• Open Access

Initiation of student-TA interactions in tutorials

Rachel E. Scherr, Rosemary S. Russ, Thomas J. Bing, and Raymond A. Hodges
Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 2, 020108 – Published 14 December 2006

Abstract

At the University of Maryland we videotaped several semesters of tutorials as part of a large research project. A particular research task required us to locate examples of students calling the teaching assistants (TAs) over for assistance with a physics question. To our surprise, examples of this kind of interaction were difficult to find. We undertook a systematic study of TA-student interactions in tutorial: In particular, how are the interactions initiated? Do the students call the TA over for help with a particular issue, does the TA stop by spontaneously, or does the worksheet require a discussion with the TA at that point? The initiation of the interaction is of particular interest because it provides evidence of the motivation for and purpose of the interaction. This paper presents the results of that systematic investigation. We discovered that the majority of student-TA interactions in tutorial are initiated by teaching assistants, confirmed our initial observation that relatively few interactions are initiated by students, and found, further, that even fewer interactions are worksheet initiated. Perhaps most importantly, we found that our sense of who initiates tutorial interactions—based on extensive but informal observations—is not necessarily accurate. We need systematic investigations to uncover the reality of our classroom experiences.

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  • Received 30 March 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.2.020108

This article is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Authors & Affiliations

Rachel E. Scherr, Rosemary S. Russ, Thomas J. Bing, and Raymond A. Hodges

  • Physics Education Research Group, Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA

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Issue

Vol. 2, Iss. 2 — July - December 2006

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