A Place for Civic Engagement in Graduate Teaching Assistant Development

Authors

  • Devorah A. Lieberman Wagner College Author
  • Janelle D. Voegele Portland State University Author

Abstract

Civic engagement is being recognized increasingly as a form of scholarly activity in higher education, and growing opportunities exist for graduate teaching assistants (TAs) to conduct or assist within civic engagement courses. As colleges and universities continue to reevaluate their educational missions and purposes in the context of changing relationships with the public sphere (Colby, Ehrlich, Beaumont, & Stevens, 2003; Schneider, 2000), the experience of future faculty will likely involve increased exposure to interdisciplinary programs, integrated community/university research and educational programming, project-based learning, civic engagement, and other forms of engaged pedagogy. In light of this changing landscape in higher education, the authors describe the thread of civic engagement woven through the TA development program at Portland State University (PSU) as well as delineate generalizable responsibilities specific to TAs in the context of teaching, civic engagement, and their future faculty roles. Assessment of the PSU program and TA student learning outcomes are discussed in relation to the development and future directions of program design for future faculty.

Published

2024-03-22