Exploring teaching concerns and characteristics of graduate teaching assistants

The purpose of the study was to explore a conceptual structure of graduate teaching assistant (GTA) teaching concerns. Results indicated that GTAs experience five distinct, inter-related types of concerns: class control, external evaluation, task, impact and role/time/communication. These ‘teaching concerns’ were further analysed by examining their relationship with the value placed on them by the GTAs and the confidence in dealing with the teaching-related issues of concern. The results revealed that GTAs tend to have concerns about self, task or role/time/communication-related issues when the nature of the concerned issues is perceived as being valuable but challenging. On the other hand, GTAs are more likely to have concerns with impact-related issues when the nature of the issues is perceived as both being valuable and manageable. Several GTA characteristics, such as teaching experience, teacher efficacy, participation in professional development and values on teaching practices, were examined as predictors of GTA teaching concerns.

[1]  Loreto R. Prieto.  Teaching Assistants' Preferences for Supervisory Style: Testing a Developmental Model of GTA Supervision. , 1999 .

[2]  R. N. Marso,et al.  Relationships Between Student Characteristics and Changes in Attitudes, Concerns, Anxieties, and Confidence About Teaching During Teacher Preparation , 1987 .

[3]  G. Borich,et al.  Validation of the Stages of Concern Questionnaire , 1992 .

[4]  Teaching assistant socialization: Communication with peer leaders about teaching and learning , 1990 .

[5]  Valbona Muzaka,et al.  The niche of Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs): perceptions and reflections , 2009 .

[6]  Megan Tschannen-Moran,et al.  Teacher efficacy: capturing an elusive construct , 2001 .

[7]  Yan Fung Mok.  Teacher Concerns and Teacher Life Stages , 2005 .

[8]  Pere J. Ferrando,et al.  FACTOR: A computer program to fit the exploratory factor analysis model , 2006, Behavior research methods.

[9]  G. Hall.  Measuring Stages of Concern about the Innovation: A Manual for the Use of the SoC Questionnaire. , 1977 .

[10]  D. H. Wulff,et al.  Working Effectively with Graduate Assistants , 1995 .

[11]  S. Capel.  Secondary students' development as teachers over the course of a PGCE year , 2001 .

[12]  G. Ghaith,et al.  The relationship between perceptions of teaching concerns, teacher efficacy, and selected teacher characteristics , 1999 .

[13]  Ann Q. Staton‐Spicer,et al.  COMMUNICATION CONCERNS OF PRESERVICE AND INSERVICE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS , 1979 .

[14]  T. Rueter,et al.  Teaching Assistant Strategies: An Introduction to College Teaching , 1989 .

[15]  Ann E. Austin.  Preparing the Next Generation of Faculty: Graduate School as Socialization to the Academic Career , 2002 .

[16]  B P O'Connor,et al.  SPSS and SAS programs for determining the number of components using parallel analysis and Velicer’s MAP test , 2000, Behavior research methods, instruments, & computers : a journal of the Psychonomic Society, Inc.

[17]  J. Eccles,et al.  Expectancy-Value Theory of Achievement Motivation. , 2000, Contemporary educational psychology.

[18]  Ronald N. Marso,et al.  A Seven Year Longitudinal Multi-Factor Assessment of Teaching Concerns Development through Preparation and Early Years of Teaching. , 1997 .

[19]  S. Veenman.  Perceived Problems of Beginning Teachers , 1984 .

[20]  Frances F. Fuller.  Concerns of Teachers: A Developmental Conceptualization1 , 1969 .

[21]  R. Kazelskis,et al.  Concerns of Preservice and Inservice Teachers , 1985 .

[22]  Jerry D. Feezel,et al.  Assessing graduate assistant teacher communication concerns , 1997 .