The Role of Teaching Assistants in Undergraduate Students' Engineering Identity Formation

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 1
  In Roundtable Session: Examining STEM Students' Learning and Academic Experiences in Postsecondary Education

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to focus on the role of teaching assistants (TAs) working in a classroom undergoing curricular redesign. We connect the role of the TA to the larger departmental goal of incorporating design thinking pedagogy for the purposes of fostering a deeper sense of engineering identity in undergraduate students. We observed that TAs could serve as important sources of encouragement and informal mentoring, yet TAs’ behavior could also unintentionally replicate negative behaviors prevalent in engineering such as not giving female students equal time as their male classmates. This paper provides insight into the roles of TAs and offer recommendations for training them to foster positive relationships with students that help induct students into the engineering profession.

Authors

• Erin Doran, Iowa State University

• Paul S Hengesteg, Iowa State University

• Sarah Rodriguez, Texas A&M University - Commerce