WORKSHOP: [For GTAs] Engaging Students and Giving Feedback as a GTA (90 mins)

Melissa Broeckelman-Post; Loudres Fernandez; Tom Polk; Joan Hwang; Cigole Thomas; Briana Stewart; Sammi Tuckerman; Sharrell Hassell-Goodman; Shannon Taylor; Karin Nordin; Nate Brophy; Aayushi Hingle; Emily R C Staudt

doi:10.13021/itlcp.2020.2857

Authors

Melissa Broeckelman-Post George Mason University, Director, Basic Course/Faculty, Communication
Loudres Fernandez George Mason University, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, English
Tom Polk George Mason University
Joan Hwang George Mason University, Graduate Teaching Assistant - English
Cigole Thomas George Mason University, College of Science
Briana Stewart George Mason University, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Sammi Tuckerman George Mason University, College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Sharrell Hassell-Goodman George Mason University, College of Education and Human Development
Shannon Taylor George Mason University
Karin Nordin George Mason University
Nate Brophy George Mason University
Aayushi Hingle George Mason University
Emily R C Staudt George Mason University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13021/itlcp.2020.2857

Abstract

This session is designed for GTAs from all disciplines to meet other GTAs and to get tips and strategies for engaging students (and keeping them engaged) in online and face-to-face courses, as well as strategies for giving feedback on student assignments or in virtual office hours.

Author Biographies

Loudres Fernandez, George Mason University, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, English

Lourdes Fernandez serves as Assistant Director for Advanced Composition and is a Term Assistant Professor; she teaches composition, advanced composition, professional and technical writing, document design, and rhetorical theory for the English Department. She earned a PhD in Writing & Rhetoric from George Mason University. Her research interests include hybrid course design and pedagogy, faculty and graduate student mentoring, the rhetorics of institutional responses to public problems, and rhetorics of sexual assault.

Tom Polk, George Mason University

Thomas serves as the Acting Director of Writing Across the Curriculum. He teaches writing courses in the English department. His research focuses on writing development across contexts.

Joan Hwang, George Mason University, Graduate Teaching Assistant - English

Joan Hwang is a current PhD student in the Writing and Rhetoric Program of the English department and a full-time graduate teaching assistant in Composition program. She has been teaching ENGH 121/122/100, Enhanced English Composition for Multilingual writers and ENGH 302, Advanced Composition. Her research interest revolves around composition pedagogy, collaborative learning in college composition, peer mentorship in graduate programs, and disciplinary writing as a social practice. She is excited to share with her fellow graduate teaching assistants thoughts and tips on providing timely, engaging feedback on students' assignments.

Cigole Thomas, George Mason University, College of Science

I have been teaching for about four years which includes the role of Teaching Assistant and Instructor of Record. The opportunity to be part of the NSF-IUSE program at GMU to introduce IBL based worksheets and group work in Calculus discussion sessions and the Graduate Learning Assistant program initiated by Department of Mathematics in Fall 2020 has been helpful to gain some insight on Active Learning in undergraduate and graduate sessions.

Briana Stewart, George Mason University, College of Humanities and Social Sciences

My name is Briana M. Stewart and I am a first year PhD student in the Communication Department. In addition, I am also working on a Graduate Certificate in Professional and Technical Writing. In the Communication Department, I serve as a Graduate Communication Center Coordinator and a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Basic

Sammi Tuckerman, George Mason University, College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Sammi Tuckerman is a PhD student in Communications, a Graduate Teaching Assistant, and a Researcher at the Center for Climate Change Communication (4C). Sammi earned her MS from The Ohio State University in Environmental Science with an emphasis on Public Health. Her research interests broadly include science communication and science education. In the past she has adjuncted in multiple locations, teaching courses such as: Concepts of Sustainability, Earth Science, Ecology, Environmental Management, Environmental Science, Our Dependence on the Environment, and Meteorology. Sammi currently teaches COMM 101: Fundamentals of Communication.

Sharrell Hassell-Goodman, George Mason University, College of Education and Human Development

Sharrell Hassell-Goodman is a full time PhD candidate at George Mason University pursuing a degree in Higher Education with a concentration in Women and Gender Studies and Social Justice. Sharrell has taught courses in the School of Integrative Studies on identity, social justice, and social science research. Her current research interests are first-generation college students, Black women in higher education, social justice advocates in higher education, identity and leadership, and critical participatory action research.