Jennifer L. Green (Michigan State University), Maria Cruciani (Michigan State University), Sunghwan Byun (North Carolina State University), Matthew Ferrell (North Carolina State University), Justin Post (North Carolina State University)
Abstract
Background. Statistics graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) play key roles in undergraduate statistics education, especially at the introductory level. In large university settings, introductory statistics courses and recitation sessions are often taught by GTAs to diverse groups of students. Within these contexts, it is important to support GTAs, many of whom are beginning instructors, in implementing instructional recommendations (e.g., GAISE College Report) and in teaching equitably. One of the initial steps toward this effort is identifying how GTAs conceptualize equitable teaching. To do so, we conducted a study to explore Statistics GTAs’ conceptions of equitable teaching during professional development that was embedded in GTAs’ instructor and mentoring meetings.
Methods. For one semester, we offered professional development about teaching equitably with authentic data to two different GTA communities. We interviewed 12 GTAs at the beginning and end of the semester, asking questions about their conceptions of equitable teaching, their teaching experiences, and their reflections about the professional development. Based on qualitative analyses of the interview data, we identified thematic categories of GTAs’ definitions of equitable teaching, including examples of each and how each definition manifests within GTAs’ articulations of their instructional practices.
Findings. Based on our analyses, we found that GTAs’ conceptions of equitable teaching addressed two aspects: (1) Perception of Fairness toward Diverse Groups of Students and (2) Focus of Learning Outcome. When defining and discussing equitable teaching, GTAs attended to perceptions of fairness toward diverse groups of students that varied from being impartial and not noticing differences, to focusing on individual needs, and to taking reparative actions toward countering historical/existing inequities. The GTAs also attended to different learning outcomes, including cognitive content-related outcomes, such as understanding the material, and affective outcomes, such as feeling comfortable and interested to participate.
Implications For Teaching and For Research. Understanding how GTAs define and conceptualize equitable teaching helps inform efforts to better support GTAs in their roles as instructors of diverse students within introductory statistics classes. Our findings offer a framework that can help statistics teacher educators know what to anticipate when planning professional development opportunities about equitable teaching. This framework also offers researchers a tool to help characterize and unpack other instructors’ conceptions of and instructional practices for equitable teaching in statistics courses.