Many beginning graduate student TAs do not receive training as undergraduates to teach or communicate physics to non-majors. In addition, physics education research has found that while graduate student TAs are good at mathematical problem solving, some have difficulty applying basic physics concepts and using these concepts to explain phenomena without equations. To better prepare our new TAs at the University of Maryland, we have increased pre-semester TA training from two days to a week over the last three years. However, based on physics education research, implementation of new TA training programs at other schools, and my own experience, I believe more can and should be done to develop TAs with better teaching and communication skills. In this talk, I will discuss how TA training has changed, evaluate the current training, and make some suggestions for TA training in the future.

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University of Maryland	Physics Department	PERG UMD	Abstract Listing