Mentoring Made Simple: A Conversation Starter for Faculty and Teaching Assistants

Abstract

Teaching assistantships (TAships) are often framed primarily as paid labor, focused on grading, discussion sections, and office hours. Yet, TAships can also serve as valuable opportunities for professional development when faculty take intentional steps to mentor graduate students in teaching and pedagogy. This resource provides a...

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Details

Subject Area(s):

Economic Sociology, Education, Family, History of Sociology/Social Thought, Introduction to Sociology/Social Problems, Latina/o Sociology, Occupations/Professions, Political Economy, Public Policy, Race, Class and Gender, Research Methods, Sex and Gender, Social Psychology, Statistics, Stratification/Mobility, Teaching and Learning in Sociology, Work and Labor Markets

Resource Type(s):

Assessment

Class Level(s):

Any Level

Class Size(s):

Any

Usage Notes

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• Below is an abridged version of the Usage Notes (due to character limits). The full Usage Notes are in the Resource.
  
• This resource is designed as a flexible conversation starter between instructors of record and their teaching assistants at the beginning of the semester. Faculty can use the...

Learning Goals and Assessments

Learning Goal(s):

1. 1. Faculty initiate a mentoring relationship with their teaching assistants that recognizes TAships as professional development, not just paid labor.
2. 2. TAs articulate their own teaching and professional development goals at the start of the semester.
3. 3. Faculty tailor TA responsibilities to balance course needs with TA development and workload preferences.
4. 4. TAs experience increased confidence and growth in teaching and pedagogy over the course of the semester.
5. 5. Sociology faculty and TAs reflect on how teaching assistantships socialize sociology graduate students into the discipline of sociology, including awareness of the "hidden curriculum" and professional norms of academic work.

Goal Assessment(s):

1. 1. Whether faculty can identify at least one way they adjusted responsibilities or check-ins based on TA’s input at the start of the semester.
2. 2. Whether TAs are able to identify at least one concrete teaching-related goal that was implemented based on their completion of the introductory questionnaire at the start of the semester.
3. 3. Whether faculty and TAs can name the same specific course adjustments made to course responsibilities and expectations at the mid-semester point.
4. 4. Whether TAs report growth in at least one area aligned with their original goals at the end of the semester.
5. Whether TAs can describe one way their understanding of sociology as a discipline or teaching as a sociologist has developed through this mentorship.