Teaching Matters: Understanding the Experience of International GSIs in LSA
Academic Year:
2014 - 2015 (June 1, 2014 through May 31, 2015)
Funding Requested:
$10,000.00
Project Dates:
-
Applicant(s):
Overview of the Project:
International GSIs are integral to the instructional mission of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. As classroom instructors and laboratory or discussion section leaders, they touch the lives of most LSA undergraduates. While contact with world-class scholars from around the globe enables multiple perspectives on course content and opportunities for intercultural exchange, the conversation about international GSIs often focuses on their perceived language deficiencies and culturally-inappropriate academic expectations. Usually lacking from these discussions are the voices of international GSIs themselves. Twelve years after the Provost's Task Force on GSI Testing and Training recommended expanded support for international GSIs, the ELI proposes to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment to hear from international GSIs in LSA how they assess the resources available to them and the climate in which they teach. The ELI currently plays a lead role in providing language and teacher-training support for international GSIs in LSA and is thus well-positioned to conduct such a needs assessment. We plan to survey international GSIs in order to solicit their assessment of the language, academic, cultural, and professional support currently available to them and to explore their experience of the campus climate in which they are asked to teach. We will also seek the perspective of GSIs' faculty advisors and mentors. Our ultimate goal is to confirm which types of support are working well and to identify areas in which the College and the University could better support international GSIs in their teaching and thus enhance undergraduate education in LSA.