Preparing Graduate Students To Teach: A Seminar On Teaching For Graduate Assistants In Engineering

Graduate student teaching assistants constitute an important part of the university and serve a critical role in the education of undergraduate students. The purpose of this paper is to describe efforts to redesign a course entitled, “Teaching Seminar for Graduate Assistants” offered to graduate students in the College of Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. Students enrolled in the course serve critical roles in the College of Engineering, including holding positions such as lab instructor, recitation leader, independent instructor, or grader. Although the course has been offered for many years within the college, efforts to revise the course were made in order to better meet the needs of the college and the diverse graduate student population within the course and to clarify the instructional objectives of the course. Individuals who are involved in faculty development or who are concerned with enhancing the educational experiences of teaching assistants may be interested in this paper, which includes a description of the specific course activities and assessment techniques. In addition, assessment data from the students on the effectiveness of the course are described. Challenges and concerns with teaching the course given the characteristics of the students are also discussed.