{"671344":{"#nid":"671344","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Researchers Look to Transform TA Training with Google Community Grant","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGoogle is helping to advance training for teaching assistants (TAs) who are essential to delivering undergraduate computing courses at Georgia Tech and Georgia State University (GSU).\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe corporation has provided the universities with a Google Community Grant of more than $394,000 over three years.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EResearchers will use the funding to develop, test, and implement scalable training programs that reflect\u0026nbsp;responsible and inclusive teaching practices\u0026nbsp;for TAs supporting computer science (CS) courses.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Google is proud to support Georgia Institute of Technology\u0027s efforts to broaden participation in computing,\u0022 said Anona Shugart Walker, Google\u0027s tech education outreach lead for Atlanta. \u0022We\u0027re excited to sponsor this collaborative effort to help equip university computer science teaching assistants with the skills and knowledge they need to create inclusive learning environments for all learners.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EResearchers led by principal investigators Georgia Tech CS Regents\u0027 Professor Ellen Zegura and GSU Assistant Professor Ben Shapiro will use the programs they develop through the Google grant to create sharable resources for each university and beyond.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This work underscores the growing importance and impact of TAs in CS and illustrates new ways that schools of education and computer science can collaborate to broaden participation in computer science,\u0022 Shapiro said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EZegura and Shapiro have\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/researchers-examine-role-tas-computing-ethics\u0022\u003Ea history of working together on undergraduate ethics education and TA support\u003C\/a\u003E. CS\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cas.gsu.edu\/profile\/anu-bourgeois\/\u0022\u003EProfessor Anu Bourgeois\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cas.gsu.edu\/profile\/william-gregory-johnson\/\u0022\u003Electurer William Johnson\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;from GSU and Georgia Tech School of Computing Instruction (SCI)\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/research-explores-fair-grading-large-cs-classes-0\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;lecturer Rodrigo Borela Valente\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;are also part of the core research team.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We have research faculty and instructor faculty because we think this is the best way to get some of these ideas and pilot-type efforts into practice and our TA training,\u0022 Zegura said. \u0022The instructors are on the front lines of training TAs and using them in undergrad classes.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETAs play an essential role in delivering course content, running study sessions, tutoring, and setting course culture. And this role is growing. Georgia Tech\u0027s SCI employs about 500 TAs each semester to keep pace with the growing enrollment.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBorela Valente knows first-hand that TAs are vital to successfully managing a large class and creating a sense of community among the students. He works with several TAs supporting his undergraduate courses. He says that with so many students, it\u0027s unfeasible for the instructor to grade assignments and offer help to all students in an effective way.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022TAs play such an important role: they create a liaison between the instructor and the students, giving you more insight into what they need,\u0022 Borela Valente said. \u0022They also tutor students, helping target their challenges.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to improved training for TAs supporting computing courses, the research team aims to strengthen collaboration between Georgia Tech and GSU more broadly to expand access to computing education.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We\u0027re finding ways to work together to enrich our projects, research, and teaching by taking advantage of our geographic closeness but otherwise our institutional difference,\u0022 Zegura said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The kinds of things we want to do we hope will contribute to broadening participation by making more people feel that they belong in the field.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWith support from corporations like Google, philanthropic organizations, alumni, parents, and friends, Georgia Tech is securing the resources to help achieve the most ambitious goals in the Institute\u0027s history as part of\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/transformingtomorrow.gatech.edu\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003ETransforming Tomorrow:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003EThe Campaign for Georgia Tech\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers from Georgia Tech and Georgia State University are embarking on a new partnering to study and advance training for teaching assistants who support computer science courses. The work is being funded through a Google Community Grant of nearly $400,000.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech and GSU are partnering to study and advance training for teaching assistants who support computer science courses."}],"uid":"32045","created_gmt":"2023-12-01 14:54:01","changed_gmt":"2024-05-13 14:40:01","author":"Ben Snedeker","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-12-01T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2023-12-01T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"672486":{"id":"672486","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Computing Instruction employs about 500 TAs each semester to keep pace with growing enrollment","body":null,"created":"1701442462","gmt_created":"2023-12-01 14:54:22","changed":"1701442462","gmt_changed":"2023-12-01 14:54:22","alt":"Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Computing Instruction employs about 500 TAs each semester to keep pace with growing enrollment.","file":{"fid":"255731","name":"_V7A2647.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/12\/01\/_V7A2647.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/12\/01\/_V7A2647.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":185252,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/12\/01\/_V7A2647.jpg?itok=HOxAPuZB"}}},"media_ids":["672486"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"193234","name":"Campaign Stories"}],"keywords":[{"id":"10199","name":"Daily Digest"},{"id":"11075","name":"The Whistle"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EEmily Smith, Communications Officer\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Computing Instruction\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003Eemily.smith@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}