Date of Award

12-1-2022

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Literacy Teaching and Learning

Program

Reading

Content Description

1 online resource (x, 195 pages) : illustrations (some color)

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Margaret Sheehy

Committee Members

Erica Barnes, Jolene Malavasic, Alan Oliveria

Keywords

Calculus Instructional System, Disciplinary Literacy, Ecological System Theory, Graduate Teaching Assistants, Knowledge Building, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Mathematics teachers, Calculus, Teachers' assistants

Subject Categories

Education | Teacher Education and Professional Development

Abstract

As universities contend with high rates of student attrition from intended STEM majors, due to many students’ difficulty in passing entry-level mathematics courses, they must examine the systems they have in place and determine how best to support these students. Historically, graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are assigned to introductory calculus classes, which serve as undergraduate-level gatekeeping courses. On one hand, this allows for additional instructors to assist mathematics faculty; however, many universities do not provide adequate training in pedagogy for their GTAs. Untrained GTAs may not have the requisite pedagogical content knowledge to teach and support struggling students. GTAs should be prepared to teach both content and disciplinary literacy, so they can help students build mathematical knowledge.

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