TRAINING GTAS TO USE EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES

9 January 2016Mary E. Pilgrim & Jessica Gehrtz

Colorado State University

CALCULUS I AT CSU

• 350-450 students/semester• Average Section Size:

30-40 students• Taught primarily by

[new] GTAs• Usually 1-2 larger

sections• Meets 4 days a week

• Majors:• Mathematics• Engineering• Physics• Computer Science• Chemistry• Statistics

BACKGROUND & MOTIVATION

High DFW Rates

Administration: Increase STEM major retention rates

Educators: Improve student learning

MAA National Calc Study: “Effective training of GTAs”1

PRE-FALL GTA TRAINING

Before Fall 2015 • Logistics and Syllabus • Talked about Lab 1• Resources

Fall 2015• Day 1• Logistics and Syllabus • Worked on Lab 1 • Resources

• Day 2• Discussed students• Engaged with content• Culture of classroom• Pedagogy

PRE-FALL TRAINING ACTIVITIES

PRE-FALL TRAINING ACTIVITIES:STUDENT REFLECTION EXCERPT

PRE-FALL TRAINING ACTIVITIES

CONTINUED FALL TRAINING

• Weekly meeting structure• 10-15 minutes logistics• 45-50 minutes pedagogy/classroom activities

• Week 1: Classroom culture• Week 2: Giving feedback• Week 3: The first exam• Week 5: Reflect on exam 1

• • •

WEEK 1

• The first week of class:• What went well?• What would you have done differently?

• Resources:• What have you used? • What would you like to use?• How can we help?

• Your classroom:• What do you want your classroom to look like? • What are your expectations?• How will activities help create and support your desired

classroom environment?

WEEK 2: STUDENT FEEDBACK

• Given a HW problem with rubric, GTAs were asked to discuss student feedback.• Why is the rubric written this way?• Are there reasons for weighting parts differently?• Are there modifications necessary? (asked 2X)• What do you anticipate students will do?

SURVEY OF GTAS

We asked Calc I & Bio Calc GTAs about:• Teaching experiences• The meaning of ‘pedagogy’• Teacher training experiences• Teaching resources• Logistical and content issues• What does successful teaching look like?

WHAT GTAS SAID Bio Calc

• No previous classroom teaching experience.• Felt prepared to

‘lecture’.• An unawareness of

resources.• Limited understanding

of pedagogy.

Calc 1• Mix between no experience

and some classroom teaching.

• Comfort in implementing methods of instruction beyond lecture.

• Have support to share, access, and utilize resources.

• More articulated responses with regard to pedagogy and student learning.

WHAT CALC I GTAS SAID

• Student success: Mix between good grades and student learning• “Students are provided with the skills and support they

need to succeed in the course and that they experience growth in their ability to think critically and problem solve.”

• “Every day somebody in your class has an ‘aha’ moment and is able to vastly improve their calculus skills.”

• The percentage of students “that got a C or higher.”• In contrast, Bio Calc GTAs said student success

was about the grade students receive.

WHAT CALC I GTAS SAID

• Course specific training was most useful.• Challenge of balancing being a graduate student

with teaching.• Not a unique problem – Many GTAs feel overwhelmed in

1st year• Exploring mentor-mentee teaching models with teaching

reduction• Felt supported by coordinator to be successful

teachers.• Willing to try implementing evidence-based practices• Felt confident in exploring non-traditional instructional

strategies

SPRING TRAINING

• Calc I & Bio Calc I GTAs• Dialogue about pedagogy and classroom

environment• Creating and design lesson plans• What do I say? What do I write? Script?

• Working actual math problems in advance• Training time ≤ 1 hour• Providing classroom support

THANK YOU!

Mary E. PilgrimAssistant Professor of Mathematics Education

Colorado State Universitypilgrim@math.colostate.edu

Jessica GehrtzGraduate Student

Colorado State Universitygehrtz@math.colostate.edu

REFERENCES

1. Bressoud, D., & Rasmussen, C. (2015). Seven Characteristics of Successful Calculus Programs. Notices of the AMS, 62(2).