Background/Purpose
Overlooked in current scholarship is the impact of formal instructional evaluations, particularly student evaluations, on the development of graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) as lead instructors in physical activity programs. This ethnographic case-study examined the perceptions and impact of contemporary methods of instructional evaluations on the pedagogical practice of a cohort (n = 10) of GTAs from two southeastern top-tier research institutions.
Method
Traditional mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative) data collection and analysis techniques, including questionnaires, videotape analysis, semi-structured interviews, and critical incident reports, were utilized to gain an understanding of the participants' perspectives, insights, and recommendations. Quantitative data were analyzed and descriptive statistics, including means and frequency counts were generated with the use of the Predictive Analytics SoftWare (PASW) Package 19.0. Qualitative data analysis included techniques such as coding categories, analytic induction techniques and theme development.
Analysis/Results
Participants described similar key experiences and factors that impacted their pedagogical perspectives and practice. Specifically, four significant themes emerged from the research: a) Awareness of dissonance in pedagogical practice, impact and perception, b) Impact of diversity issues on evaluative feedback, c) Use of reflection to improve pedagogical practice, and d) Recommendations to improve evaluation process.
Conclusions
In conclusion, it is hoped that the dissemination of these findings will lead to further discussion among graduate program administrators regarding the proper conceptualization of GTA instructional evaluation and development techniques. Specifically, processes must be developed, implemented, and evaluated which will assist graduate students, employed as instructors, in their pedagogical development as future members of the professoriate and relevant occupational positions.