Examining the Beliefs and Practice of Teaching Assistants: Two Case Studies

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written by Benjamin T. Spike and Noah D. Finkelstein

In an effort to study the impact of teaching experience and preparation on the pedagogical beliefs of physics Teaching Assistants (TAs), we investigate the beliefs expressed by TAs following several semesters of teaching with the Tutorials in Introductory Physics. The beliefs of TAs mediate the actions they take in working with students, as well as the classroom norms they set for participation in the Tutorial activity. In this paper, we build upon existing analytic frameworks to characterize two distinct sets of TA beliefs gathered from pre- and post-semester interviews. We also present preliminary indications of coordination between these beliefs and the in-class practices of TAs. We then conclude with implications for the training of TAs in order to promote more pedagogically sophisticated beliefs at a potentially critical time in their professional development.

Physics Education Research Conference 2010
Part of the PER Conference series
Portland, Oregon: July 21-22, 2010
Volume 1289, Pages 309-312

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Published: August 24, 2010

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Foundations - Teacher Characteristics Education Practices - Pedagogy - Professional Development	- Graduate/Professional - Professional Development	- Reference Material = Report = Research study

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Mirror:: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3515231
Access Rights:: Limited free access and
Available for purchase; A preprint of the work is available. A hard copy of the PERC 2010 proceedings is available for purchase from the AIP.
Restriction:: © 2010 American Institute of Physics
DOI:: 10.1063/1.3515231
NSF Number:: 0448176
PACSs:: 01.40.Fk; 01.40,J-
Keywords:: professional development, teacher preparation, PERC 2010, Tutorials in Introductory Physics, pedagogical beliefs, teaching assistants, teaching experience
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created November 8, 2010 by Alea Smith
Record Updated:: May 1, 2013 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update when Cataloged:: August 24, 2010
Other Collections:: The PER-Central

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=10486">Spike, Benjamin, and Noah Finkelstein. "Examining the Beliefs and Practice of Teaching Assistants: Two Case Studies." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, July 21-22, 2010.</a>

AIP Format

B. Spike and N. Finkelstein, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, 2010, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10486&DocID=1942).

AJP/PRST-PER

B. Spike and N. Finkelstein, Examining the Beliefs and Practice of Teaching Assistants: Two Case Studies, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, 2010, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10486&DocID=1942>.

APA Format

Spike, B., & Finkelstein, N. (2010, July 21-22). Examining the Beliefs and Practice of Teaching Assistants: Two Case Studies. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon. Retrieved February 14, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10486&DocID=1942

Chicago Format

Spike, Benjamin, and Noah Finkelstein. "Examining the Beliefs and Practice of Teaching Assistants: Two Case Studies." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, July 21-22, 2010. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10486&DocID=1942 (accessed 14 February 2025).

MLA Format

Spike, Benjamin, and Noah Finkelstein. "Examining the Beliefs and Practice of Teaching Assistants: Two Case Studies." Physics Education Research Conference 2010. Portland, Oregon: 2010. 309-312 Vol. 1289 of PER Conference. 14 Feb. 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10486&DocID=1942>.

BibTeX Export Format

@inproceedings{ Author = "Benjamin Spike and Noah Finkelstein", Title = {Examining the Beliefs and Practice of Teaching Assistants: Two Case Studies}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2010}, Pages = {309-312}, Address = {Portland, Oregon}, Series = {PER Conference}, Volume = {1289}, Month = {July 21-22}, Year = {2010} }

Refer Export Format

%A Benjamin Spike %A Noah Finkelstein %T Examining the Beliefs and Practice of Teaching Assistants: Two Case Studies %S PER Conference %V 1289 %D July 21-22 2010 %P 309-312 %C Portland, Oregon %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10486&DocID=1942 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2010 %O July 21-22 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Spike, Benjamin %A Finkelstein, Noah %D July 21-22 2010 %T Examining the Beliefs and Practice of Teaching Assistants: Two Case Studies %B Physics Education Research Conference 2010 %C Portland, Oregon %V 1289 %P 309-312 %S PER Conference %8 July 21-22 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10486&DocID=1942

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