TRAINING GTA S TO USE EVIDENCE- BASED PRACTICES 9 January 2016 Mary E. Pilgrim & Jessica Gehrtz Colorado State University

CALCULUS I AT CSU students/semester Average Section Size: students Taught primarily by [new] GTAs Usually 1-2 larger sections Meets 4 days a week Majors: Mathematics Engineering Physics Computer Science Chemistry Statistics

BACKGROUND & MOTIVATION High DFW Rates Administration: Increase STEM major retention rates Educators: Improve student learning MAA National Calc Study: “Effective training of GTAs” 1

PRE-FALL GTA TRAINING Before Fall 2015 Logistics and Syllabus Talked about Lab 1 Resources Fall 2015 Day 1 Logistics and Syllabus Worked on Lab 1 Resources Day 2 Discussed students Engaged with content Culture of classroom Pedagogy

PRE-FALL TRAINING ACTIVITIES

PRE-FALL TRAINING ACTIVITIES: STUDENT REFLECTION EXCERPT

PRE-FALL TRAINING ACTIVITIES

CONTINUED FALL TRAINING Weekly meeting structure minutes logistics minutes pedagogy/classroom activities Week 1: Classroom culture Week 2: Giving feedback Week 3: The first exam Week 5: Reflect on exam 1

WEEK 1 The first week of class: What went well? What would you have done differently? Resources: What have you used? What would you like to use? How can we help? Your classroom: What do you want your classroom to look like? What are your expectations? How will activities help create and support your desired classroom environment?

WEEK 2: STUDENT FEEDBACK Given a HW problem with rubric, GTAs were asked to discuss student feedback. Why is the rubric written this way? Are there reasons for weighting parts differently? Are there modifications necessary? (asked 2X) What do you anticipate students will do?

SURVEY OF GTA S We asked Calc I & Bio Calc GTAs about: Teaching experiences The meaning of ‘pedagogy’ Teacher training experiences Teaching resources Logistical and content issues What does successful teaching look like?

WHAT GTA S SAID Bio Calc No previous classroom teaching experience. Felt prepared to ‘lecture’. An unawareness of resources. Limited understanding of pedagogy. Calc 1 Mix between no experience and some classroom teaching. Comfort in implementing methods of instruction beyond lecture. Have support to share, access, and utilize resources. More articulated responses with regard to pedagogy and student learning.

WHAT CALC I GTA S SAID Student success: Mix between good grades and student learning “Students are provided with the skills and support they need to succeed in the course and that they experience growth in their ability to think critically and problem solve.” “Every day somebody in your class has an ‘aha’ moment and is able to vastly improve their calculus skills.” The percentage of students “that got a C or higher.” In contrast, Bio Calc GTAs said student success was about the grade students receive.

WHAT CALC I GTA S SAID Course specific training was most useful. Challenge of balancing being a graduate student with teaching. Not a unique problem – Many GTAs feel overwhelmed in 1 st year Exploring mentor-mentee teaching models with teaching reduction Felt supported by coordinator to be successful teachers. Willing to try implementing evidence-based practices Felt confident in exploring non-traditional instructional strategies

SPRING TRAINING Calc I & Bio Calc I GTAs Dialogue about pedagogy and classroom environment Creating and design lesson plans What do I say? What do I write? Script? Working actual math problems in advance Training time ≤ 1 hour Providing classroom support

THANK YOU! Mary E. Pilgrim Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education Colorado State University Jessica Gehrtz Graduate Student Colorado State University

REFERENCES 1.Bressoud, D., & Rasmussen, C. (2015). Seven Characteristics of Successful Calculus Programs. Notices of the AMS, 62(2).