A linguistically responsive Teaching Assistant (TA) training model
The University of Arizona, a Hispanic-Serving Institution with a large and growing multilingual and international student population, serves a linguistically rich student body. Our project aims to shift discussions of language in language learning and writing classrooms from rule-based, prescriptive models to contextualized, descriptive, and asset-oriented approaches that draw on students’ multilingual resources and empower them to make informed language choices appropriate for varied communicative situations. Our collaborative training program brings together an interdisciplinary cohort of TAs (English writing, Spanish and Portuguese language learning) to co-develop asset-based, linguistically responsive approaches for enhancing students’ abilities to express themselves in a variety of contexts. We aim to impact TA’s and their students’ self-reflections on their own linguistic varieties, validate community language practices, and amplify approaches for advocating for linguistic diversity. This project models an approach to language and teaching practices that can be extended to other writing and language intensive classes at our University and beyond.
>>> Learn more about CUES Spanning Boundaries Challenge Grants
TA/LA Spanning Boundaries Challenge 2024 Team
From left:
- Shelley Staples, English, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences
- Julieta Fernández, Spanish & Portuguese, College of Humanities
- Christine Tardy, English, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences
- Ana Carvalho, Spanish & Portuguese, College of Humanities
- Cassidy Reis, Spanish & Portuguese, College of Humanities
- Shelley Rodrigo, English, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences
TA/LA Advocacy/Advisory Board
The board -- comprised of experts on TAs/LAs and leads from the CUES Mapping Educational Challenges Workshop on TAs/LAs, will provide guidance for this project.
- Mascha Gemein, Educational Development, University Center for Assessment, Teaching & Technology
- James Hunt, Human Development & Family Science, College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences
- William Neumann, Management Information Systems, Eller College of Management
- Lucinda Rankin, Physiology, College of Medicine-Tucson