Iterative Design of a Teaching Assistant Training Program in Computer Science Using the Agile MethodGlobal
This program is tentative and subject to change.
Facing soaring enrollment and disruptive educational technologies, computing education increasingly relies on the contributions of teaching assistants (TAs), hence the critical importance of high quality TA training. However, the design and implementation of TA training in computer science face substantial barriers, such as the lack of experienced TA trainers and the scarcity of relevant training materials.
This experience report describes the design and implementation of a peer-led computer science TA training program that began in 2022 and has since undergone three iterations, inspired by the approach of agile software development. The current program consists of 10 sessions, organized to serve TAs in three respective stages of professional development. The iterations involved updating and enrichment of the syllabus, transitioning from lecture-centered to discussion-centered training, and discussions of emerging topics in computing education such as the use of large language models (LLMs). Participant feedback showed that TAs approved the iterative design of the training, while identifying areas for further improvement. We summarize lessons learned from the iterative process, reflect on the role of peer TA trainers, and discuss plans for future iterations.
This program is tentative and subject to change.
Thu 27 FebDisplayed time zone: Eastern Time (US & Canada) change
15:45 - 17:00 | |||
15:45 18mTalk | Exploring the Humanistic Role of Computer Science Teaching Assistants across Diverse Institutions Papers Grace Barkhuff Georgia Institute of Technology, Ian Pruitt Georgia State University, Vyshnavi Namani Georgia Institute of Technology, William Gregory Johnson Georgia State University, Rodrigo Borela Georgia Institute of Technology, Ellen Zegura Georgia Institute of Technology, Anu Bourgeois Georgia State University, Benjamin Shapiro Georgia State University | ||
16:03 18mTalk | Iterative Design of a Teaching Assistant Training Program in Computer Science Using the Agile MethodGlobal Papers Runda Liu Tsinghua University, Shengqi Chen Tsinghua University, Jiajie Chen Tsinghua University, Songjie Niu Tsinghua University, Yuchun Ma Tsinghua University, Xiaofeng Tang Tsinghua University | ||
16:22 18mTalk | Student Application Trends for Teaching Assistant Positions Papers Felix Muzny Northeastern University, Abdulaziz Suria Northeastern University - Khoury College of Computer Sciences, Carla Brodley Northeastern University, Center for Inclusive Computing | ||
16:41 18mTalk | Undergraduate Computing Tutors' Perceptions of their Roles, Stressors, and Barriers to Effectiveness Papers Ismael Villegas Molina University of California, San Diego, Jeannie Kim University of California, San Diego, Audria Montalvo University of California, San Diego, Apollo Larragoitia University of California, San Diego, Rachel S. Lim University of California San Diego, Philip Guo University of California San Diego, Sophia Krause-Levy University of San Diego, Leo Porter University of California San Diego |