Investigating Effects of Emergency Remote Teaching on Biology Teaching Assistants and Their Approaches to Teaching

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Biology Teaching Assistants (TAs) were tasked with transitioning and adapting their instruction to an online environment by quickly implementing Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) practices. Effective online and in-person teaching requires student-centered approaches to support undergraduate student learning. Using interviews and the Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI), a case study was conducted to explore the impact on TAs approaches to teaching during the transition to an online emergency remote environment, and to identify areas where TAs need further support through Teaching Professional Development (TPD). The findings revealed themes regarding challenges in the ERT context, such as decreased active learning opportunities, decreased office hours attendance, decreased student engagement, and more time spent on teaching tasks. Our work provides educational researchers and practitioners with key aspects that can improve TPD for online teaching and learning.