teaching HIGHS AND LOWS: EXPLORING University tEACHING aSSISTANTS’ EXPERIENCES
JENNIFER L. GREEN
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
jennifer.green@huskers.unl.edu
ABSTRACT
Recent reforms in statistics education have initiated the need to prepare graduate teaching assistants (TAs) for these changes. A focus group study explored the experiences and perceptions of University of Nebraska-Lincoln TAs. The results reinforced the idea that content, pedagogy, and technology are central aspects for teaching an introductory statistics course. The TAs addressed the need for clear, specific guidelines and examples, as well as collaboration between colleagues. The TAs also sought opportunities to enrich their teaching skills and, ultimately, their impact on students' learning. These findings support previous research on graduate TAs and highlight the need for additional exploration of the role graduate statistics TAs play in introductory statistics education.
Keywords: Statistics education research; Introductory
statistics; Focus group; Qualitative research
__________________________
Statistics Education Research Journal, 9(2), 108-122, http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/serj
Ó International Association for Statistical Education (IASE/ISI),
November, 2010
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JENNIFER L. GREEN
Department of Statistics
340 Hardin Hall North
University of Nebraska-Lincoln