Contributed Paper C171
In session C3B (Monday 9th, 16:00-17:30, Level 2 - Seminar Room 1)Improving capacity and quality of undergraduate statistics instruction through research-based TA training experiences
Authors
Jennifer Kaplan (University of Georgia, USA)Kristen Roland (University of Georgia, USA)
Presenter
Jennifer Kaplan (United States)Abstract
Statistics has one of the fastest growing course enrollments of the undergraduate STEM disciplines in the U.S., with many introductory courses taught by Teaching Assistants (TAs). Since many TAs will go on to be faculty members in statistics, improved training of TAs should lead to improved teaching and more capacity to meet the discipline’s growing needs. This paper describes a two-year study in which a cyclic design was used to create and refine TA training materials. With these materials, TAs increased opportunities for their students to engage in active learning and develop enhanced conceptual understanding. We will share data collected from both the training sessions and the TAs’ activity implementations and discuss lessons learned about TA training and solutions explored and implemented to improve the training.