Work in Progress: Teaching a First Semester Freshman Engineering Course: A Team Effort between Faculty and Graduate Teaching Assistants at Virginia Tech

The experiences of a team of twelve graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) recruited from engineering and education departments and seven professors who co-taught the freshmen engineering course in the fall semester of 2005 and the five GTAs and one professor who continued in the spring semester of 2006 are outlined. The major issues and challenges encountered in transforming the course from a traditional "instructors only" format into a team effort between the instructors and the GTAs are addressed. A training session developed by the department prior to the beginning of the fall semester, weekly meetings as well as occasional training sessions held throughout the semester is also discussed. The introduction of the GTAs provided opportunities for mentorship, improved teaching pedagogy, and the introduction of several innovative hands-on educational activities. Assessment data gathered through surveys and clicker questions in lecture is presented