Responding to the perceived training needs of graduate teaching assistants

For many years, university departments of science and engineering have employed postgraduate and post-doctoral students as graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) to help with the supervision of laboratories and in instructing individuals or small groups of undergraduates. As the numbers of GTAs increase, universities have supplemented traditional on-the-job training with training designed to enhance the teaching skills of GTAs. This note describes experimental work over 3 years, 1993-95, at the Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine. Pre-workshop questionnaire returns from 282 GTAs show a consistent pattern over 3 years, with GTAs reporting a number of anxieties and problems. The note describes workshops that were centrally provided to address these concerns.