The influence of professional development on teaching assistant practice and beliefs: A case study

Background/Question/Methods

Increasing enrollment pressure at many universities has shifted the focus toward professional development (PD) for graduate teaching assistants (TAs) responsible for teaching a significant number of undergraduates. While research provides details about the influence of K-12 teacher PD on teacher beliefs and practice, few studies investigate TA beliefs about teaching and learning and how PD experiences may influence both beliefs and practice.

We use a case study to explore the experience of a TA (Jack) over 3 semesters of PD in the same introductory biology lab course.  Jack’s first semester is “traditional” in that PD emphasized the transmission of knowledge and correct answers to teach “cookbook” labs.  In the second and third semesters, labs and corresponding PD were “reformed” to implement a learner-centered, constructivist approach that embraced active and collaborative learning.   We used surveys, video-taped classroom observations and interviews, to determine (1) Jack’s beliefs about teaching and student learning, and (2) the influence of PD on Jack’s beliefs and classroom practices.  

Results/Conclusions

In semester 1, Jack demonstrated well-formed beliefs about teaching and learning influenced largely by previous experiences. Specifically, Jack viewed the teacher as the source of knowledge, whereas learners are doers and question-askers.  Together, Jack’s beliefs represent a hybrid of teacher and learner-centered beliefs.  During traditional PD, Jack was willing to compromise his learner-centered beliefs and teach in a very teacher-centered approach by employing classroom practices with little to no student interaction.  With reformed PD, Jack was encouraged to implement tools and practices that more closely aligned with his learner-centered beliefs, and was observed in significant changes to classroom practice.

TAs represent a unique population of instructors who are not fully in control of their courses.  Jack’s case illustrates that a TA’s teaching practices can be influenced by PD structure, course expectations, and beliefs that emerge during and prior to PD.  As TAs continue to assume an ever-increasing role in college-level teaching, further studies are warranted that can better explain the influences of PD structure and job expectations on TA beliefs and teaching practice. Results from this case study informed the design of mix-methods research on TA professional development.