In this qualitative study, we examined a pilot program for graduate student instructors (GSIs) in a peer review of teaching program at Duke University, a medium-sized research university. We noted key elements that participants identified from their experience that may be distinct from models of peer teaching review developed for faculty. These…

Bridgewater State College is a comprehensive master's granting institution that primarily prepares teachers, school counselors, psychologists, and school administrators. Within the past two years, the institution has developed a new Graduate Research Assistantship position available to students enrolled in a master's degree or Certificate of…

We developed an innovative instructional method to actively engage students in writing and critiquing scholarly work. We tested the effectiveness of this pedagogy using a mixed methods research design. Compared to control group peers, students in the experimental classes perceived gains in their own writing, research ability, and motivation to…

Using a behavior modeling approach, this study examined how students' perceived self-efficacy improved as they developed, delivered, and evaluated professional presentations. Using journal entries and a self-efficacy assessment, students' perceived self-efficacy increased as they learned to provide and receive verbal peer feedback, and to stage…

This article examines the role that self-perception plays in predicting academic performance of cooperative learning groups in graduate-level research methodology courses. A total of 29 groups (n = 102 students) are examined. A series of multiple regression analyses reveals that the groups attaining the lowest scores on the article critique…

We collected data from 149 graduate teaching assistants at a Midwestern university concerning their classroom duties, experiences with TA training and supervision, sense of self-efficacy toward teaching, preference for supervisory style, and feedback on those modes and skill domains in TA training they felt were most effective and best prepared…

During the next five to ten years, community colleges in Illinois will retire more than half of their tenured faculty members, reflecting a similar national trend. Many masters and doctoral students seeking the professorate may consider community colleges as an attractive teaching opportunity. While community colleges often regard themselves as…

Faculty and graduate students are under enormous pressure to produce journal articles, yet little help is available on speeding up the process. This article offers an organizational strategy, called the "fast article writing methodology," for expediting article writing where the published product follows a standardized format. We also present…

The preparation of graduate students for faculty careers is not a new discussion in academe. The debate over teaching versus research preparation stretches back to the inception of graduate education in this country (Atwell, 1996; Berelson, 1960). However, the lingering concerns about the preparation for the faculty role and all its components…

This study seeks to determine the level of acceptance of the Constructive Engagement Method (CEM) as a teaching, learning, and leadership skills development model. Employing a modified debate format, constructive engagement requires active student participation, even among the most introverted of students, and it fosters a learning environment…

As a result of recent changes to U.S. undergraduate mathematics instruction, graduate student teaching assistants (TAs) may now be asked to teach in ways that they did not themselves experience as students. One such example is the use of collaborative group learning. The preparation TAs receive to teach in these new ways has the potential to shape…