The Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA)

Ross Woods, Rev. 2019

Doctoral programs often have a requirement for students to take the role of Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA). These are normally teaching practicums in higher education, and the specific requirements are normally set out in a Job Description. Tasks may be:

• Teaching an undergraduate class
• Teaching a graduate class
• Grading essays
• Overseeing students in laboratory work
• Overseeing online students
• Leading tutorials

The university may require students to have a suitable practicum placement as a condition of admission, especially if it is a distance education institution. Alternatively, students may be asked to tutor online classes.

A successful practicum and an employer statement of competence gives the university some legal protection against litigation. In the U.S., students can attempt to sue a university if prospective employers consistently consider students to be unemployable on the basis of those degrees. The university is in a stronger position if the student has already proven to be competent and employable.

Preparation

Students must have done sufficient preparation in teaching skills, that is, satisfactorily passed the prerequisite units in teaching. It will also help if students observe teachers and figure out which characteristics of their teaching styles they want to emulate.

The university should never knowingly let students go into practicums for which they are unprepared or need unduly large amounts of assistance and support. While their professors may give encouragement, they are limited in the amount of emotional support they can provide. Besides, it is unethical to use put students into a situation where they might be "rats in a failed experiment."

Proposal

In some universities, students present a formal written proposal of practicum details for approval by the university. The proposal typically includes:

1. A job description and location
2. Any broader questions and issues involved that relate to their field of study
3. Defined goals and key performance indicators
4. Clear extent of autonomy and authority in decision-making
5. Lines of accountability
6. A schedule for oral reporting
7. A schedule for written reporting

The course GTAs will teach

Students are normally assigned a course or other task. In these cases, the details of placement will be set by the university in consultation with the student. If the placement is in another organization, that employer has an essential role in the consultation. The university supervisor’s role is to:

• Consider the proposed placement and either approve it, approve with modifications or conditions, or not approve it.
• Set appropriate observation and reflection questions for development of academic and professional skills.
• Monitor student progress.
• Conduct the assessment.

The course must meet the following conditions:

1. The unit must suit the student's academic background.
2. Student normally do not fully qualify as a teacher of record and need to teach under supervision. That is, a senior academic must approve the plan and sign all final assessment reports.
3. The schedule must be negotiated to suit both the university and the student's study shedule.
4. The university might require a mimumum number semester hours.

Preparing for the unit

1. Have a look at what has been taught in that unit before. The student should be able to find this information in the catalog and the archives. If that is not satisfactory, ask the previous instructor about the unit.
2. Present a written unit description for approval by the practicum supervisor. While requirements vary slightly between institutions, it will normally contain at least the folowing:
   1. The purpose of the unit
   2. Schedule for activites (How many lectures or tutorials each week)
   3. List of objectives
   4. Lists of any required reading
   5. How students will be assessed

In particular, universities look for the following in GTAs:

1. The course is pitched at the right level for students of this degree.
2. Appropriate complexity. See below. The course is pitched at the right level for students of this degree. This is the happy medium, that is, not too simplistic, but doesn’t swamp students or go over their heads with information that is too complex for them to understand.
3. Teaches students and guides them from what they know to new information and skills. It doesn’t swamp them or go over their heads with information that is too complex for them to understand.
4. Use Socratic questioning techniques.
5. Use both deductive and inductive teaching styles.
6. Help students to develop their own views, but require that they justify them.

Finding the balance

The unit needs to be pitched at the right level for students of this degree. This is the happy medium, that is, not too simplistic, but doesn’t swamp students or go over their heads with information that is too complex for them to understand. Put differently, there is a fundamental tension between the mindsets of teachers and subject matter experts:

Assessment

The assessment addresses practicum outcomes and:

1. supporting knowledge
2. appropriate attitudes
3. decision-making skills
4. knowing what to do when things go wrong
5. managing oneself and one's schedule and work habits
6. relating to other people and the organization.

Unless the student is informed otherwise, the assessment will normally be based on:

1. A reference from the workplace supervisor.
2. Written reports submitted during the practicum.
3. A reflective journal kept during the practicum.
4. A portfolio of relevant workplace documents relevant to the practicum outcomes.
5. A practical demonstration of skills if relevant.
6. An interview. Students should expect to get asked questions such as: "How would you ... ?" "What would you do if ... ?" "What are the rules for ... ?" "Why would you ... ?"

Reflection questions

1. How well did this practicum fit your personal career goals?
2. What went well?
3. What would you do differently next time?
4. How does your practicum relate to the theoretical component of your studies?
5. Work skills:
   1. What new skills did you learn?
   2. Did you find that you had any new areas of strength?
   3. What new skills do you still need to learn for this role?
6. Your practicum organization presumably seeks to maintain quality standards for processes and products.
   1. What quality issues arose?
   2. What Key Performance Indicators would be appropriate? Why?
7. What ethical issues arose?
8. Describe your relationships with the people with whom you work.
9. How did you feel about this practicum (e.g. enjoyable, a good challenge, difficult, stressful)?

Newbie mistakes

New higher ed teachers often make the following mistakes:

• Unbalanced opinions, uses the opportunity to preach a personal ideology.
• Indoctrination: "you have to agree with me to pass." Students should be able to present their own ideas and present reasonable support.
• Focus on personal interests or interesting knowledge, not what students need to learn.
• Feels under pressure to be the expert. Afraid of student questions, or afraid to say "I don’t know."
• Boring.
• Tries to entertain or make friends, not to teach.
• Tries to wing it without adequate preparation.
• Tries to wing it without adequate preparation.
• Talks a lot, teaches a little.
• Digresses.
• Hard to understand. For example, the sequencing doesn’t make sense to students, or the illustrations and examples confuse students rather than teach them.