ERIC Number: EJ1184931
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1933-4850
EISSN: N/A
Mentoring International Teaching Assistants: A Case Study of Improving Teaching Practices
Arshavskaya, Ekaterina
InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, v13 p101-117 2018
While there exists a considerable body of research focusing on international teaching assistants' (ITAs') linguistic, sociocultural, and instructional challenges, less is known about the successful developmental trajectories of this group of international educators of American students. This research aims to fulfill this research gap using a case study approach (Yin, 2003). The study involved ITAs from STEM majors in six collaborative mentoring sessions prior and upon video recording of three lessons taught by the ITAs to undergraduate students. The mentoring sessions were designed to facilitate ITAs' reflections on their teaching with the use of structured protocols to help guide the discussions. All the collected data were analyzed using content analysis (Miles & Huberman, 1994). The results highlight the incidents of professional growth exhibited by the participating ITAs during their actual teaching. This study also tracks the ITAs' reflections on teaching through the mediational dialogues (Vygotsky, 1978) with the mentor. Finally, the paper discusses lessons learned through launching a mentoring project with a group of ITAs.
Descriptors: Teaching Assistants, Foreign Students, Mentors, Case Studies, Teacher Improvement, STEM Education, Majors (Students), Reflective Teaching, Content Analysis, Mediation Theory, Focus Groups, College Students, Questionnaires
Park University, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. 8700 NW River Park Drive, Parkville, MO 64152. Tel: 816-584-6770; Fax: 308-224-3493; e-mail: cetl@park.edu; Web site: http://www.insightjournal.net/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A