Every week I walk into a classroom armed with attendance rosters, a lesson plan and, fortunately, pedagogical training I gained while earning my master’s degree from another university. Many teaching assistants at MSU may not have had the luxury of such basic training.
One-third of the classes at MSU are taught by TAs who, while knowledgeable in their fields, may have no prior experience writing syllabi, designing assignments, handling conflicts in the classroom or working with ANGEL and other university technology. Training in these areas is essential to improve the quality of education at MSU.
While the Teaching Assistant Program offers some resources, more discipline-specific training is needed. Teaching Intro to Film is radically different than teaching Intermediate Algebra, and they require different classroom strategies. Specific training is currently left up to departments, and so it varies greatly.
In its current contract negotiations with the university, the Graduate Employees Union is asking for more standardized professional development for TAs. MSU does not offer discipline-specific professional training across the board, and now the university wants to give TAs even less time to prepare for the classes they teach. They’ve proposed notifying TAs of what course they will teach for the summer and fall semesters on May 15 — a few days before summer session begins.
Let the administration know you support the TAs in their efforts to become better teachers. More consistent pedagogical training for TAs will not only help graduate students prepare for and be competitive in the academic job market, but also improve the overall quality of education at MSU.
Sarah Lanius
English graduate student and Graduate Employees Union information officer
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