At our TESOL 2018 session, “Utilizing Authentic ITA Teaching Videos: Collaborating Across Universities,” we began with a definition of what critical incidents and authentic resources mean in the context they were used for our study. We then opened up a discussion on current international teaching assistant (ITA) video resources that are available (see links in this article under Resources) and included a demonstration of how two different universities used the same video materials (Corpus of English for Academic and Professional Purposes [CEAPP], 2014) to provide an authentic teaching assistant experience for our ITAs. We shared data from the multiple student surveys that were given in each of our programs, and then we discussed the effectiveness of these video activities. In small groups, participants had a chance to discuss strategies for implementing these or similar activities in their ITA programs. This information was collected into a shared Google document (see Resources for a summary of the shared information).

Introduction

Critical incidents are an important part of the ITA training experience and more examination of them is needed in ITA curricula. According to Farrell and Baecher (2017), critical incidents are “any unplanned and unanticipated events, which occur during class, outside class, or anytime during a teacher’s career” (p. 2). Although these incidents might not appear to be critical, they are critical through analysis “by viewing them in terms of something that has significance to the wider context” (Farrell & Baecher, 2017, p. 2-3, or when there is a conscious reflection from the teacher.

Trainers can maximize the noticing of critical incidents within an ITA training program by using authentic video materials of teaching assistants (TAs) in university classrooms. This has implications for current ITA training curricula. According to Zhou (2009), over the years, the scope of the ITA training curriculum has expanded from an exclusive focus on linguistic issues to "a more comprehensive set of concerns, including linguistic, pedagogical, and cultural competencies" (p. 19). These varying concerns point to the need for contextualized teaching and learning by considering critical incidents from authentic resources (Farrell & Baecher, 2017; Berns & Erickson, 2001). Discussing critical incidents from authentic video of ITAs and TAs teaching in a university course can help novice teachers uncover their own theory of practice (Farrell & Baecher, 2017).

Methods

In our convention session, we showed a few examples of authentic TA videos (CEAPP, 2014) and an activity that we have used in our ITA training programs. The courses that the video data came from include undergraduate mathematics, physics, and geosciences classes (CEAPP, 2014). Both lectures and labs were recorded, but most of the data came from labs. The videos that were shown during the TESOL convention session came from a physics lab (CEAPP, 2014). First, we summarize what happened in the first video, and then we explain a sample activity that we did with our students in our ITA training programs.

In one of the videos, the TA asked a student to come see him at his table within the lab about an absence document that the student failed to properly submit. The TA first asked the student if she had submitted the proper document for her absence. The student asserted that she had already emailed the document to the TA and the professor of the course. Next, the TA asked the student to print him the document and give it to him again. A contradiction arose in the next sequence: The student replied that she could give the TA the printed form but did not know where to find the proper documentation form on the class website. This showed that she either did not send the proper documentation form to the TA and the professor as she had indicated initially, or she submitted the wrong document. The TA did not address the contradiction, but he just asked her to give it to him again. The student asked if she could give the document to the TA during the next class, and the TA agreed. Finally, after the student leaves, the TA reflects on the interaction by talking to himself verbally; he questions if it is okay for the student to submit the document during the next class.

Before viewing the video, our class previewed the topic of addressing a situation regarding a student absence and discussed how they would address the absence. Then, they watched the previously described video. Next, the students analyzed the transcript of the video by applying the CORE skills (connection, organization, rapport, and engagement) they had learned in the ITA class. The students marked on their scripts where they noticed instances of CORE concepts. Later, the students discussed in small groups whether the TA handled the situation well. Finally, they reimagined the situation by role-playing the same scenario with changes that they would make if they were the TA. Depending on the class size, some of the students showed their role-play to the class.

At Pennsylvania State University, these videos, which were 3 in total, were shown as part of a semester-long ITA training course. The videos were aligned to the curriculum, which focuses on the CORE concepts described earlier as well as to the course units, which consist of explaining a term or concept, interacting in a lab/group setting, and interacting in an office hour experience. At Cornell University, the videos were integrated into an hour-long workshop on Developing Communication Skills for Office Hours or Labs offered each semester and aligned with the learning outcomes for the course and workshop. Table 1 highlights how each institution integrated the videos.

Table 1. Video Integration at Two Universities

Results

After using these videos at both of our universities, we have identified some strategies that might be helpful in using authentic videos at other ITA training programs.

Strategies to Use Authentic Videos

1. Identify verbal and nonverbal communication skills that worked and did not work.

2. Discuss pragmatic appropriateness of conversation.

3. Imagine giving feedback to the ITA in the video.

4. Reimagine conversation and practice role-playing it.

Measuring Pre- and Postknowledge of Our Students

We measured the pre- and postknowledge of the video topics for our study. The data, based on 168 student surveys completed at both institutions and during two semesters, indicated that the students initially averaged a 3 out of 1-5 on the Likert scale and, after the video activities, increased to a 4.2. Though this was a small study, the results indicate that the use of these videos and activities was beneficial in increasing our students’ knowledge on these different topics. We’d like to note that these videos should be used to supplement what is already being done in a typical ITA classroom.

For survey results, click here.

Resources

Participants were asked to discuss in groups what current video resources they are using in their ITA programs. Following is a summary of what they contributed to the shared Google document.

Authentic Classroom Videos

• Penn State University Corpus of English for Academic and Professional Purposes (CEAPP) (Special permission needed for access)

Simulated Classroom Scenarios

• Critical Incidents in College Teaching Vignettes (Syracuse University)

• The User-Friendly Classroom (MIT ITA Open Source)

• Engineering Illinois (University of Illinois Classroom scenarios)

• Conflict-Resolution Videos (University of Minnesota; resource under construction)

Teacher Training

• Teacher Development (Lehigh University)

• Graduate Student Instructor Teaching & Resource Center (University of California, Berkeley)

• Engineering GSI Videos (University of Michigan)

• Video of undergraduates at our university who comment on what they appreciate and find challenging with ITAs

Pronunciation

• Elemental English (YouTube)

• Enunciation Videos (PDF)

• Jennifer’s English (YouTube)

• Rachel’s English (YouTube)

Other Video Tools

• EdPuzzle

• Remark

• Ted Talks

• VoiceThread

• YouTube

Ideas for Collaborating Across Universities

Participants listed the following resources and ways that ITA professionals can collaborate across universities.

File Sharing Spaces

• Box

• Dropbox

• TESOL ITA Interest Section Library

Spaces for Collaboration

• Canvas

• Google Docs

References

Berns, R. G., & Erickson, P. M. (2001). Contextual teaching and learning: Preparing students for the new economy. The Highlight Zone: Research @ Work, 5.

Corpus of English for Academic and Professional Purposes, (2014). Corpus of videos and accompanying transcripts from educational contexts. Unpublished raw data.

Farrell, T. S. C., & Baecher, L. (2017). Reflecting on critical incidents in language education, 2-3. New York, NY: Bloomsbury.

Zhou, J. (2009). What is missing in the international teaching assistants training curriculum? Journal of Faculty Development, 23(2), 19–24.

Stacy Suhadolc is an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Applied Linguistics at The Pennsylvania State University. She teaches ITA and ESL courses. Her research interests include teacher education development, sociocultural approaches to second language teaching, and second language teacher development.

Derina Samuel is assistant director at the Center for Teaching Innovation at Cornell University. She teaches in the International Teaching Assistant Program and coordinates the Graduate Teaching Assistant Fellow Program and graduate teaching certificate programs for all graduate students and postdocs at Cornell. Her research interests have focused on developing professional development opportunities for all graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.