrators, and even to the GTAs themselves. This study explored undergraduate perception of classroom instruction by GTAs and professors to identify factors unique to each type of instructor versus the type of classes they teach. Data collection was via an online survey composed of subscales from two validated instruments, as well as one open-ended question asking students to compare the same class taught by a professor versus a GTA. Quantitative and qualitative results indicated that some student instructional perceptions are specific to instructor type, and not class type. For example, regardless of type of class, professors are perceived as being confident, in control, organized, experienced, knowledgeable, distant, formal, strict, hard, boring, and respected. Conversely, GTAs are perceived as uncertain, hesitant, nervous, relaxed, laid-back, engaging, interactive, relatable, understanding, and able to personalize teaching. Overall, undergraduates seem to perceive professors as having more knowledge and authority over the curriculum, but enjoy the instructional style of GTAs. The results of this study will be used to make recommendations for GTA professional development programs.

Evolving Impressions: Undergraduate Perceptions of Graduate Teaching Assistants and Faculty Members over a Semester.

This study explored student ratings of instruction by GTAs and faculty members to see whether perceptions differed by instructor type, whether they changed over a semester, and whether certain instructor traits were associated with student perception of their instructors teaching effectiveness or how much they learned from their instructor.

Preparing Biology Graduate Teaching Assistants for Their Roles as Instructors: An Assessment of Institutional Approaches

Faculty and staff were surveyed to assess the professional development (PD) for teaching provided to biology graduate students at academic institutions. Although more than 90% of institutions provided PD, it was most often presemester and less than 10 h. Respondents most satisfied with their PD had programs with greater breadth and institutional support.

A Conceptual Framework for Graduate Teaching Assistant Professional Development Evaluation and Research

This essay proposes a conceptual framework for biology graduate teaching assistant professional development evaluation and research with three overarching variables for consideration: outcome variables, contextual variables, and moderating variables.

Departments Can Develop Teaching Identities of Graduate Students

Dear Editor: Reform of introductory science courses seeks to increase student retention and learning, yet faculty members are often unaware of modern teaching practices and/or not motivated to change their practices. Brownell and Tanner (2012) outlined another potential barrier: scientific professional identities are defined primarily by research and not by teaching. We think this is also an issue for graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), who play major roles in undergraduate science courses and represent the future of academic instruction. As graduate students interested in teaching, we call attention to the need for a national dialogue regarding development of GTA teaching identities. GTAs bear a heavy burden of implementing reformed curricula in introductory laboratories and discussions, often with little professional development. Although institutions may offer teaching orientations, these often focus on instructional policies and not on reformed teaching practices (Golde and Dore, 2001 ), potentially sending a message that teaching is more concerned with following institutional rules than fostering student learning. We think this is a lost opportunity to infuse universities across the country with a new generation of faculty who see teaching as an important part of their professional identities. We believe that science departments can develop GTAs’ professional identities as scholars and teachers by including teaching as part of the apprenticeship culture. GTAs develop research skills by taking classes, learning techniques, and applying this knowledge to their research with the support and feedback of a graduate committee and peers. Likewise, GTAs could take courses on effective teaching practices, be mentored, have their teaching evaluated by peers and faculty, and apply their teaching skills in increasingly independent instructional roles. A balanced research and teaching apprenticeship as a regular part of departmental practice could generate a new generation of faculty with professional identities as teachers and scholars. In this letter, we offer suggestions based on changes we are currently implementing in our department that may foster this teacher–scholar professional identity. To include teaching as part of the apprenticeship program, a committee of faculty and experienced GTAs should oversee graduate teaching. In our department, GTA research and teaching are both overseen by a graduate affairs committee. We are separating the teaching and research oversight into separate committees, so the teaching aspect of the committee is not subsumed by a focus on research. This graduate teaching committee (GTC) will make teaching assignments, conduct and review assessments of teaching, and provide opportunities for teaching seminars. The GTC will make teaching assignments with professional development of teaching in mind, as opposed to solely considering departmental need. Yearly information regarding each graduate students teaching experience, teaching assessment results, and future teaching goals will be collected by the GTC. The GTC will then match the teaching skills of each GTA with available courses. For example, a laboratory class with a defined curriculum and more faculty oversight may require less pedagogical skill and be more appropriate for a new GTA than a discussion class would be. In our department, the only teaching feedback GTAs currently receive is the numeric and written responses from university student evaluations. In upcoming years, GTAs will be required to have a yearly observation of their teaching by a peer GTA mentor and the faculty for whom they teach. GTAs and their peer mentors will analyze the teaching observations and student evaluations and submit a summary teaching statement to the GTC each year. We believe this will encourage reflective practice, and these statements can be used by the GTC to make future teaching assignments. GTAs who receive positive evaluations by the GTC, peers, and faculty will have the option to teach courses in which they would act with more instructional autonomy, including being lecture assistants and possibly course instructors, and will qualify to serve as peer mentors. GTAs with the highest instructional skills and interest in teaching could become involved in departmental curriculum reform, a role often reserved for faculty. In addition to the teaching orientations currently offered by the institution and division of biology, we have recommended that our department initiate a first-year seminar series led by experienced GTAs or faculty. The first seminar would focus on science communication skills and the second on modern teaching practices. These seminars would also provide a forum for discussing first-year teaching challenges and successes. However, due to heavy course work demands in the first year of our graduate program, these seminars may be held in the second year and modified to better match the teaching needs of second-year GTAs. Development of teaching abilities may help GTAs balance research and teaching responsibilities throughout their academic careers by fostering a professional identity that supports both aspects of an academic life (French and Russell, 2002 ; Feldon et al., 2011 ). We believe that graduates with these professional identities could be more competitive for faculty positions and that this system would foster a generation of faculty capable of enacting undergraduate science education reforms.

