Meeting Abstract
Inquiry-based instruction in undergraduate science courses connects students to research and prepares them for careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Often, graduate Teaching Assistants (TA) with differing experience and teaching methods are responsible for leading hands-on laboratories. This study determined how differences in TA teaching methods and styles impact student achievement in an ecology research course at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. In this course, TAs write their own weekly quizzes and teach material according to their personal teaching style. We observed TA teaching style by measuring the use of open and closed questioning, pacing, use of instructional media, question wait time, and other indicators that have been shown to affect student learning. We measured differences in student responses on concept surveys and analyzed quizzes with Bloom’s Taxonomy. Several characteristics of teaching style, including instructional methods and type of questioning, were significant predictors of student scores in homework, quiz, and research project areas. The time spent discussing homework in class was a particularly strong driver in patterns of student achievement and scores. In addition, students received the lowest quiz scores and had no improvement in homework scores when asked to define or recall concepts on weekly quizzes while students received higher quiz and homework scores when asked to analyze and synthesize concepts. These results indicate that TA teaching methods may have a stronger impact on student achievement than previously known. This research suggests universities should provide training for TAs to develop teaching methods that promote student achievement in inquiry-based undergraduate courses in STEM disciplines.
