Undergraduate teaching assistants in Asia: a Singapore case study

Undergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs) have long been shown to support student learning in higher education, but most of the research on UTAs has been done in Western contexts. The aim of this study was to pilot a UTA programme within a first-year, interdisciplinary, team-based qualitative researc...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nichols, Rebecca Michelle, Lupascu, Massimo
Other Authors: School of Social Sciences
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/161596
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
Description
Summary:Undergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs) have long been shown to support student learning in higher education, but most of the research on UTAs has been done in Western contexts. The aim of this study was to pilot a UTA programme within a first-year, interdisciplinary, team-based qualitative research methods course with fieldwork component at a large university in Singapore and evaluate the overall UTA experience. The findings pinpoint the UTAs’ motivations to serve, self-assessed contributions to student learning, expected and realized challenges, personal benefits both sought and gained, and post-course reflections as well as suggestions for improvement in future programmes. These UTAs, like their Western counterparts, are committed and capable peer mentors who can collaborate meaningfully with instructors to enhance undergraduate learning.