RIP

Eliza Gallagher, PhD

Current Research Projects

Relative Instructional Priorities Among GTAs

In the Relative Instructional Priorities (RIP) Project, we have adapted previous work with secondary teachers by Beijaard, Verloop, and Vermunt [1] to develop a new model for teacher identity among mathematics graduate students.

Two pilot studies with first- and second-year graduate teaching assistants allowed us to develop and refine a 27-question instrument to measure the extent to which GTAs make instructional decisions based on content matter considerations, classroom management considerations, or considerations of individual learners. We are currently carrying out test-retest and equivalence analyses for reliability.

This instrument, along with interviews and classroom observations, will allow us one tool to address questions such as:

What are the relative instructional priorities of novice/experienced graduate teaching assistants?

In what ways do the relative instructional priorities of GTAs change over time?

What impact do professional development experiences for GTAs have on their relative instructional priorities?

How do the relative instructional priorities of GTAs differ between graduate programs?

How do relative instructional priorities of GTAs correlate to instructional practice and student performance in their classrooms?

An early discussion of development of the RIP model can be found in:

Eliza Gallagher, Lisa Benson, and Geoff Potvin. The Use of Classroom Case Studies in Preparing First-Year Mathematics Graduate Teaching Assistants. Proceedings of the 2016 ASEE Annual Conference and Exhibition, New Orleans, LA, June 2016. (access may be restricted)

Although the pilot studies have been with mathematics graduate students, the instrument itself is not specific to mathematics, and we would welcome collaborators to test for validity and reliability of the instrument in other STEM disciplines.

Project team members: Eliza Gallagher, Tony Nguyen, Khushi Patel, Aubrie Pfirman

1. Douwe Beijaard, Nico Verloop, and Jan Vermunt. Teachers’ perceptions of professional identity: an exploratory study from a personal knowledge perspective. Teaching and Teacher Education, 16(7):749–764, October 2000.

The views expressed on this page are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Clemson University or any of the Departments with which the author is affiliated.