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.
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On the Evolution of Graduate Student Mentees’ and Mentors’ Conceptualizations of Peer Teaching Mentorship
Peer mentoring programs can provide instructional support for graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) (Rogers & Yee, 2018; Yee & Rogers, 2017) through more specialized and detailed discussions than just working with faculty (Speer et al., 2015; Yee & Rogers, 2016). Lanius et al. (2022) explored how mentees and mentors participating in a comprehensive multi-component GTA pedagogical training program, Promoting Success in Undergraduate Mathematics Through Graduate Teacher Training (Harrell-Williams et al., 2020), at three universities at the start of an academic year conceptualized the role of an effective mentor. In this poster, we explore whether this conceptualization of the mentor role changed over the course of the academic year after participation in components of the training program: a GTA Teaching Seminar, Critical Issues Seminar, and peer mentoring (including mentor training).
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- Award ID(s):
- 1821619
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10447783
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education
- ISSN:
- 2474-9346
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Karunakaran, Shiv Smith ; Reed, Zackery ; Higgins, Abigail (Ed.)A comprehensive graduate teaching assistant (GTA) training program in mathematical sciences designed at one institution is being replicated at two peer institutions. This paper presents the findings of a baseline comparison of the three universities undertaken at the start of the project to inform its adaptation and implementation at each institution and the evaluation of its impact. Program components 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. Differences in undergraduate demographics and performance in introductory mathematics courses, GTA responsibilities, prior departmental GTA training elements, and GTAs attitudes towards teaching mathematics/statistics are presented. Implications for program implementation and assessment of study goals related to institution differences are presented.more » « less
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Lischka, A. E. ; Dyer, E. B. ; Jones, R. S. ; Lovett, J. N. ; Strayer, J. ; Drown, S. (Ed.)Graduate student peer-mentoring programs benefit participants by providing unique academic, social, psychological, and career development opportunities (Lorenzatti et al., 2019). However, the positive effects of research-oriented peer-mentoring programs are much better understood than teaching-oriented ones. In our poster, we consider mentees and mentors’ perceptions of effective mentoring in a teaching-oriented peer mentorship program.more » « less
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Karunakaran, S. S. ; Higgins, A. (Ed.)Peer mentoring programs are one approach to improving the pedagogical development of mathematical sciences graduate students. This paper describes the peer mentoring experiences at three institutions that have implemented a multi-faceted GTA professional development program. Data was collected from surveys and focus groups conducted with graduate teaching assistants at each institution regarding mentees’ ratings of their mentors, mentors’ ratings of their impact on mentees, mentors’ impressions of the benefits and challenges of peer mentoring, and mentees and mentors’ ratings of program components related to support from mentors, their TA coach, program staff, and other graduate students. Most GTAs found value in participating in the peer mentoring program. While the mentees found their mentors to be significant to their own success and effectiveness, the mentors did not rate themselves as high as the mentees rated them with respect to their own significance in impacting the effectiveness of their mentee.more » « less
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