Ready to Teach: Graduate TAs Prepare for Today and for Tomorrow

A refereed collection of papers based on presentations made during Changing Graduate Education: The Sixth National Conference on the Education and Employment of Graduate Teaching Assistants. – Edited by Will Davis, Jan Smith, and Rosslyn Smith, this excellent volume provides a rich array of insights into TA preparation methods. Ready to Teach embodies the diversity of scholarship and practice involved in preparing graduate student instructors to teach in higher education. In this volume, graduate student instructors, faculty members, administrators, professionals in instructional and faculty development, and specialists in English as a Second Language reflect and opine, share best practices, and report on foundational research. The result is a wonderful mixed bouquet, with individual pieces appropriately varied in complexity, sophistication, and intended audience.

Foreword, v
About the Editors, vi
Acknowledgement, vii

0. Putting Passion Back into Our Pedagogy, 1
   David Rayson
0. Here Today, Not Gone Tomorrow, 5
   Toni A. H. McNaron
0. The Role of Graduate Deans in the Administration of Teaching Assistants, 10
   Geraldine de Berly
0. Betwixt & Between: The Liminal Space of the Graduate Student as Administrative Assistant, 16
   Bryant Keith Alexander
0. Encouraging Mentoring: Conversations Between TAs and Faculty, 21
   Deborah A. Boyle and Jeffery C. Honnold
0. On Being "Professor of the Graduate Students": Becoming Professionally Socialized by Socializing Others, 29
   Carol A. Caronna
0. Needed Change in Graduate Education: Educating the Educators on the Americans with Disabilities Act, 35
   Pamela L. Gray and Nancy L. Buerkel-Rothfuss
0. A Workshop on the Ethics of Teaching, 41
   Victor L. Worsfold
0. Preparing TAs to Respond to Ethical Dilemmas, 47
   Miriam Rosalyn Diamond
0. What is the "Happy-medium" Instruction for TAs with Varied Experiences? A Case Study: Innovative Approaches to TA Preparation for Lab Instruction, 51
   Seung M. Hong and Thomas E. Creaven
0. Teaching in the Laboratory and Discussion: Promoting Education in a Dynamic Environment, 57
   Joseph R. Pomerening
0. Course Portfolios: A Practical Tool for Teaching and Learning, 64
   Jodi Reeves, Kevin Hugo, Robert Heussner, Ahmed Hala, Bulent Sarlioglu, and Sandra Courter
0. Americans with Disabilities Act Issues: Empathy Training for Educators, 69
   Nancy L. Buerkel-Rothfuss and Pamela L. Gray
0. Preparing Today for Tomorrow’s Active Learning, 77
   Cathy Ishikawa, Michael Bagley and William E. Davis
0. Training Instructors to Facilitate Collaborative Inquiry, 82
   Nancy Konigsberg Kerner, Beverly Black, Eric Monson, and Leah Meeuwenberg
0. Preparing Future Faculty: The Evolution of a College Teaching Course, 89
   Allan E. Goody
0. Facilitating the Collaborative Spirit Among Future Faculty, 95
   William E. Davis, Michael Bagley and Cathy Ishikawa
0. A Peer Collaboration Model for Improving the Instructional Practices of Graduate Assistants, 101
   Joyce H. Reed, Anita Perna Bohn and Kenneth F. Jerich
0. Observation and Feedback for Improving TA Instructional Development: A Comparative Study, 109
   Cynthia Myers, Felicity Douglas, Carolyn Madden and Sarah Briggs
0. Using Systematic Feedback from GTAs, 118
   Patricia R. Sherblom and Karla Jensen
0. Students’ Perceptions of Novice Teaching Assistants’ Use of the Target Language in Beginning Foreign Language Classes:  Preliminary Investigation, 128
   Klaus Brandl and Gabriele Bauer
0. Effective Change in Pronunciation: Teaching ITAs to Teach Themselves, 139
   Jane M. Alsberg
0. Exploring a New Model: Integrating Department and ITA Training, 147
   Sarah Briggs, Brenda Imber and Carolyn Madden
0. Oral Communication in Teaching: A Program Assessment, 151
   Vel Chesser, Stuart Carroll, Jeanette D. Macero and Stacey L. Tice
0. Grading Pronunciation Progress: The Roles of Absolute and Relative Scales, 159
   Wayne B. Dickerson
0. The Standard-Setting Process for the New Test of Spoken English: A University Case Study, 167
   Dean Papajohn
0. A Framework for International TA Program Changes: Responding to the Call for Accountability, 177
   Margaret Lawrence and Wayne Jacobson
0. Building Professional Skills: The Intersection of ITAs and Undergraduates, 183
   Darlene Panvini
0. Undergraduates Learning from ITAs: When it Works and When it Doesn’t, 193
   Nancy Oppenheim

Will Davis is the Coordinator of Instructor Programs in the Teaching Resource Center at the University of California, Davis. He is responsible for all campus-wide programs for the development of graduate student instructors, including administering the peer consulting services provided through the TA Consultant Program. For many years he directed the Program in College Teaching, a certificate program for graduate students preparing for faculty careers. He is now the instructor for the Seminar in College Teaching, a quarter-long program to prepare graduate students to teach their first course. He is also a faculty member for the Community College Faculty Preparation Certificate Program offered by California State University, Sacramento, and he teaches an introductory biology course for non-majors at American River College.

 was Co-Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning Services at the University of Minnesota when she hosted Changing Graduate Education: The Sixth National Conference on the Training and Employment of Graduate Teaching Assistants which took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during November 6-9, 1997. Jan’s energy and expertise made the conference a success, and her skill at organizing, attention to detail and enduring patience significantly influenced Ready to Teach.

Jan Smith

  is Vice Provost for Outreach and Extended Studies, director of the Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center, and a faculty member at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. She is the former director of the international teaching assistant program, and her current responsibilities include the administration of instructional development programs for faculty and teaching assistants. She is co-author of Crossing Pedagogical Oceans: International Teaching Assistants in U.S. Undergraduate Education and served as a commissioner for the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation (CEA).

Rosslyn Smith

2002 [ISBN: 0-58107-060-8; 212 pages soft cover; 8.25-by-10.75-inch]