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Chemistry Graduate Student Teaching Workshops for Increased Teaching Competence
Introduction. During graduate school, chemistry graduate students generally focus on three
aspects during their first year: research, classes, and teaching. Although these three aspects are all
important, many times research and classes become a higher priority than teaching.1 Additionally,
teaching competence is an important skill for graduate students interested in both academic and
industry careers, and acquiring teaching skills is necessary during college before beginning a
career. Due to the time constraint that is inherently a part of graduate school, many times graduate
students need to have already obtained teaching competence skills before graduate school.1,2 As a
way to remedy this problem, past studies have revealed the positive benefits of having long-term
teaching workshops for graduate employees (GEs) on both teaching effectiveness and graduate
students’ teaching competence.3 Additionally, one study found that GEs who attended teaching
workshops allocated more classroom time for student-student discussion and spent less time
lecturing, displaying an increased confidence in their teaching methods.4 Workshop attendees
overall indicated that they had a clearer idea of how to teach effectively. Furthermore, teaching
skills are becoming increasingly recognized in academia as a complement to research skills, as
these skills are important when presenting and during mentorships.5 This exemplifies that
workshops aimed at increasing teaching skills would benefit all graduate students regardless of
their end career goal.
Currently the University of Oregon (UO) does not have any chemistry-specific teaching
workshops available for graduate students, and graduate students interested in refining their
teaching skills have to outsource or independently study to improve their skills. Because of this
gap in resources, I propose the creation of a New Teaching Assistant (TA) Workshop. This
workshop will not only provide information on teaching techniques, but it will also provide a space
for self-reflection on personal approaches towards teaching. This self-reflection aspect stemming
from group discussions will act to further develop graduate students’ personal teaching philosophy
and provide new perspectives on various topics.6
Organization of New TA Workshops. The general organization of these weekly workshops
will be 20 minutes of course-based discussions followed by 40 minutes of teaching-based
discussions. For the course-based discussions, attendants will be split into groups depending on
what course they are currently teaching or have previously taught. This is done in order to
encourage communication on things that worked well and things that did not during the previous
week of the course. During these discussions, older graduate students will write down notes from
the discussion to keep as record for coming years. For the teaching-based discussions, a graduate
student module leader will give a short presentation on a teaching subject followed by both small
and large group discussions. The focus of this proposal will be largely on the second, teaching-
based portion of these New TA Workshops whereas the first, course-based portion of these
workshops will be focused on by my colleague and fellow graduate student, Hannah Hashimoto.
Aim 1: Learning Teaching Techniques and Methods. The main goal of these workshops is
to provide a weekly 40-minute educational module on various teaching topics or techniques.
Workshops will be led by a different graduate student each week. These graduate students, referred
to as module leaders, will be chosen based off of past positive teaching impact as well as their
passion for teaching. It is important to note that many first-year graduate students start graduate
school with little experience teaching in a classroom setting, so these modules will function to
support and provide more information for these new graduate students. These workshops will
especially be helpful for new GEs teaching general chemistry labs, as those labs are taught using
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an inquiry-based teaching approach that many students have not used previously.
Aim 2: Reflection on Teaching Topics for Personal Teaching Styles. While learning about
teaching techniques and methods, the interlaced discussion aspect of these educational modules
`m , supports reflection by graduate students on their own teaching styles and how to integrate
learned topics into their teaching method. The combination of learning and reflecting that is an
active part of these modules provides a platform for graduate students of all years to increase their
teaching competence and confidence, as teaching is a skill that always can be further developed.
Aim 3: Connection Between New and Older Graduate Students. These teaching workshops
will work to foster connections between the new, incoming graduate students and the older
graduate students of all chemistry divisions. Even though chemistry lab groups may be separated
physically by buildings or systemically according to their specialized field of chemistry, all
graduate students have a commonality when it comes to teaching. This allows connections to be
formed between students that would not normally cross paths. Additionally, the creation of lectures
by module leaders will also function to pass teaching knowledge and tips from the older, more
experienced students down to the new incoming students.7
Materials and Methods. During this time no physical materials will be needed to support
these workshops since they will be held remotely over Zoom. Materials such as supporting
documents and presentations for modules will be created by the module leaders and workshop
leaders (examples in S1-S9). To determine
module leaders, an informal poll will be
given to both chemistry undergraduates
and graduate students to determine
graduate teaching assistants that have
excelled in the realm of teaching. The
workshops will be a 9-week program
available during the fall quarter. A
proposed calendar of module topics is
shown in Figure 1, but the topics can be
changed yearly depending on interest of
workshop participants and module leaders.
