Graduate student teaching assistants require training to develop from “reluctant teaching assistants into mature, capable teachers” (Siebring, 1972). Workshops are an excellent way to foster this development, but the length of these workshops has been debated (Garet, 2001; Goodlad, 1997). The objective of this session will be to support shorter, more frequent workshops as opposed to fewer, longer workshops as presented by a department appointed lead graduate student teaching assistant (Teaching Assistant Consultant) from September 2014 to April 2015. These workshops were presented over lunch, for one hour, twice a month and were of two flavours: half were professional development and half were visits from faculty and lab staff that came to share their teaching stories. A handout will be provided to participants detailing the nature of each workshop, the reception and attendance of each by graduate students, and the successes of the program (as well as suggestions for improvement).
Garet, M., Porter, A., Desimone, L., Birman, B., & Yoon, K. (2001). What makes professional development effective: Results from a national sample of teachers. American Educational Research Journal, 38(4), 915-945.
Goodlad, S. (1997). Responding to the perceived training needs of graduate teaching assistants. Studies in Higher Education, 22(1), 83-92.
Siebring, B. R. (1972). A training program for teaching assistants. Improving College and University Teaching, 20(2), 98-99.