NSF Award
2325659
Nationally, the training and preparation of Graduate Teaching Assistants ranges from minimal support to well-developed workshops and coaching delivered primarily at the departmental level. Recently, Morgan State University implemented a highly structured, institution-wide, continuously evaluated training and coaching program for TAs (MSTAP). This National Science Foundation Innovations of Graduate Education (IGE) award to Morgan State University will seek to an answer to the central question: whether participating in a structured assistantship— accompanied by course-based instructional training, significant professional development, and mentoring from well-trained mentors—increases or decreases the likelihood of the recipient’s student success and career readiness. The outcomes may suggest an alternative to the dominant “research apprentice” model of doctoral education that provides a specific definition for success that devalues teaching (especially Teaching Assistant [TA] roles). This model also minimizes the training for instruction that proves invaluable upon degree completion. The study will provide guidance to TA programs nationwide and underscore the value of teaching as a meaningful component of success and readiness. <br/><br/>The study involves TAs and non-TAs in a mixed methods approach built on Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Self-determination will be the measure of success for TA program participants, as it suggests that autonomy, competence, and relatedness facilitate overall growth and development. There are three distinct interventions: 1) the MSTAP instruction; 2) mentor training and mentoring; and 3) enhanced professional development. These three interventions will be evaluated with observational, survey, interview, and focus group techniques that lead, with analysis, to five more specific empirical questions: 1) What are the effects of MSTAP on retention and completion?; 2) What is the impact of MSTAP on the TAs’ program success and career readiness?; 3) What is the impact on time to degree?; 4) What are the changes in attitude and perception about the role of the TA appointment on overall readiness and success?; and 5) How do undergraduate students experience instruction provided by TAs? These questions, in turn, provide supporting data for quantitative and qualitative assessment of the central question. The study involves students from large cohorts of TAs (up to 180 in any given year) in all Morgan’s doctoral disciplines including engineering, mathematics, natural sciences, computer science, STEM education, and psychometrics, with social science and humanities for comparison. A group of non-TAs (Research Assistants, etc.) will participate in mentoring and professional development activities, thereby serving as a comparison group in order to isolate the effects of MSTAP.<br/><br/>The Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) program is focused on research in graduate education. The goals of IGE are to pilot, test and validate innovative approaches to graduate education and to generate the knowledge required to move these approaches into the broader community.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
