In this study, collaboration has been revisited between an American faculty member and an international graduate teaching assistant during a unique faculty-student mentoring model within principles of chaos theory. The role of culture, beliefs about language learning and teaching had been studied closely to improve faculty/international students'…

This chapter presents a study exploring the diverse characteristics of Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs) employed at eight research universities in the United States and investigates the ways in which these characteristics impact the value GSIs place on types of professional development and support in teaching.

This chapter describes a program aimed to help international graduate students navigate linguistic, pedagogical, and cultural challenges they face as new college instructors by connecting them with undergraduates who share personal insights and campus resources.

This chapter presents an autoethnography of an international graduate teaching assistant (ITA) at two universities (in a midsize state university in the eastern United States and a large public research university in the southwestern United States). Standpoint and muted group theories are utilized to discuss the experiences of being a female ITA…

This chapter presents findings from a qualitative study which investigated the perceptions of twenty-five ITAs toward US American undergraduates. The participant cohort comprised fourteen PhD and eleven master's students, of which, three were male and twenty-two were female ITAs teaching oral communication or a communication course requiring…

Professional development of graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) regarding interpersonal boundaries is key not only to the well-being of the GTAs but also to the undergraduates they are teaching. GTAs who are developing their professional identities are a primary contact for undergraduates, especially in lower-division classes, and thus play a key…

One September morning, the author woke as a teacher--an international teaching assistant (ITA), to be exact--at a California State University (Cal State). As a twenty-five-year-old teaching assistant, he had the opportunity to teach hybrid public speaking classes that were designed for the American Culture and Language Program (ACLP), which turned…

Doctoral students trained today will soon join faculties in the nation's more than three thousand colleges and universities. The preparation these students receive while in their doctoral programs will influence the ways they prioritize research, teaching, and service. In this article, the authors report findings from an evaluation of a…

This chapter presents an autoethnography of a Chinese American woman's twenty-five years of experience in higher education at universities in Southern California and the Pacific Northwest. Her career is discussed in four stages: master's teaching assistant and student, part-time instructor, doctoral teaching assistant and student, and professor.

An Academic Practice Unit needs to work strategically and interact with other departments to place research-based teaching on the institutional agenda and support staff adequately for their roles.

A model for examining the relationship between the professor and teaching assistant (TA) was tested at the University of California, Irvine. Based on an open communication system between professor and TA, problem identification and solutions strategies were a participatory process. Professor and TA opinions about participative restructuring were…

Resources pertinent to teaching assistants at colleges are identified. The listing includes general books on teaching, handbooks designed for the TA, discipline-centered materials, videotapes and other materials for use in workshops, and organizations that can provide workshops and other opportunities to contact resource persons. (Author/SW)

Teaching assistantships can be a help or hindrance to a student's completion of a graduate degree and preparation as a teacher-scholar. The way in which graduate students are introduced to pedagogical scholarship and enabled to use that knowledge is critical. Different models are in use to train and mentor graduate students. (Author/MSE)

Six keys to successful instruction in large classes are identified: don't be intimidated, prepare carefully, be natural, be personal, prevent students from feeling insignificant and anonymous, and stay in touch with teaching assistants. (MLW)

Cultural and language barriers facing foreign teaching assistants are discussed. Universities may test the spoken English ability of foreign graduate students and train currently employed foreign teaching assistants through lectures, tapes, and demonstration of teaching skills; information on American campus life; and English practice. Follow-up…