November 19, 2020
Lorelei Patrick to present Division of Biology Seminar
Submitted by Division of Biology
Lorelei Patrick, assistant professor of biological sciences at Fort Hays State University, will present "Building Excellence in Scientific Teaching: What is the BEST Way to Train Teaching Assistants in STEM?" as part of the Division of Biology Seminar Series at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 23, via Zoom.
Evidence-based teaching practices, or EBTP — like inquiry-based learning, inclusive teaching and active learning — have been shown to benefit all students, especially women, first-generation and traditionally minoritized students in science fields. However, little research has focused on how best to train teaching assistants, or TAs, to use EBTPs or on which components of professional development are most important. Patrick and colleagues designed a series of pre-semester workshops and training sessions throughout the semester. They measured the influence of these professional development opportunities on TA teaching self-efficacy and self-reported frequency of use of EBTPs. The results suggest that actually modeling EBTPs made them more useful to TAs than simply experiencing the same techniques as students — even with the accompanying evidence. This outcome has broad implications for how we provide professional development sessions to TAs and potentially to faculty.
If you would like to visit with Patrick, please contact Eve McCulloch at emcculloch@k-state.edu.