Graduate Teaching Assistant Professional Development (GTA-PD) Workshop

该项目的主要重要性在于其对增加美国大学授予的科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）学位数量的影响。国家需要足够数量的STEM学位持有者，他们拥有对国家经济健康和增长至关重要的技术技能。不幸的是，目前有太多潜在的STEM专业因为在介绍性大学STEM课程中的经验不足而失去了。该项目旨在通过广泛宣传（通过全国讲习班）培养高质量的STEM入门课程教师的“最佳做法”，大幅提高STEM专业学生的保留率。 研究生助教（GTA）是实验室和大型讲座STEM课程复习的主要讲师;然而，GTA往往准备不足，无法应用优秀STEM教学所需的尖端循证医学，从而提高STEM专业的保留率。该项目的目标是通过宣传GTA专业发展计划，广泛改善GTA准备的入门物理和化学课程。在一个研讨会上，来自博士的规划团队-授予物理和化学部门将制定定制的，现实的GTA专业发展计划，通过相互互动，并与世界一流的专家对GTA的支持最佳实践。20个STEM部门将制定计划;每个实施的计划每年将使15名新的GTA受益，然后与900名新的本科生互动。因此，通过这个讲习班传播最佳做法，每年将对大约13 500名新的本科生产生积极影响。

The chief importance of this project is its impact on increasing the number of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) degrees awarded at U.S. universities. The nation needs a sufficient number of STEM-degree holders, who possess technical skills that are crucially important for the nation's economic health and growth. Unfortunately, too many potential STEM majors are currently lost because of poor experiences in introductory university STEM courses. This project aims to improve dramatically the retention of students in STEM majors by propagating widely (by means of a national workshop) "best practices" for preparing high-quality instructors of key introductory STEM courses. Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) are the primary instructors in laboratories and recitations in large lecture STEM courses; however, GTAs are often inadequately prepared to apply cutting-edge, evidence-based pedagogies necessary for excellent STEM instruction and, thereby, enhanced STEM-major retention. The goal of this project is widespread improvements to GTA preparation in introductory physics and chemistry courses via propagating GTA professional development programs. In a workshop, planning teams from Ph.D.-granting physics and chemistry departments will devise customized, realistic GTA professional development plans by interacting with each other and with world-class experts on best practices for GTA support. Twenty STEM departments will develop plans; each implemented plan will benefit 15 new GTAs annually, who then interact with 900 new undergraduates. Thus, the propagation of best practices by this workshop should impact positively approximately 13,500 new undergraduates each year.