The BioTAP Professional Development Model: Expanding Empirical Research on Graduate Student Teaching Professional Development

Abstract

The Biology Teaching Assistant Project (BioTAP) provides a year-long mentoring program for practitioners and researchers of Biology Graduate Teaching Assistant Teaching Professional Development (GTA TPD). The program participants, known as BioTAP Scholars, are guided through the process of implementing a research project on GTA TPD. The rationale for the program is that GTAs are critical to the instruction of STEM majors and therefore need TPD to build instructional skills known to support students’ academic performance. However, there is a paucity of empirical data documenting effective GTA TPD practices. Here we describe the BioTAP Scholars program that sought to increase this literature base. In this essay, we detail program activities, Scholar feedback about the program, and changes in Scholars’ confidence in conducting research over the length of the program. As a result of the program, BioTAP Scholars have contributed to and expanded the GTA TPD literature base. With this growing base of empirical data, STEM departments can make evidence-based decisions related to their GTA TPD programs. The BioTAP Scholars program provides a model that could be adapted to increase capacity for research in other aspects of STEM education.