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Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are an essential part of engineering education, particularly as student numbers continue to grow. However, it’s not often that we stop to consider what teaching is like from their perspective and think about how we can support them as developing educators whose contributions matter.

In this episode, we speak with Harry Day, Sarah Plumb, Matteo Di Benedetti and Lucy Farquhar from the University of Sheffield about their work to transform the GTA experience. Drawing on research and practical experience, they explore how a more supportive, structured approach can benefit GTAs, academic staff and students alike.

Join Dr. Natalie Wint (University College London) and Prof. Neil Cooke (University of Birmingham) to learn more about the how we can support GTAs in engineering education.

Timestamps

0.00 Welcome and introduction to episode

0.30 Podcast Intro

0.55 Experiences with GTAs from Natalie and Neil

3.24 Introduction to Harry, Sarah, Matteo and Lucy

4.58 University of Sheffield, UK

6.29 What is a TA or GTA? Why are they used?

8.10 What are the challeneges involved in working with GTAs?

12.50 Lucy's exprience as a GTA

16.35 The importance of overcoming the challenges; training and community building

19.20 Introduction to the MIJ (Mattering, Integration, Justice) Framework

31.22 Provision for training and the need for discipline specific training

36.38 Identifying the key areas for development

49.50 The training model and its alignment

55.26 A roadmap of qualification requirements

1:06:40 The journey of a GTA from recruitment to their first time in the classroom

1:12:10 Diversity, equity and inclusion

1:24:13 Student Feedback

1:26:41 What is next?

1:32:29 Key takeaways from Natalie and Neil

Resources

Plumb, S., Day, H., & Di Benedetti, M. (2024). Effective development and recognition of Teaching Assistant practice: An aligned model. Proceedings of the 52nd Annual Conference of SEFI, Lausanne, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14256709

https://zenodo.org/records/14256709

Matteo Di Benedetti, Sarah Plumb & Stephen B. M. Beck (2023) Effective use of peer teaching and self-reflection for the pedagogical training of graduate teaching assistants in engineering, European Journal of Engineering Education, 48:1, 59-74, DOI: 10.1080/03043797.2022.2054313

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03043797.2022.2054313

https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/oer-gtadevelopmentprogram/0-home?authuser=0

Join us! Become a member of the European Society for Engineering

Education, SEFI, Europe's largest network of engineering

educators: www.sefi.be

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Female students have long been underrepresented in engineering. However, the increasing use of project- and problem-based learning (PBL) approaches raises new questions regarding how power dynamics shape their lived experiences during collaborative teamwork. This episode features Sandra Ireri Cruz Moreno and Shannon Chance (Technological University Dublin). We talk about the winner of the ‘Best Research Paper’ at the SEFI 2025 Conference entitled “Evolving gender dynamics in teamwork experiences among female engineering students in PBL settings”.

Follow this link to read the full paper.

Timestamps

0.00 Podcast introduction

0.28 Introduction to the episode

1.12 Overview of the work and how it came about

2.44 Summary of the paper

4.48 The research gap

6.42 PBL at TU Dublin

8.30 Research aims and questions

9.02 Theoretical frameworks

11.50 Approach

16:00 Data collection and analysis

17.38 Findings

23.20 Implications for practice

24.57 Implications for research

Other resources

Cruz Moreno, S. I., & Chance, S. (2024). Exploring analytical frameworks to investigate power dynamics in collaborative learning in engineering education. Proceedings of the 52nd Annual Conference of SEFI, Lausanne, Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.14256915

Join us! Become a member of the European Society for Engineering

Education, SEFI, Europe's largest network of engineering

educators: www.sefi.be

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