A Grassroots Approach to Graduate Teaching Assistant Mentoring

Graduate students, whether master's or doctoral candidates, benefit greatly from their academic experiences. However, graduate school is not limited to course work and research, but it also includes teaching experiences as graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). Although GTAs are technically proficient in course materials, other factors can cause teaching experiences to go awry for them, their students, or the course supervisor. These factors arise out of a need for quality training on issues including pedagogy, interaction resolution, organizational concerns, and professional matters. This paper provides a grassroots approach to improve teachine techniques through GTA mentoring. GTAs are encouraged, with materials supplied here, to seek out and consult with more experienced GTAs who will serve as their mentors.