Open AccessA Professional Development Activity to Better Support International Graduate Teaching Assistants in Evaluating Scientific Writing
Author(s) -
Lisa L. Walsh,
Zhigang Jia,
Julianne Ver
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of microbiology and biology education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.301
H-Index - 7
eISSN - 1935-7885
pISSN - 1935-7877
DOI - 10.1128/jmbe.v21i1.1959
Subject(s) - rubric , grading (engineering) , medical education , graduate students , pedagogy , professional development , mathematics education , computer science , psychology , medicine , engineering , civil engineering
Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) who are English language learners at American institutions often endure xenophobia, pressures to conform to American culture, and visa restrictions on working. Quantitative data we collected from the Introduction to Biology Laboratory course taught at a large R1 university indicate paper grading discrepancies between international and domestic GTAs. Qualitative data highlight international GTAs’ concerns regarding grading load and language barriers. To alleviate the burden on international GTAs, we provide a professional development activity for professors to use in course planning meetings based on feedback from GTAs. Group reflection, discussion, and modification of a rubric are recommended in order to train GTAs in assessing scientific writing to collaboratively build expectations as a teaching team.