Why Do Students Help? An
Examination of Student Motives in
Undergraduate Teaching Assistant
Programs
Thad Fortney
Peter Henry
Virginia Commonwealth University
What do you need to know to understand
this talk?
I. Virginia Commonwealth University
II. Department of Focused Inquiry @ VCU
III. Undergraduate Teaching Assistant program in
the Department of Focused Inquiry
IV. Study of UTA Motivations
V. Results
VI. So What?
I. Virginia Commonwealth University
• Founded in 1968 (same moment as other Virginia
universities were expanding to serve regional
populations)
• Urban research institution in Richmond’s central core
• Approximately 31, 500 students (24,000 undergraduate)
• Historically a regional university; in recent years has
shifted to serving students from across the state and the
world
II. Department of Focused Inquiry @
Virginia Commonwealth University
• Founded in 2007 to address three
challenges:
▫ Skills gap between high-stakes testing and
college success
▫ Success beyond college (Alumni and Board
initiative)
▫ Increase student retention (78-87%)
II. What is Focused Inquiry?
• Three-semester sequence
• Roughly 60 full-time faculty on multi-year
contracts (non-tenure track)
III. Undergraduate Teaching Assistant
Program in Focused Inquiry
• Proposed by students
• Pilot program in AY 2008-9
▫ Six students, 1 professor
• Current Participation AY 2014-15:
▫ 150 students, 25 professors
▫ 2 co-coordinators divided between first year and
second year courses
▫ Yearlong “Honors” program for students who have
served beyond one year
III. UTA Program Structure
Note: This image
can be found in
the article
uploaded to our
presentation.
III. UTA Program in Focused Inquiry
Structure
Requirements
• Students are directly solicited
by faculty
• Goals
▫ Model student behaviors
▫ Increase student
engagement
▫ Develop leadership
• Not discipline-specific
• Differences from traditional
UTA programs
▫ Credit, not money
▫ Students are not gofers
• Attendance at all class
sessions
• “Meaningful contribution”
3x/semester
• Weekly hour-long staff
meetings
• Written reflective product
• Monthly student led
practicums
IV. Our study of student motivations
• Resulted from failed practicums
UTA Assessment Survey Fall 2012
1. My purpose as a UTA is clear.
2. As a UTA, I consider myself a leader in the classroom.
3. Being a UTA has improved my oral communication skills.
4. Being a UTA has improved my time management skills.
5. The skills I use as a UTA are relevant and helpful to my other coursework.
6. Since being in the UTA program, my collaborative skills have improved.
7. As a UTA, I feel I am an asset to students.
8. As a UTA, I feel I am an asset to my faculty mentor.
9. The UTA practicums are a helpful part of the UTA program.
10. My work as a UTA has reinforced my learning from Focused Inquiry and/or UNIV 200.
11. How has your view on education changed since being in the UTA program?
12. Would you recommend this program to a fellow student? What would you change
about the program in order to improve their experience?
IV. Practicums get bashed in the
Qualitative Results (Question 12)
•“I would get rid of the practicums, or make them more useful. I
would also try to make the TA more useful in the classroom.”
•“I think the practicums are a waste of time. I know what I signed
up to do in the classroom, and quite frankly that's all I planned on
doing. However, this one minor annoyance is not enough to keep
me from recommending this others.”
•“Yes - it is a strong program that made an initially inaccessible
act (being a TA) very possible for me. The only thing I would
change is that I do not understand the purpose of the practicum my meetings with my faculty mentor more than suffice for
focusing my actions in the classroom to be an ideal UTA.”
IV. Students get a greater appreciation of
teaching and learning (Question 11)
• “I respect the teachers for the work they have to do more now than I did
before.”
• “I feel that, since becoming a UTA, I have a clearer perspective on the
relationships between students and their professors. As a student, I may fail
to see the motivation behind a professor's actions, and a professor may not
be able to identify with the struggles a student may face, but as a UTA, I
have become more familiar with the challenges and restrictions faculty face
and more understanding of the dynamic in the classroom.”
• “The program has opened my eyes to not only the amount of planning
needed for a class, but also flexibility. A strict lecture style is not the best
environment for education, but rather a classroom with discussions,
workshops, small lectures and various other teaching styles.”
IV. Quantitative Results are initially
unsurprising
IV. Until we see this!
So what?
Questions?