By: Erin R. Moss, Co-Editor of DUE Point, Millersville University of Pennsylvania

The College Mathematics Instructors Development Source (CoMInDS) project supports colleges in providing high-quality professional development to graduate Teaching Assistants (TAs). The work of the CoMInDS team addresses the unique needs of faculty Providers who are tasked with either creating or redesigning departmental programs for TA preparation. Project components include instructional resources, summer workshops, and multiple opportunities to join a community of practice. Principal Investigator Dr. Jack Bookman and co-PI Dr. Natasha Speer describe the goals and accomplishments of CoMInDS below.

What does excellent preparation for college-level mathematics teaching look like?
Programs that prepare novice college mathematics instructors to provide high-quality learning opportunities for undergraduate students should incorporate, at a minimum, opportunities for them to develop:

1. Instructional approaches that foster student engagement. A growing body of research indicates the importance of creating classrooms where students are actively engaged, which enhances student learning and reduces the gender gap. TAs must develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to implement these practices, including learning about ways to create respectful and inclusive classroom atmospheres and use technology to improve student engagement and learning. 

2. Knowledge of student thinking and learning. Experienced instructors of college mathematics know typical strategies students use when working on a particular type of problem as well as common difficulties that will arise. This mathematics-specific knowledge plays important roles when instructors plan lessons, create assignments, and grade student work. Graduate TAs need opportunities to intentionally develop this knowledge via their teaching experiences.

Programs should also provide sustained support for novice college mathematics instructors.  While many departments feel that they have the resources to provide graduate students with just a few days of preparation before they begin to teach, continued support and guidance should be provided throughout the entire time that they are engaged as teaching assistants. As part of these efforts, departments should prepare graduate students in ways that will enable them to continue to improve their teaching throughout their career.

What are Providers’ biggest challenges in offering pedagogy-related professional development to TAs?While Providers are faculty who have experience designing mathematics courses, they may not have had the opportunity to learn how to design and implement this kind of teaching-focused PD. In fact, Providers often view themselves primarily as mathematicians or teachers of mathematics and do not always view the work of preparing TAs as central to their professional identity or have ways of earning professional recognition for engaging in this work. Often, there is only one person in a mathematics department responsible for the program, and that person may feel professionally isolated.

Based on findings from our national survey of mathematics departments and from information we gathered from workshop participants, many departments do not have the resources or capacity to offer more than just minimal preparation for TAs. Many of the instructional materials for TA professional development seminars have been developed in-house and are not necessarily based on more widely accepted best practices. Thus to supplement their own limited resources, Providers have indicated a desire to have greater access to instructional materials developed at other institutions.

Can you describe some of the supports you have designed to help Providers offer teaching-focused professional development to novice college mathematics instructors?
We have developed an online resource suite of instructional materials and research products related to TA professional development, supported and housed by the MAA. Using the MAA Connect platform, Providers can access a variety of materials for help as they design, implement, and assess their TA professional development programs. The collection includes activities for use during class meetings, assignments for TAs to complete outside of class, readings on topics related to teaching and learning, sample syllabi, and other resources.

We also offer summer workshops to help equip Providers with information and materials needed to start or enhance a graduate TA professional development program. During the workshop, participants gain familiarity with research and evaluation related to teaching and instructor preparation.  They receive access to our collection of lessons, activities, and assignments to use in their PD programs.

Finally, via workshops, sessions at national meetings, and the MAA Connect community site, Providers have opportunities to join a community of practice with others engaged in this work to exchange ideas and learn more about research on professional development for teaching.

Learn more about NSF DUE 1432381
Full Project Name: Improving the Preparation of Graduate Students to Teach Undergraduate Mathematics
Abstract: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1432381
Project Contact: Dr. Jack Bookman, PI; bookman@math.duke.edu

*Responses in this blog were edited for length and clarity.

Erin Moss is a co-editor of DUE Point and a Professor of Mathematics Education at Millersville University, where she works with undergraduates from all majors as well as graduate students in the M.Ed. in Mathematics program.