P2-10: A Longitudinal Study of GTAs’ Experiences with Active Learning

Information

This research offers longitudinal evidence about graduate teaching assistants’ (GTAs’) evolving experiences with active learning, providing valuable information for a variety of stakeholders including researchers, educators and course coordinators on how best to support GTAs’ development as instructors of statistics and mathematics. Using a collective case study design, we collected interview, survey and video data across three semesters to explore the evolution of two GTAs’ understandings of, feelings toward, and uses of active learning as they gained more experience as sole instructors for coordinated undergraduate mathematics and statistics courses with approximately 25-35 students/section. During this time, the GTAs completed year-long GTA training and were supported by course coordinators who encouraged the use of active learning. These data provide evidence about how GTAs with different teaching backgrounds experienced active learning across multiple semesters of teaching, highlighting the importance of offering continued support that adapts to their changing needs.