Nonlanguage factors affecting undergraduates' judgments of nonnative English-speaking teaching assistants

In response to dramatic changes in the demographics of graduate education, considerable effort is being deveoted to training teaching assistants who are nonnative speakers of English (NNSTAs). Three studies extend earlier research that showed the potency of nonlanguage factors such as ethnicity in affecting undergraduates' reactions to NNSTAs. Study 1 examined effects of instructor ethnicity, even when the instructor's language was completely standard. Study 2 identified predictors of teacher ratings and listening comprehension from among several attitudinal and background variables. Study 3 was a pilot intervention effort in which undergraduates served as teaching coaches for NNSTAs. This intervention, however, exerted no detectable effect on undergraduates' attitudes. Taken together, these findings warrant that intercultural sensitization for undergraduates must complement skills training for NNSTAs, but that this sensitization will not accrue from any superficial intervention program.     

Lecturing style teaching and student performance

Teachers in the Netherlands tend to spend less time in front of the class, and often adopt a more personal approach. This allows them to better adjust their lecturing style to the needs of the individual student with the aim of increasing student performance. However, a more personal approach is also more time consuming and potentially reduces the complementary and scale effects of the more traditional lecture style teaching.This study examines whether the proportion of time that teachers lecture in front of the class influences the cognitive performance of students in the Netherlands. In this study we find no relationship between the proportion of time spent lecturing in front of the class and student performance.     

The zones framework for both teaching and learning: application to graduate student teaching assistants

The zones framework conceived for the examination of thinking about teaching, is validated, and extended to the examination of thinking about learning. This is done by extending the framework to examine thinking about teaching and learning in a population of science graduate student teaching assistants. Semi‐structured interviews explore these students’ teaching and learning experiences, how their experiences relate to their knowledge of educational theory, and how they have formed their ideas about what constitutes good teaching. The article demonstrates that the zones framework can be extended to thinking about learning, and that it is appropriate for examining the thinking of students as well as teachers. Recommendations for further research are made, including the exploration of discipline‐specific thinking.     

辅导员应具备的素质

作为高校学生的组织者、领导者和教育者,学校管理工作的基层力量,高校辅导员应具备以下素质：过硬的政治思想素质、优秀的道德品质素质、扎实的业务素质、良好的心理素质和丰富的科学文化素质。     

Working for learning: teaching assistants developing mathematics for teaching

This article derives from a case study of 10 secondary school teaching assistants (TAs) who did not have conventional pre-qualifications in mathematics but who undertook an honours degree in mathematics education studies at a Higher Education Institution in England whilst continuing to work as TAs in school. Work-based learning was thus undertaken in parallel with advancement through the hierarchical undergraduate mathematics curriculum. Lave and Wenger’s work on communities of practice is used as a framework to explore the TAs’ learning of mathematics alongside their professional work in schools. This case illustrates how and where institution-based undergraduate teaching relates to work in school, and where it does not, thus signalling the importance of the TAs’ informal learning strategies in bringing together these experiences.     

Assessing faculty performance using student evaluations of teaching in an uncontrolled setting

This paper provides new evidence on the disparity between student evaluation of teaching (SET) ratings when evaluations are conducted online versus in‐class. Using a multiple regression analysis, we show that after controlling for many of the class and student characteristics not under the direct control of the instructor, average SET ratings from evaluations conducted online are significantly lower than average SET ratings conducted in‐class. Further, we demonstrate the importance of controlling for the factors not under the instructor’s control when using SET ratings to evaluate faculty performance in the classroom. We do not suggest that moving to online evaluation is overly problematic, only that it is difficult to compare evaluations done online with evaluations done in‐class. While we do not suppose that one method is ‘more accurate’ than another, we do believe that institutions would benefit from either moving all evaluations online or by continuing to do all evaluations in‐class.     

助教博士生在实验教学改革中的作用

该文从不同角度阐述了助教博士生在实验教学中发挥的桥梁纽带作用,在提高学生的创新能力方面担当了重要角色,并结合电子系的情况简单介绍了助教聘任方法.     

Data mining based analysis to explore the effect of teaching on student performance

Analysing the behaviour of student performance in classroom education is an active area in educational research. Early prediction of student performance may be helpful for both teacher and the student. However, the influencing factors of the student performance need to be identified first to build up such early prediction model. The existing data mining literature on student performance primarily focuses on student-related factors, though it may be influenced by many external factors also. Superior teaching acts as a catalyst which improves the knowledge dissemination process from teacher to the student. It also motivates the student to put more effort on the study. However, the research question, how the performance or grade correlates with teaching, is still relevant in present days. In this work, we propose a quantifiable measure of improvement with respect to the expected performance of a student. Furthermore, this study analyses the impact of teaching on performance improvement in theoretical courses of classroom-based education. It explores nearly 0.2 million academic records collected from an online system of an academic institute of national importance in India. The association mining approach has been adopted here and the result shows that confidence of both non-negative and positive improvements increase with superior teaching. This result indeed establishes the fact that teaching has a positive impact on student performance. To be more specific, the growing confidence of non-negative and positive improvements indicate that superior teaching facilitates more students to obtain either expected or better than expected grade.     

Some effects of training on teaching effectiveness of untrained university teaching assistants

This paper presents an assessment of the effects which a brief training program had on teaching effectiveness of graduate teaching assistants (TAs). Twenty-two inexperienced and previously untrained university TAs from economics, geography, and business administration were assigned to a training or control group by a stratified random method with stratification based on TA departmental affiliation. Teaching experts rated two videotapes of each Ta's university class, one tape made before training and one following training. Ratings were obtained on two factors: (1) planning instruction to meet clear goals and organizing meaningful content in a logical fashion, and (2) involving students in instruction. Results from analyses of covariance indicate that the training group received significantly higher final ratings than the control group on the total score and on each of the two factors when final scores were adjusted for group differences in initial ratings. Teaching experience alone did not result in significantly higher ratings for control group TAs. Participants in training evaluated most topics and the overall program favorably both immediately after training and one semester later.     

Postgraduate training in student learning and teaching

A postgraduate training programme in the areas of student learning and supervision is presented. An experiential method of training is employed which involves laboratory and pilot plant supervisions in the Chemical Engineering Department of Imperial College. A series of workshops is used to facilitate discussion on teaching theory and practice, as well as on student counselling and communication issues. Log-book entries are used for the documentation of specific events arising from the supervision sessions, which provide a good basis for peer discussion, as well as an opportunity for self-reflection. A number of examples arising from the workshops are used to demonstrate the mutual benefits of the training programme to academic staff and students. In addition to training in teaching skills, the programme is shown to provide a mechanism for the quality control of demonstrators involved in undergraduate teaching, as well as a regular feedback mechanism to staff on the efficacy of the laboratory-based courses. Through teaching and a structured staff support scheme, the programme is believed to address some of the current concerns on the non-technical (soft) training, and on the further development of the broad science and engineering knowledge of UK postgraduate students.