Open AccessEvaluation of a Teaching Assistant Program in Online Education
Author(s) -
Shelley Armstrong,
Kirsten Lupinski,
Michelle M Burcin,
Kimberly Kato,
Marsha Kaufman
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of educational research and practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2167-8693
DOI - 10.5590/jerap.2021.11.1.04
Subject(s) - onboarding , medical education , experiential learning , online learning , quality (philosophy) , distance education , attendance , higher education , psychology , computer science , mathematics education , multimedia , medicine , political science , social psychology , philosophy , epistemology , law
Online student success is determined by several factors, including learning effectiveness, access (academic, technical, and administrative support), faculty satisfaction, and student satisfaction. These factors are part of the Online Learning Consortium’s Pillars of Quality Online Education, which were established to ensure all students are provided a quality education, with high levels of student engagement, instructor feedback and interaction, and experiential learning opportunities. Using Teaching Assistants (TAs) in the virtual classroom is not a traditional practice for most online institutions, but is a strategy that can have a positive impact on these factors. This exploratory research study discusses a TA program that was developed, implemented, and evaluated over 3 years. Fifteen ( n = 15) doctoral students were hired to provide teaching support to high-risk courses in the undergraduate programs. Background, recruitment, onboarding, division of course responsibilities, data, and outcomes of the 3-year TA programs are discussed in alignment with the five pillars. Findings suggest the addition of TAs in online education is a potentially useful strategy to improve student learning outcomes, scale, access, and faculty and student satisfaction.