Assessment of Success. The impact
and success of the New TA Workshops will be assessed through two methods. First, through
personal recounts such as attendance count, reception to discussions, repeat attendance, and
general feedback throughout the course of the quarter. Second, a survey will be sent out after the
full 9-week program has been completed to collect feedback from both first-year graduate students
and older graduate students. Taken together, these two methods will provide an accurate
assessment of the level of success of these New TA Workshops.
Broader Impacts. In the future, we plan to hold these New TA Workshops every year
during fall quarter as a way to support first year graduate students’ transitions to teaching courses,
to provide learning and reflection upon teaching techniques, and to foster an open community
among chemistry graduate students. Moving forward we plan to partner with other resources on
campus, such as the University of Oregon Science Literacy Program, and open up the teaching-
based modules to other disciples at UO for increased interdisciplinary discussions. Overall, these
New TA Workshops will increase teaching awareness and improve teaching competence of
chemistry graduate students in many realms, as these topics are applicable not only in a classroom
or mentorship situation, but also when presenting or when working with a team.3
Week Module Topic
1 Communicating with Class Instructors
2 Professionalism and Office Hours
3 Guided Inquiry-Based Learning
4 Active Learning in a Remote Setting
5 Engaging Students
6 Teaching as a Mentor
7 Question-Based Learning
8 Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity
9 Professor Spotlight
Figure 1: Weekly plan of module topics.
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References
(1) Shannon, D.; Twale, D.; Moore, M. TA Teaching Effectiveness: The Impact of Training
and Teaching Experience. The Journal of Higher Education 1998, 69(4), 440-466.
(2) Blouin, D.; Moss, A. Graduate Student Teacher Training: Still Relevant (And Missing?)
20 Years Later. Teaching Sociology 2015, 43(2), 126-136.
(3) Gafney, L.; Varma-Nelson, P. Evaluating Peer-Led Team Learning: A Study of Long-
Term Effects on Former Workshop Peer Leaders. Journal of Chemical Education 2007,
84(3), 535-539
(4) White, P.; Syncox, D.; Heppleston, A.; Isaac, S.; Alters, B. Putting Research into
Practice: Pedagogy Development Workshops Change the Teaching Philosophy of
Graduate Students. Canadian Journal of Higher Education 2012, 42(1), 98-111.
(5) Boman, J. Graduate Student Teaching Development: Evaluating the Effectiveness of
Training in Relation to Graduate Student Characteristics. Canadian Journal of Higher
Education 2013, 43(1), 100-113.
(6) Troop, M.; Wallar, L.; Aspenlieder, E. Developing Graduate Students’ Self-Efficacy with
Learner-Centered Lecturing. Canadian Journal of Higher Education 2015, 45(3), 15-33.
(7) Dik, H.; McEwen, L. A Graduate Teaching Assistant Workshop in a Faculty of Science.
Canadian Journal of Higher Education 2009, 39(2), 101-120.
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Chemistry Graduate Student Teaching Workshops for Increased Teaching Competence
Kaylin Fosnacht
BICE Proposal Supplemental Information
Table of Contents Page Number
I. Example module preparatory information S2
II. Example module presentation S5
III. Screenshot from a typical meeting S9
S2
I. Example module preparatory information
Week 2: Professionalism and Office Hours
Readings:
Professionalism document
Discussion:
- How to facilitate conversations in Office Hours.
- How to manage time/balance students.
- How to set boundaries with students/why it is important.
Professionalism as it applies to TAing:
Three important things to remember:
1. Be prepared and expect the same of your students…and in order to expect students to be
prepared requires that you:
2. Make your expectations clear. As a TA, student expectations are essentially taken care of
through the course instructor, but that means that you should know and enforce the expectations
of the instructor.
3. Treat everyone with respect. As a TA you are at an interesting level somewhere between
the students and the instructor, and it is important that you have respect for both.
