Effects of a Teacher Education Course for Ph.D. Students

As the number of Ph.D. students who do undergraduate teaching while workingon their degrees in different disciplines has risen at universities, many universitieshave responded in part by providing pre-service teacher education course forthese individuals. In a review of some of the more recent literature on professional preparation of teachers generally and university Teaching Assistants (TAs) specifically, a number of themes emerge. They include the importance of:disciplinary context (Winter et al., 2014); teaching behavior (Boman, 2013);impact studies (Chadha); Identity development and commitment (Jarvis 2010); long-term impact of training on academic development (Winter et al., 2014); anxiety (Boman, 2013); teaching observations (Chadha); lack of and need for longitudinal studies (He & Cooper, 2011; Sleeter, 2004); challenges faced by new teachers (He & Cooper, 2011; Jarvis et al., 2010); and the recursive nature of teacher preparation (Jarvis et al., 2010). Boman (2013), building on a measure developed by Tollerud (1990), studied self-efficacy with Teaching Assistants at a Canadian university who had participated in a pre-service teacher education program. Boman’s survey was adapted and used as a pre- and post- measure of self-efficacy in a study of new PhD students in Hong Kong who were undergoing a six week pre-service teacher education course. The course was found to have a positive impact overall on self-efficacy of these soon-to-be-teachers. The background of the students and the university, the survey instrument used, and a detailed analysis of the results will be provided in this presentation.