Tutorial teaching assistants in the classroom: Similar teaching behaviors are supported by varied beliefs about teaching and learning

As part of a long-term program to develop effective, research-based professional development programs for physics graduate student teaching assistants (TAs), we first identify their current classroom practices and why they engage in these practices. In this paper, we identify a set of teaching practices we call “focusing on indicators,” which occurs when TAs use signs such as key words or diagrams as evidence that students understand the target idea; these indicators are more superficial than a detailed explanation. Our primary finding is that although the three TAs discussed here share a common behavior, the beliefs and motivations that underlie this behavior vary. We argue that TA professional development focused on changing these TAs’ focus-on-indicator behavior is unlikely to be effective. Instead, responsive TA professional development will need to address the TAs’ beliefs that guide the observed classroom behavior.

Figure 1

A tutorial problem showing a velocity-time graph and the track that is the correct answer.

Figure 2

An excerpt from a tutorial on energy and one possible free-body diagram of the block at point D.

Figure 3

Excerpt of a tutorial on acceleration.

Figure 4

Excerpt from a tutorial on the properties of matter.

Figure 5

Excerpt from a tutorial on the ideal gas law.