Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UTAs) in Pedagogy and Praxis for Teaching Sociology Courses - Scoping Review, Examples, Activities

• In Event: 21006 - Teaching Sociology

Abstract

As departments are tasked with greater responsibilities, faculty may find it increasingly difficult to keep abreast of student concerns and needs. Working under resources limitations, faculty can address and support student learning—with the help and insight of undergraduate students!

Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UTAs) are important contributors in team-teaching because they bolster peer success in undergraduate courses. UTAs are often invited to co-teach and provide support in courses after having successfully completed the coursework in previous semesters. The knowledge, skill sets, and study habits that UTAs develop, as well as their practical ability to navigate resources across other units, make them valuable resources. UTAs play the crucial role of bridging the experiences between students-and-instructors. They help peer students learn better while simultaneously articulating challenges/barriers to content comprehension from the students' perspectives to supervising faculty.


This paper provides a scoping reviewing of current pedagogical research and ethnographic descriptions of UTA practices for three sociology courses (Social Problem; Gender and Immigration; Sexualities) across 14 semester-sections units. This paper serves dual purposes of 1) reviewing emergent evidence from Sociology and long-standing patterns of UTAs engagements from other disciplines and 2) presenting evidence-based practices and activities for the pedagogy and praxis of undergraduate team-teaching. Specifically, we identify resources and activities that support a team-teaching approach with UTAs aligned with student-centered undergraduate pedagogies and develop/adapt concrete activities and examples for UTAs to contribute to curricular learning, classroom engagement, and socialization activities. This paper facilitates planning and development for instructors working through the day-to-day logistics of adding UTAs to their teams and/or co-teaching team designing expanded responsibilities for UTAs. Department chairs, faculty, graduate assistants, undergraduate assistants, and prospective UTAs can also to learn how to implement these “how-tos” to improve team-teaching practices, strategies, and technologies for classroom activities and course engagement.

Authors

• Lai Sze Tso, Gustavus Adolphus College

• Harper Daire, Gustavus Adolphus College

• Kennedy Hurd, Gustavus Adolphus College

• Brigette Ruacho Coronel, Gustavus Adolphus College

• Oscar Vargo, Gustavus Adolphus College

• Amanda Hukee, Gustavus Adolphus College