Workshop Proposal: Reenvisioning TA Training

Amherst HSTEM 2021 Winter

By Sam Schulz ’22

Introduction

This is a workshop designed to help teaching assistants (TAs) in quantitative disciplines make help sessions a more human and comfortable space, especially for students who may not feel comfortable seeking help directly from a professor. Most of the workshop is aimed at help sessions, but many of the practices are applicable to other roles TAs perform, such as discussion section or lab TAs.

Additionally, it would help TAs feel more comfortable doing their jobs, with a set of simple tools to inform difficult situations that may arise. It is designed to be for TAs and mostly run by veteran TAs, likely with some help from Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) or Q Center staff and/or professors. As such, it is important to call those people into the development of this training to maximize the expertise that goes into it.

I have also talked to a few of my peers who have been TAs to collect their ideas, which have been helpful in designing this workshop. The precise content of this workshop is still under construction, but an outline of how it might go is below.

Motivation

The motivation for this workshop comes both from personal experience and insights gained through the HSTEM course material:

  1. Personal Experience:
    In my own experience and that of my friends, there have been times when TAs did not do enough to welcome all students to ask questions and ensure they are there to support students. This becomes especially frustrating when office hours conflict with another class or are equally unproductive, making a TA help session the only hope for receiving course assistance. Often, this is not the TA’s fault but stems from inadequate preparation through the existing training structure.
  2. Insights from HSTEM Material:
    • Tony Jack’s The Privileged Poor highlights how “doubly disadvantaged” (DD) students often feel more comfortable seeking help from TAs than from professors. He quotes a DD student who said, “I didn’t talk to [my professor], but my TA for that class was absolutely amazing. When I needed help with something or I wasn’t quite sure, I would email her. She was really good at responding and saying, ‘OK I understand; here’s some help.’”
    • David Asai discusses how persons excluded because of their ethnicity or race (PEERs) are overrepresented in STEM entering college but graduate with STEM degrees at much lower rates than non-PEERs. This highlights the importance of TAs as an accessible resource, especially for students who may feel disconnected from professors.

Another significant improvement I propose is implementing regular meetings between TAs for two reasons:

  • Currently, there is no TA training in the spring semester, meaning spring-start TAs often miss essential training unless they continue into the fall.
  • Unanticipated issues can arise during the semester, which could be addressed in regular workshops, allowing TAs to collaboratively solve these problems.

To ensure participation, all workshop attendees would need to be compensated for their time, both for attending the workshop and for preparing for it. Since TAs are already paid for training, this should be feasible.

The Workshop(s)

Introductory Workshop (1 Hour):

  1. Understanding the Role of a TA (~10 minutes):
    • Begin with an activity to frame the purpose of teaching assistants and help TAs reflect on their personal motivations for taking the role.
    • Participants will discuss their motivations in small groups or as a larger group (depending on the size).
    • Participants should read Chapter Two of The Privileged Poor and the Asai piece in advance.
    • This activity also serves as an icebreaker and sets the tone for the rest of the workshop.
  2. Introduce the TA Toolkit (~20 minutes):
    • The toolkit would include strategies and principles informed by the HSTEM Inclusive Curricular Practices Handbook and input from campus partners such as the CTL.
    • Possible contents of the toolkit:
      a. Prompts for engaging quiet students or managing situations where certain students dominate conversations.
      b. Strategies for creating community guidelines for inclusive and supportive environments.
      c. Techniques for humanizing TAs to alleviate student anxieties.
      d. Methods for collecting mid-semester feedback to adaptively improve.
  3. Example Scenarios (~20 minutes):
    • TAs will work in small groups to discuss 2–3 example scenarios. These scenarios will help participants apply the toolkit strategies to real-life challenges they might face.
  4. Debrief (~10 minutes):
    • Wrap up the workshop, address outstanding questions, and ensure participants leave with a clear understanding of the workshop’s main content.

Future Regular Meetings (30 Minutes):

  1. Example Scenarios (~10 minutes):
    • Refresh participants’ memories on how to use the toolkit through practical applications.
  2. Discussion of New Challenges (~15 minutes):
    • Provide a space for TAs to collaboratively solve novel issues that arise during the semester.
  3. Debrief (~5 minutes):
    • Conclude the meeting with a brief wrap-up and discussion.

The goal is for these meetings to be held monthly, though the frequency may vary based on TA feedback.

Future Work

Several components still need development for this workshop to succeed:

  • Finalizing the TA Toolkit: The toolkit requires further collaboration with CTL and Q Center staff to ensure relevance and usability.
  • Developing Example Scenarios: These need to be tailored to reflect realistic TA challenges.
  • Data Collection: Gathering quantitative and qualitative data on students’ experiences with TAs would help inform future improvements to the workshops.

By focusing on these aspects, this workshop aims to empower TAs and create a more inclusive and supportive environment for all students.