Preparing the Next Generation of Educators for Active Learning

Abstract

Graduate students across the United States are currently playing an important role in the education of students, as they often teach laboratories, recitations, and discussion sections. It is important to provide professional development for graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), not only because this will have a positive impact on students now but also because it can have an impact on the students of tomorrow. This chapter summarizes the relevant literature on faculty adoption of active learning strategies, as it is relevant to TA training, as well as the literature on effective TA programs. It then provides an example of a TA program at a specific institution and discusses the evaluation of the program, in particular, as it pertains to the instructional practices of the GTAs.