1. Being prepared: -This means get to lab and OH on time (aka early) and lead by example. Show students that you are
prepared and that you expect the same.
-More importantly this means putting in the work to ensure that you know the material so that you can
help students to understand it.
-Look over the material ahead of time so that you know what kinds of calculations students will be
asked to do/what questions they may ask and how you will help them to find the answer. If you don’t
know the material yourself it is difficult to help students understand it. -This also means being open to
complaints or criticisms, as well as remaining being honest when you are unsure of an answer. You may
not always know how to answer a student’s question, or you may sometimes make an error, but owning
up to those mistakes and working through them is important to ensuring that everyone can get the
most out of their education.
Anecdote: As head TA I worked with an teaching assistant that did not care for
teaching… and while I appreciate that not everyone likes teaching, it is important not
S3
only because it is what you are paid for during your first year, but also consider: how
you would feel if the education you were paying thousands of dollars to get was in the
hands of someone that didn’t care?... This TA did not prepare for his classes which
resulted, on more than one occasion, in his giving students incorrect answers. This
became a substantial problem, because students began seeking out his OH, as he was
known to simply give answers instead of helping students to find answers. This meant
that his incorrect answers propagated through the class, costing students points, but
more importantly, costing them a real understanding of the material they were
supposed to learn, undermining their education.
2. Making your expectations clear: -While the expectations for students are laid out by the instructor, it is important that as an
assistant to the teacher you are enforcing those expectations.
-Know how you should handle students arriving late or handing in late assignments, etc.
Which leads me to, IMO the most important idea:
3. Treating everyone with respect, which includes setting boundaries:
-treat others how you expect to be treated…This applies to not only the students you work with,
but other TAs and the course instructors:
-It is important that you treat your instructor with respect and to not undermine their authority
with students. Even if you don’t like how an instructor runs a course, it is not your place to
suggest that to students. This is also true of your fellow TAs.
-Treating students with respect creates a positive environment for learning where students
should not ever need to feel ridiculed when they are trying to learn. It is allowed and
encouraged to make the lab environment enjoyable and positive, but you should always
remember you are in a position of authority and beware of how little jokes or lighthearted
sarcasm can make students feel.
-Further: resist the temptation to try and be friends with your students. It is a common
mistake amongst TAs to try to win students over by being their friend. Especially when
you are so similar in age with the students you are teaching it can be tough to make sure
you retain a professional relationship with students, but is important to do so.
-Avoid becoming social media friends with your students (at least while you are
responsible for their education.)
-Do not EVER discuss students with or in front of other students. Not only can this cause
students to lose respect for you as an educator but it can quickly become a FERPA
violation.
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-Finally, as a TA, by treating everyone you work with respect, you foster an environment of
respect. Show students how they are expected to treat you, other TAs and other students by
maintaining a professional, respectful attitude.
Another anecdote: I had a student who was really struggling with her course load. She came to
my OH and would talk about her personal drama while I was trying to help other students. She
clearly did not respect the other students’ time or my boundaries as a TA.
A few tips for OH specifically:
-get students involved in helping other students - if you are asked a question you can ask if
anyone else thinks they know the answer, this gets the students really involved in the material
and can foster a positive environment between students
-especially when answering more involved questions announce to everyone what you will be
discussing so you can avoid having students ask you the same question over and over -move
around, don’t just sit at the head of the table and allow students to come to you, move between
students, make sure everyone is understanding and able to ask you questions comfortably, not
all students are comfortable with the room’s attention on them
Discussion Questions/Scenarios:
-Have you had experiences with someone you felt lacked professionalism? How did that affect
your opinion of that person or their job performance?
-If a student shows up 20 minutes late to lab, missing the safety discussion. The course
instructor has a rule that states that students who miss the prelab discussion should not be
allowed to participate in lab. What do you do?
-A student asks to discuss the homework you have just returned to him during lab, loudly
insisting that he deserves more points for his answer because another TA gave him that answer.
How do you handle this?
-During a well attended office hour a student loudly tells you that you are wrong about the
material you have just presented. How do you proceed?
-A student continually attends your office hours with the intention of just having you tell them
the answers. What should you do?