Emily Dykstra
Note: Title was current at time of award and may have changed.
2024 Spanning Boundaries Challenge | Teaching teams as communities supporting student belongingness and self-efficacy
Teaching teams, cohorts of instructors, teaching assistants, and learning assistants play a crucial role in student success. Research indicates that effective collaboration within teaching teams enhances instructional quality and supports diverse student needs, leading to improved academic outcomes (Felner et al., 2007). This project extends existing knowledge by exploring different UArizona faculty strategies to optimize team dynamics, thereby fostering a more inclusive and supportive learning environment for students, teaching and learning assistants, and faculty. Utilizing a communities of practice framework (Wenger, 2011), this project examines how teaching teams function across disciplines and teaching modalities to support students’ sense of belonging and academic self-efficacy. Our participatory research design foregrounds the voices, experiences, and perspectives of teaching team members and students to understand the dynamics of teaching teams within this framework. Findings from this project will provide evidence-based guidance for UArizona faculty to redesign their teaching teams, integrating practices that enhance successful and meaningful student experiences. These findings will be disseminated through existing networks across the University, including Faculty Learning Communities.
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TA/LA Spanning Boundaries Challenge 2024 Team
From left:
- Corin Gray, Molecular & Cellular Biology, College of Science
- Arin Haverland, Environmental Science, College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences
- Emily Dykstra, Molecular & Cellular Biology, College of Science
- Susan Hester, Molecular & Cellular Biology, College of Science
- Sarah Grace, Psychology, College of Science
- Elizabeth Eadie, Anthropology, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences
- John Kanady, Physiology, College of Medicine-Tucson
- Daniel McNabney, Physiology, College of Medicine-Tucson
- Lisa Rezende, Molecular & Cellular Biology, College of Science
- Allyson Roof, Physiology, College of Medicine-Tucson
- Alma Tejeda Padron, Psychology, College of Science
- Laura Van Dorn, Chemistry & Biochemistry, College of Science
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