Educating The Experts: Pedagogy For Physics Graduate Teaching Assistants

This is a cross-disciplinary thesis focused on the development and implementation of a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) training course for Physics GTAs at Wayne State University. The course will use methods from the most current pedagogy to train GTAs in the art of teaching and make them more effective instructors for the undergraduate students they serve. The course will introduce GTAs to student-centered and active learning techniques like think-pair-shares, how to facilitate group learning, and how to guide students towards making their own discoveries in inquiry labs. Additionally, the course will introduce GTAs to basic classroom management skills, familiarize them with the process of creating an effective assessment, and help them develop their teaching portfolio. It will also provide GTAs with the opportunity to practice student-centered teaching methods in both a lab and discussion setting, with opportunities for feedback from the instructor. Assessments in the course will include written reflections, in-class observations, and microteaching opportunities to enhance the content of the weekly lectures and to monitor GTA progress. The success and effectiveness of the training course will be evaluated by entrance and exit surveys given to the GTAs on the first and last days of the semester