Accounting for tutorial teaching assistants’ buy-in to reform instruction

Successful implementation of tutorials includes establishing norms for learning in the tutorial classroom. The teaching assistants (TAs) who lead each tutorial section are important arbiters of these norms. TAs who value (buy into) tutorials are more likely to convey their respect for the material a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Renee Michelle Goertzen, Rachel E. Scherr, Andrew Elby
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2009-12-01
Series:Physical Review Special Topics. Physics Education Research
Online Access:http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.5.020109
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author Renee Michelle Goertzen
Rachel E. Scherr
Andrew Elby
author_facet Renee Michelle Goertzen
Rachel E. Scherr
Andrew Elby
author_sort Renee Michelle Goertzen
collection DOAJ
description Successful implementation of tutorials includes establishing norms for learning in the tutorial classroom. The teaching assistants (TAs) who lead each tutorial section are important arbiters of these norms. TAs who value (buy into) tutorials are more likely to convey their respect for the material and the tutorial process to the students, as well as learning more themselves. We present a case study of a TA who does not buy into certain aspects of the tutorials he teaches and demonstrate how his lack of buy-in affects specific classroom interactions. We would hope to design professional development programs to help TAs appreciate the power of tutorial instruction. However, our research suggests that the typical professional development activities offered to tutorial TAs are not likely to be effective. Instead, it appears that what we call the “social and environmental context” of the tutorials—including classroom, departmental, and institutional levels of implementation—has the potential to strongly affect TA buy-in to tutorials and probably outweighs the influence of any particular activity that we might prepare for them.
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spelling doaj.art-9b13dca96de5462ca99a1dffb912e03b2022-12-21T21:46:22ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review Special Topics. Physics Education Research1554-91782009-12-0152Accounting for tutorial teaching assistants’ buy-in to reform instructionRenee Michelle GoertzenRachel E. ScherrAndrew ElbySuccessful implementation of tutorials includes establishing norms for learning in the tutorial classroom. The teaching assistants (TAs) who lead each tutorial section are important arbiters of these norms. TAs who value (buy into) tutorials are more likely to convey their respect for the material and the tutorial process to the students, as well as learning more themselves. We present a case study of a TA who does not buy into certain aspects of the tutorials he teaches and demonstrate how his lack of buy-in affects specific classroom interactions. We would hope to design professional development programs to help TAs appreciate the power of tutorial instruction. However, our research suggests that the typical professional development activities offered to tutorial TAs are not likely to be effective. Instead, it appears that what we call the “social and environmental context” of the tutorials—including classroom, departmental, and institutional levels of implementation—has the potential to strongly affect TA buy-in to tutorials and probably outweighs the influence of any particular activity that we might prepare for them.http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.5.020109
spellingShingle Renee Michelle Goertzen
Rachel E. Scherr
Andrew Elby
Accounting for tutorial teaching assistants’ buy-in to reform instruction
Physical Review Special Topics. Physics Education Research
title Accounting for tutorial teaching assistants’ buy-in to reform instruction
title_full Accounting for tutorial teaching assistants’ buy-in to reform instruction
title_fullStr Accounting for tutorial teaching assistants’ buy-in to reform instruction
title_full_unstemmed Accounting for tutorial teaching assistants’ buy-in to reform instruction
title_short Accounting for tutorial teaching assistants’ buy-in to reform instruction
title_sort accounting for tutorial teaching assistants buy in to reform instruction
url http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.5.020109
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