Graduate teaching assistants' enactment of pedagogical techniques in developmental mathematics college courses

Entry level college mathematics courses are frequently taught by graduate students in the math department. Educational researchers advocate for these classes to be taught using group activities, investigations, and student presentations. However, most graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) have little to no prior teacher training or teaching experience. At San Francisco State University, a large urban public university, graduate students are required to take a semester course, Math 700, in teaching concurrent with their first semester as a GTA. This study investigated the promoted Math 700 teaching practices that were and were not maintained and developed by the GTAs in subsequent semesters of teaching. Analysis of classroom observations, surveys, and interviews reveal how the GTAs were implementing student-centered pedagogical strategies and where they could benefit from additional professional development. Results show that all of the GTAs continued to use group work as a large part of class instruction, even several semesters after completing their Math 700 class. They show greater variation in the opportunities for students to share their thinking through presentations or explanations in response to teacher questioning. Implications included the importance of highly developed curricular materials that support student-centered teaching and the need for ongoing support for the GTAs with questioning and curriculum planning.