Digital Badges to Increase TA Training and Recognition

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan F. Cole
Keyword(s):  
Digital Badges ◽  
Ta Training

USING DIGITAL BADGES TO ENHANCE NURSING STUDENTS’ ATTENDANCE AND MOTIVATION

2021 ◽  
pp. 103033
Author(s):  
Mickael Antoine Joseph ◽  
Jansirani Natarajan ◽  
James Buckingham ◽  
Malik Al Noumani
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Students ◽  
Digital Badges

Supporting learners’ STEM-oriented career pathways with digital badges

2019 ◽  
Vol 120 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 87-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline R. Pitt ◽  
Adam Bell ◽  
Rose Strickman ◽  
Katie Davis
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Career Pathways ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Digital Badges ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology Industry ◽  
Learning Pathways ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the potential for digital badges to support alternate learning and career pathways in formal and informal learning environments. Stakeholder groups in higher education and industry discussed how digital badges might transform current processes of admitting undergraduate students and hiring young professionals. Design/methodology/approach This research uses a thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with 30 stakeholders in higher education and the technology industry. Findings Interview participants expressed optimism about the potential for digital badges to make learning pathways visible to learners and external audiences and to promote equity in STEM (STEM: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education and careers. Participants noted several obstacles, largely focused on issues of credibility and logistics of working with badges across settings. Research limitations/implications Though the research approach is limited in geographic scope, the findings have broad applicability and insight for the use of digital badges in general. Practical implications Education policymakers, employers and scholars will be able to use the insights from this investigation in their efforts to find innovative ways to expand and diversify the STEM workforce, as well as support a wider range of learners than is currently supported by initiatives aligned with the school-to-workforce pipeline metaphor. Originality/value This paper directly confronts issues of real-world applications of digital badges by discussing practical implications with college admissions officers and employers. The current study fills a need for research that investigates the use of digital badges across – as opposed to within – contexts.

scholarly journals Negotiating between the Constant and the Changing: Balancing Acts in the Training of Writing Teachers

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Heping Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Minimal Amount ◽  
College Level ◽  
Literature And Linguistics ◽  
Student Writers ◽  
Comparative Rhetoric ◽  
Individualized Approach ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
Ta Training

TA training is an important component of any rhetoric/composition program in American universities. As a faculty member in the Department of English, Comparative Literature, and Linguistics with a specialty in classical oratory and comparative rhetoric, I have been training TAs for over a decade as a significant portion of my teaching assignment. In my presentation, I would like to discuss the major factors that affect the quality of the TA training program and ways to balance these factors to maximize the learning experience for the TAs. TAs, short for “teaching assistants” or “teaching associates,” are graduate students in English who are assigned to teach a writing class or two, usually of beginning college level. It is essential that these graduate students be provided with detailed hands-on training both in theory and in practice every step of the way in order for them to feel confident and comfortable in the classroom. My role as their teacher and supervising instructor is to provide them with fundamental training, laying a solid foundation for them to grow professionally. As I see it, four major factors interact in the TA training process: the available theory, the institutional and academic expectations, the class of student writers they each teach, and the TAs themselves as a team. Some of these factors are relatively constant; others are fluid and always changing. They often present fresh challenges when they interact in the writing classroom. I would like to explore how these factors act upon each other and complement each other as I try to create an environment in which the TAs feel encouraged to learn and experiment on their own with a minimal amount of guidance. I will argue that, based on my years of experience and on the reflections by the TAs themselves, it is of critical importance that the focus be placed on the balancing of the four factors in an individualized approach for TA training.

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