Graduate Teaching Assistant Model & Roles
In the Graduate Teaching Assistant Program model, the role of On-Campus Undergraduate Faculty is that of a master teacher and the Graduate Teaching Assistant is an apprentice. On-Campus Undergraduate Faculty and Instructors receive 2 NSS (number of students served) for each GTA mentored, so work with a Graduate Teaching Assistant is accounted for in one’s workload.
On-Campus Undergraduate Faculty and Instructors who have a Graduate Teaching Assistant may serve as a practicum supervisor for their Graduate Teaching Assistant at the Graduate Teaching Assistant’s request, but are not obligated to do so. If it is decided that the On-Campus Undergraduate Faculty should serve as a practicum supervisor (a joint decision made by the Graduate Teaching Assistant, his/her advisor, and the faculty member) the faculty member is required to fulfill all of the supervisor obligations and will receive payment per Limited-Residency Master of Arts guidelines.
When a Graduate Teaching Assistant teaches a course as a lead or co-instructor, the Graduate Teaching Assistant Director can work with the relevant On-Campus Undergraduate Program Coordinator to assign an appropriate faculty person to supervise the practicum, if necessary.
It is important to note that the Limited-Residency Master of Arts model designates the Graduate Advisor as the student’s primary mentor and evaluator of his or her graduate work. As such, On-Campus Undergraduate Faculty are not expected to serve in this role with their Graduate Teaching Assistant. They serve as a master teacher with their apprentice Graduate Teaching Assistant in the context of a specific On-Campus Undergraduate course.
In general, the written work generated by a Graduate Teaching Assistant during his/her teaching assignment will be submitted to and evaluated by the Graduate Teaching Assistant Director and/or the Graduate Teaching Assistant’s Graduate Advisor (and if practicum credits are involved, their Practicum Supervisor).
Finally, Graduate Teaching Assistants have the option of designing their Limited-Residency Master of Arts study plan(s) to allocate some credits as practicum to represent their On-Campus Undergraduate teaching experiences during each of their first two terms.
As part of their Graduate Teaching Assistant responsibilities, each student will hold a limited number of office hours (approx. 2-3 hours per week) to help On-Campus Undergraduate students with class assignments and offer other course-related advising. On-Campus Undergraduate Faculty can work with his/her Graduate Teaching Assistant to structure these office hours to suit specific needs (and if feasible, make his/her office available to the Graduate Teaching Assistant for this purpose).
Beyond their official On-Campus Undergraduate teaching assignment, Graduate Teaching Assistants are expected to engage with the On-Campus Undergraduate curriculum in ways that support the On-Campus Undergraduate Faculty and enrich their graduate studies. As Graduate Teaching Assistants familiarize themselves with the courses being offered in an upcoming term, they will contact selected On-Campus Undergraduate Faculty and explore ways they can contribute to courses as a guest speaker and/or a visiting student. Sharing a course syllabus with a Graduate Teaching Assistant is an easy and efficient way for On-Campus Undergraduate Faculty to facilitate this process.
Graduate Teaching Assistants engage with specific classes to learn more about a particular topic, or to observe first-hand the Prescott College style of education. Finally, since one of the primary goals of the Graduate Teaching Assistant is to strengthen the bridge between the Limited-Residency Master of Arts and the On-Campus Undergraduate, Graduate Teaching Assistants and On-Campus Undergraduate Faculty and students are encouraged to experiment with new ways to collaborate within and beyond the stated program structure.
