Speaker: Amy Cook

Title: Pedagogical Training and Support Systems for Graduate Teaching Assistants

Abstract: Computer science relies heavily on graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). To date, most research on GTA training is not specific to the disciplinary demands of CS pedagogical contexts. Also, most computer science teaching assistant training efforts focus on training undergraduate teaching assistants, which ignores the competing priorities of research-focused graduate students and the diverse backgrounds and needs of international GTAs. This talk shares work that seeks to address these gaps by designing both teaching assistant training and a system for supporting in-class feedback provision on code, and lessons learned from our unsuccessful attempts at using ChatGPT for qualitative data analysis.

Bio: Dr. Amy Cook is an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science department of the University of Memphis. Prior to joining the faculty in 2019, she earned a B.S. in Computer Science and Math from Emory University, an M.S. in Human Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University, and a Ph.D. in Human Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Cook’s research combines human-computer interaction and computer science education to explore how to support student success in computing and STEM. Using a student-centered approach, she combines pedagogical methods and technology to design tools that promote interactive learning. She has a secondary interest in games research. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Human Computer Interaction, the undergraduate Capstone course, and PhD research methods. She also plays Ultimate frisbee and is the faculty sponsor for the UofM Men’s Ultimate team and the Women in Computing student group.