Student Use of Out-of-Class Study Groups in an Introductory Undergraduate Biology Course

Self-formed out-of-class study groups may benefit student learning; however, few researchers have quantified the relationship between study group use and achievement or described changes in study group usage patterns over a semester. We related study group use to performance on content exams, explored patterns of study group use, and qualitatively described student perceptions of study groups. A pre- and posttest were used to measure student content knowledge. Internet-based surveys were used to collect quantitative data on exam performance and qualitative data on study group usage trends and student perceptions of study groups. No relationship was found between gains in content knowledge and study group use. Students who participated in study groups did, however, believe they were beneficial. Four patterns of study group use were identified: students either always (14%) or never (55%) used study groups, tried but quit using them (22%), or utilized study groups only late in the semester (9%). Thematic analysis revealed preconceptions and in-class experiences influence student decisions to utilize study groups. We conclude that students require guidance in the successful use of study groups. Instructors can help students maximize study group success by making students aware of potential group composition problems, helping students choose group members who are compatible, and providing students materials on which to focus their study efforts.

Learning About Nature of Science in Undergraduate Biology Laboratories

The use of explicit and reflective (ER) instruction to promote student nature of science (NOS) understanding has emerged as the best practice in science classrooms. Despite this, teaching explicitly about NOS rarely occurs in college science courses. College lecture courses typically focus on conceptual learning objectives, while laboratories, usually taught by graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), focus on conceptual and procedural learning objectives. Although colleges increasingly use inquiry-based investigations, some still rely on expository investigations. We experimentally explored the use of an ER instruction in inquiry and expository biology laboratories to determine if this technique would be successful in a college science environment. We found that GTAs’ ability to foster meaningful class discussions was an important factor in effective implementation of an ER instruction at the college level. Our chapter relates our experiences to others interested in fostering NOS understanding in students in their college classes.

Student anxiety in introductory biology classrooms: Perceptions about active learning and persistence in the major

Many researchers have called for implementation of active learning practices in undergraduate science classrooms as one method to increase retention and persistence in STEM, yet there has been little research on the potential increases in student anxiety that may accompany these practices. This is of concern because excessive anxiety can decrease student performance. Levels and sources of student anxiety in three introductory biology lecture classes were investigated via an online survey and student interviews. The survey (n = 327) data revealed that 16% of students had moderately high classroom anxiety, which differed among the three classes. All five active learning classroom practices that were investigated caused student anxiety, with students voluntarily answering a question or being called on to answer a question causing higher anxiety than working in groups, completing worksheets, or answering clicker questions. Interviews revealed that student anxiety seemed to align with communication apprehension, social anxiety, and test anxiety. Additionally, students with higher general anxiety were more likely to self-report lower course grade and the intention to leave the major. These data suggest that a subset of students in introductory biology experience anxiety in response to active learning, and its potential impacts should be investigated.

Curriculum Alignment with Vision and Change Improves Student Scientific Literacy

Students who experienced a reformed introductory curriculum designed to align with the Vision and Change report recommendations demonstrated higher gains in scientific literacy when compared with students who had experienced the previous curriculum.

A Vision and Change Reform of Introductory Biology Shifts Faculty Perceptions and Use of Active Learning

The purpose of this study was to observe the instructional practices used by faculty (N = 10) throughout the 3-year process of curricular reform to determine whether the use of active-learning strategies increased. Instructors also participated in interviews to track their perceptions of instruction, planning, and active-learning use as the reform progressed.