From Theory to Practice: Teaching Assistants' Role in Multi-campus Education

Teaching Assistants (TAs) are an indispensable part of higher education. TAs have two identities simultaneously: those of a student and of a teacher. However, the role of TAs’ may not be clearly defined, resulting in a role ambiguity. In this study, we have researched the TAs’ role in multi-campus education. Data for this research was collected through interviews with eight TAs at a Scandinavian multi-campus university who took a multi-campus TA role for the first time. This paper summarizes these TAs’ work tasks in multi-campus courses. Their tasks included setting up technology, dealing with technical problems, and communicating with other TAs in the course. Our study suggests that TAs’ challenges may be reduced if technical staff is caring for ICT equipment and technical problems, if direct interaction is provided between teacher and students, and if local teaching staff is involved in the activities at the remote campus.

[1]  J. V. Maanen,et al.  Toward a theory of organizational socialization , 1977 .

[2]  Joseph J. Molnar,et al.  Organizational Antecedents of Role Conflict and Ambiguity in Top-Level Administrators. , 1976 .

[3]  Chris Warhurst,et al.  ‘Role stretch’: assessing the blurring of teaching and non-teaching in the classroom assistant role in Scotland , 2014 .

[4]  Korydon H. Smith,et al.  Non‐Career Teachers in the Design Studio: Economics, Pedagogy and Teacher Development , 2012 .

[5]  L. Vygotsky.  Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes: Harvard University Press , 1978 .

[6]  Roger Lindsay,et al.  The roots of relevance , 1993 .

[7]  Susan L Groenwald.  The challenges and opportunities in leading a multi-campus university. , 2018, Journal of professional nursing : official journal of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

[8]  Y. Engeström,et al.  Perspectives on activity theory: Play, learning, and instruction , 1999 .

[9]  Chandu Lal Chandrakar,et al.  From Learning Theory to Academic Organisation: The Institutionalisation of Higher Education Teaching Assistant Position in China , 2018, International Journal of Higher Education.

[10]  M. Deutsch.  The Resolution of ConflictConstructive and Destructive Processes , 1974 .

[11]  Grant E Gardner,et al.  Biology graduate teaching assistants as novice educators: Are there similarities in teaching ability and practice beliefs between teaching assistants and K–12 teachers? , 2019, Biochemistry and molecular biology education : a bimonthly publication of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

[12]  J. Lowman,et al.  What Should Graduate Teaching Assistants Know about Teaching? , 1993 .

[13]  Luanna H. Meyer,et al.  The Role and Responsibilities of Teaching Assistants in Inclusive Education: What's Appropriate? , 2001 .

[14]  Nadia Edmond,et al.  On either side of the teacher: perspectives on professionalism in education , 2013 .

[15]  Rille Raaper,et al.  ‘Peacekeepers’ and ‘machine factories’: tracing Graduate Teaching Assistant subjectivity in a neoliberalised university , 2018 .

[16]  Mark Lowry Decker,et al.  Exploring teaching concerns and characteristics of graduate teaching assistants , 2011 .

[17]  David F. Feldon,et al.  Exploration of factors related to the development of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics graduate teaching assistants' teaching orientations , 2014 .

[18]  William J. Goode,et al.  A theory of role strain. , 1960 .

[19]  Louise Crewe,et al.  Arena symposium: teaching assistants , 1996 .

[20]  S. Lirtzman,et al.  Role Conflict and Ambiguity in Complex Organizations. , 1970 .

[21]  G. Lueddeke,et al.  Training Postgraduates for Teaching: considerations for programme planning and development , 1997 .

[22]  S. Graves,et al.  New roles, old stereotypes – developing a school workforce in English schools , 2014 .

[23]  Nadia Edmond,et al.  The role of HE in professional development: some reflections on a foundation degree for teaching assistants , 2010 .

[24]  Stanley Tucker,et al.  Perceptions and reflections on the role of the teaching assistant in the classroom environment , 2009 .

[25]  Rune Hjelsvold,et al.  Challenges in Repurposing Single-Campus Courses to Multi-Campus Settings , 2019 .

[26]  Peter Blatchford,et al.  Double standards and first principles: framing teaching assistant support for pupils with special educational needs , 2010 .

[27]  Joris J. Ebbers,et al.  Betwixt and between: Role conflict, role ambiguity and role definition in project-based dual-leadership structures , 2017, Human relations; studies towards the integration of the social sciences.

[28]  Trevor Kerry,et al.  Towards a typology for conceptualizing the roles of teaching assistants , 2005 .

[29]  Paul H. Smith.  The paradox of higher vocational education: the teaching assistant game, the pursuit of capital and the self , 2018 .

[30]  Y. Wilks.  Relevance must be to someone , 1987 .

[31]  Peter Blatchford,et al.  Reassessing the Impact of Teaching Assistants: How Research Challenges Practice and Policy. , 2011 .