A 2020 Syllabus paper (Bruni and Leung) describes a teaching course for Mathematics graduate student instructors, the first of its kind in Canada, at the University of British Columbia. The centerpiece of that course is a practicum where student instructors are inserted into a calculus class to teach an hour-long lesson. The paper demonstrates that elements of the "Apprenticeship Model", the most extensive of the three instructor training models described by Jessica Ellis in the 2015 MAA National Study of College Calculus, are possible at scale. In this talk, we describe the design and evaluation of a follow-on course where, instead of being "parachuted" into a course for a one-off practicum, a group of six graduate student instructors is paired for an entire term with a faculty instructor teaching a large, multi-section linear algebra course. The graduate students engage with teaching from course setup to final exam, through guest teaching, assessment design, weekly peer discussions and student focus groups. Their experience culminates when they are assigned to future sections of the same course; in other words, when the apprentices become full members of the teaching team they apprenticed with. Data was collected from all participating graduate students, as well as undergraduates in the "sandbox" course, using focus groups, interviews, written responses and surveys containing both open-ended and Likert-type questions. Data was analyzed using Ellis’ "apprenticeship model" framework. Our conclusion: with appropriate institutional support, the experience is an effective way for graduate instructors to improve their skills and build their identities.

Authors:
Fok-Shuen Leung, University of British Columbia, Canada

About the Presenter(s)
Fok-Shuen Leung is Professor of Teaching and Undergraduate Chair of the Mathematics Department at the University of British Columbia in Canada.

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