Developing a flipped Teaching Assistant Training Program using the “First Principle of Instruction”

Wednesday 3 July: Conference day one, 12:00pm – 12:30pm parallel session

Venue

Room 3 – 303-G15 Sem

Presenters

Donn Emmanuel Gonda
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong
donngonda@gmail.com

Elaine Wong
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong

Dr Beatrice Chu
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong

Overview

In the higher education teaching and learning landscape, universities often offer professional development or teacher training to the faculty members. Typically, the training program offered for postgraduate teaching assistants or tutors is a one-day seminar or a few days of workshops that cover all the topics that they need to know in handling their teaching duties. Moreover, if the postgraduate student comes from a non-education background, the resources for these students are somewhat limited. However, in the recent year, the use of flipped classroom is becoming more and more evident in the university setting. This teaching approach opens a new perspective in the delivery of content and material for learners by moving the core content online and creating more meaningful activities for the face-to-face time.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) recognized the importance of teaching assistants in improving the quality of the core curriculum. In this case study, we triangulated the data from the instructors’ interview, workshop surveys, and instructional designer’s observation. We will evaluate the Graduate Teaching Assistant Training Program offered by Center for Education Innovation using the “First Principle of Instruction” by David Merrill as a conceptual framework. This study aims to identify (1) what are the challenges and gaps in the current mode of delivery, (2) what are the active learning strategies needed to engage the students, and (3) what are the considerations made by the instructor in selecting appropriate technologies. Finally, we look through the new program structure and how teaching team integrated the technologies needed to augment the gaps identified by the first five principles.

Presentation topic

Tertiary – Technologies