Graduate Teaching Assistants: what training do they want?

Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) are increasingly relied upon for teaching, yet their training varies significantly (Slack and Pownall, 2023). While some institutions do not require any training, others offer one-day workshops, asynchronous online resources, or year-long courses. This training can positively impact GTA’s confidence and self-efficacy, but it is often seen as ‘superficial and irrelevant’, with limited utility (Nasser-Abu Alhija and Fresko, 2020, p.548). To encourage GTA engagement, training should be practical and specific, directly related to the students’ practice (Barr and Wright, 2019). The learning development team at the University of Dundee has recently revamped the Learning to Teach in Higher Education (LTHE) course, which is mandatory for all new GTAs. The redesign focuses on training GTAs through practical workshops, modelling a range of teaching approaches, and encouraging participants to share and reflect upon their practice. While this redesign has been largely well-received, some participants have expressed a concern regarding the balance between interactive activities and information delivery. To further refine the course, the team have conducted a survey of past LTHE participants to explore their views after they have begun teaching. The survey encouraged reflection on what parts of the LTHE course were most beneficial to their teaching practice, as well as any gaps they encountered during their initial training. This paper will draw upon survey data to highlight the teaching priorities and training needs of new GTAs. It will outline plans for further enhancement of the LTHE course and offers practical recommendations to learning developers aiming to provide more effective support for GTAs within their institutions.