ERIC Number: EJ1184272
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0260-2938
EISSN: N/A
Graduate Teaching Assistants: How Well Do Their Students Think They Do?
Nasser-Abu Alhija, Fadia; Fresko, Barbara
Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, v43 n6 p943-954 2018
Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) constitute a valuable and economical teaching force in many higher education undergraduate programmes. However, student satisfaction with their teaching has attracted little attention in the research literature. This study aimed at examining students' evaluation of teaching of GTAs in discussion groups, as well as exploring the effects of group and GTA variables on these ratings. Data were collected using a questionnaire administered online and completed by 7078 undergraduate students. Participants were enrolled in classes taught by 278 GTAs from four faculties in a major Israeli university. Results indicated that ratings assigned to clarity of instruction were the most salient predictor of students' overall evaluation. Generally, findings were consistent with those reported in the literature for other categories of instructors. Groups taught by GTAs in exact sciences and engineering were rated higher than those in social sciences and business management. Group size and the percentage of men students were inversely correlated with student ratings, while student attendance rate was positively correlated. Women GTAs and GTAs who taught more than one group tended to receive higher ratings. Overall student attendance rate was the most prominent predictor of student ratings. The implications of the findings are discussed.
Descriptors: Graduate Students, Teaching Assistants, Student Evaluation, Student Evaluation of Teacher Performance, Undergraduate Students, Questionnaires, Foreign Countries, Predictor Variables, Group Instruction, Science Education, Engineering Education, Social Sciences, Business Administration Education, Gender Differences, Correlation, Attendance Patterns, Class Size, Multiple Regression Analysis, Statistical Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Israel
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A