International Teaching Assistants Professional Identity Development At A Us University

Author : Diana Trebing
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 436 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (299 download)

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Download or read book International Teaching Assistants' Attitudes Toward Teaching and Understanding of United States American Undergraduate Students written by Diana Trebing and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a qualitative descriptive study that analyzed the ways in which international teaching assistants (ITAs) understand and make sense of their roles as international instructors on a U.S. American university campus as well as their perceptions of U.S. American classrooms, teachers, and students. This study also tried to suggest necessary changes and additions to the ITA training program and support on this U.S. American university campus as identified by the research participants themselves. This study followed a qualitative interviewing approach and consisted of 15 in-depth interviews with first time and returning ITAs representing a variety of different countries and cultures. The analysis of the transcribed interviews revealed that, despite their differences in cultural, educational, and linguistic backgrounds, the research participants went through similar experiences when adjusting to their teaching assignments in the U.S. For instance, the ITAs had to consciously become aware of classroom, student, and teacher differences between the U.S. and their native cultures in order to become more effective international instructors. Additionally, the findings illustrated that many research participants were passively aware of many cultural and social rules related to U.S. American classroom behavior, but were not able to apply this knowledge actively in a classroom context. Finally, the data further revealed that ITAs should receive contextualized and ongoing ITA training and support while they are teaching for the first time in a U.S. American classroom since many research participants were not able to understand the classroom information they were given prior to their first teaching assignments. This study provided additional information to ITA researchers, trainers, and mentors since it did not focus on the U.S. American perspective in the ITA debate, but concentrated on the ITAs' points of view. However, instead of providing definite answers for ITA trainers and scholars on how ITAs can function effectively immediately after their arrival in the U.S., this study provided insights into how ITAs experience their lives on one U.S. American university campus and how they actively tried to make sense out of their experiences.