2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This study investigates the development of Graduate Teaching Assistants' (GTAs') teaching identity through professional development (PD) activities and hands-on teaching experiences. While previous research has predominantly focused on how PD programs enhance teaching practices, less attention has been paid to their impact on the formation of a cohesive teaching identity.

Understanding the evolution of GTAs' teaching identities is crucial for creating PD programs that can support them and enhance their teaching effectiveness. This research addresses these issues by exploring how structured PD programs, such as pre-semester workshops, and classroom experience shape GTAs' sense of identity in classroom instruction and student engagement.

Data were collected through seven focus groups involving 33 GTAs, conducted immediately following a two-day pre-semester workshop held in August 2023. To gain further insights, we conducted one-on-one semi-structured interviews with 20 GTAs throughout the academic year, followed by a follow-up interview in the summer 2024, with 10 participants. The interviews addressed the techniques GTAs use in the classroom, their perceptions of their instructional role, and how these experiences shape their teaching identity over time. Using open and axial coding methods, the analysis identified key themes related to the development of teaching identity, and the difficulties GTAs encounter as they grow into their instructional roles.

Our findings show a notable evolution in GTAs' teaching perspectives over time. Initially, they approached their roles with limited views of their responsibilities. However, with experience and PD, their self-perceptions shifted. They began to develop a deeper, more holistic understanding of teaching and build their pedagogical practices on learning from professional development, experiences as students, individual skills, and experience in the classroom. These changes reflect the broader development of their teaching identity, emphasizing the importance of tailored PD programs that not only equip GTAs with effective teaching strategies but also help them use their skills and prior experience to integrate research-based pedagogies into their teaching. By understanding how GTA identities evolve, this study contributes to the creation of more effective PD programs that support GTAs as they transition into skilled educators.