Stanford Report, Jan. 28, 2004

Better training for teaching assistants paying off in classrooms

BY RAY DELGADO

Improvements in training for teaching assistants have been a major goal of Stanford administrators since 1987 and have led to an array of legislative actions, departmental training guidelines and the creation of numerous supplemental programs offered through departments and the Center for Teaching and Learning.

Those efforts appear to have paid off, according to a report delivered to the Faculty Senate last week by the Teaching Assistant Oversight Committee, led by Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education John Bravman.

"I think we have a pretty good story to tell," Bravman said Thursday during the senate meeting. "And particularly in a time of difficult budget climates, it's good to remind ourselves that a relatively small incremental effort spent in this area probably bears significant and rich dividends both financially, but more importantly, pedagogically and academically for our students. Properly trained TAs can make a big difference in the satisfaction of students and faculty."

Most departments throughout the university now offer some form of training program with faculty-led oversight, and the stepped-up efforts are showing in teaching assistant evaluations for many. Bravman highlighted a department that experienced a dramatic drop in the number of sections that were rated poorly as proof that better training is paying off.

The department, which Bravman wished to keep anonymous, reported a significant drop in the number of teaching assistant-led sections that were rated poorly by students after the department implemented a training program shortly after the 1996-97 school year. Students rated 20 of the department's 72 sections poorly during that academic year (when there was no training program), compared with only 4 of 63 sections during the 2000-01 school year.

Michelle Marincovich, associate vice provost for undergraduate education and director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, said she believed that the department's success was echoed in other departments that also implemented training programs.

"We think we have devised a system at Stanford that has been working," Marincovich said. "The feedback from the graduate students is that they want the training, and certainly undergraduates have voted with their feet for a long time in seeking out TAs who help them learn more effectively."

The Teaching Assistant Oversight Committee was formed by the senate in 1997 and established a set of guidelines three years later that most departments or programs are encouraged to follow. Each department should designate a member of the Academic Council to take responsibility for teaching assistant training and establish a program of training and supervision stressing preparation beforehand, supervision during and reflection after teaching. The Center for Teaching and Learning is also available to provide assistance with setting up or running departmental programs.

In 1997, only 14 of 35 university departments with significant undergraduate teaching loads had some form of teaching assistant training program in place. That number has since risen to 33 of 36 departments during the current school year. The three departments without programs are smaller units where teaching assistants play more of a background course assistance role to the faculty member, Marincovich said.

Faculty participation in teaching assistant training and supervision has also had a large impact on the effectiveness of teaching assistants, and Bravman encouraged faculty to remain engaged.

"I can't emphasize enough the importance of faculty guidance and involvement in this," Bravman said. "We certainly hear from TAs occasionally when they are frustrated. They want to do a better job, but they feel like they're not getting the time and mentorship from the people teaching the class. We all know how busy we are, but I think, again, for our own satisfaction, it ends up being worthwhile."

The committee report also highlighted a number of areas in which improvements could still be made. If possible, departments should try to hire teaching assistants well in advance of their teaching assignment, even though Bravman acknowledged that many teaching assistants have to be hired at the last minute because of the uncertainties of class sizes.

All teaching assistants should receive some form of training that includes active feedback from the faculty member who is delivering the class, the report said. Marincovich suggested that some departments consider a reward structure for faculty members who engage in the training process as additional incentive.

The report also recommended that teaching assistants receive mid-quarter evaluations so they can respond to critiques of their performance in a timelier manner.

Marincovich said the committee was going to explore the possibility of putting evaluation forms online in an effort to streamline the process and get faster responses, even though other universities who use such evaluations report lower student response rates. One faculty member suggested making the evaluations mandatory and withholding grades until students completed them but Marincovich said she didn't think that was possible.

"I think our registrar is reluctant to do something like that, and it's certainly for understandable reasons," Marincovich said.

In other business, the Faculty Senate reauthorized degree-granting authority for the Interdisciplinary Program in Modern Thought and Literature for another five years beginning in September 2005.