Teaching in the first semester

In both programs, PhD students take up some form of teaching responsibilities immediately. GH, associate chair of the department, pointed out that this is possible because teaching assistants in these programs are “not an instructor of record in any of our classes”; rather, they are “teaching just the lab portion”. Thus, alluding to an accreditation requirement, GH stated that Physics teaching assistants are not required to have completed eighteen credit hours of graduate course work prior to beginning to teach. Acknowledging that they are placing inexperienced instructors immediately in the classroom, both programs take some steps to support their new TAs.

In his interview, GH reported that the Physics program had recently adopted a new instructional style for some of its courses: studio laboratory. GH reported that, in contrast to a more traditional laboratory teaching format, in which the TA is solely responsible for leading the class in laboratory activities that take place in a space separate from the lecture, in a studio laboratory, teacher-fronted lecture activities and hands-on laboratory activities take place in the same space. In Physics classes using the studio model, GH states that the primary instructor is assisted by two TAs, although all of these people may not be in the room at one time. According

to GH, this format is particularly conducive to providing a space for newer PhD students to be peripheral participants in teaching activities, allowing them to receive preparation both in the form of a pedagogy course as well as through their experiences in the classroom working alongside a more experienced TA and instructor. GH reported that the studio laboratory format has many advantages for the SWU Physics program including allowing the program to use resources efficiently by placing new PhD students immediately into the classroom (instead of keeping them out of the classroom in their first semester as was the practice before), while also providing continued support for them, in the form of co-instructors to work alongside. In addition, the format gives TAs training in a teaching style that GH reports is currently “a growing trend” in undergraduate physics education, which may help graduates of the program secure teaching positions.

Of the five Physics ITAs that I interviewed, three had taught in the studio laboratory format: AE, BG, and KY. Interestingly, I received somewhat conflicting reports about the instructional demands of studio and traditional formats. KY claimed that the traditional format is “easier” in part because “there is less interaction between the student and the TA”. In contrast, AE’s comments in Excerpt 4.30 suggest that he preferred to teach in the studio format (he had not yet been assigned to the traditional format, per his requests, although he was familiar with it, having, for example, served as a substitute instructor for his peers), because of the support the studio format offered for him as a “newcomer” who was not confident in his teaching or English.

Excerpt 4.30. AE discusses his experience teaching in the Physics program's studio laboratory courses.

Although I obtained conflicting reports, it may be relevant to note that KY had far greater experience using English in instructional settings, having received all of his formal education (beginning in primary school) in English medium schools, whereas AE reported less experience using English in educational settings and a great deal of insecurity with his English. Thus, AE’s preferences seem to better reflect the perspective of an ITA with deep concerns about English language competence, suggesting that the support to be gained from the studio format may be particularly relevant to ITA preparation as it has usually been understood in applied linguistics.

The other half of the Physics department, the Astronomy program, also places new PhD students immediately in teaching positions, teaching traditional laboratory courses (the

Astronomy program does not use the studio model) for two different introductory astronomy classes (ASTRO 101 and 102). In his interview, AT, director of the Astronomy graduate program, discussed an “informal internal policy” intended to support new PhD students in their first semester involving strategic scheduling of the laboratory sections. Since laboratory lessons are pre-established by the program’s curriculum, all TAs teaching the same course (either 101 or 102) deliver the same lesson every week. AT reported that the program uses this fact to their advantage, placing the more experienced TAs in the sections that meet on Monday, which gives less experienced TAs an opportunity to attend those sections to get a better idea of what is expected of them. AT reported that new PhD Astronomy PhD students are “strongly encouraged” to attend the sections offered by more experienced TAs earlier in the week.

I was able to interview only one Astronomy ITA (the Astronomy program is smaller and enrolls fewer international students than the Physics program), VD, who was, at the time, in his first semester in SWU’s Astronomy PhD program and also teaching for the first time. VD reported that he was required to observe another section of the lab course for the pedagogy

course he was taking. However, the schedule for that semester did not follow the parameters that AT outlined to me. Rather, the first two laboratory sections of each week that semester were taught by one of VD’s first-year classmates and himself, which VD pointed out meant that “we don’t get to shadow anyone before our first labs”. However, VD reported that, after a few weeks, a more experienced TA volunteered to lead a “tutorial” for the less experienced TAs on Fridays, giving VD and his peer the opportunity to delve into the laboratory activities before they teach on Mondays. While VD appeared satisfied with this solution, it is unclear whether such a tutorial would provide the same level of preparation given that students would not be present (see PS’s comments in Excerpt 4.29 about wanting to observe Biology laboratory activities being carried out with students).