Harsma, E. (2018). A qualitative case study of Spanish teaching assistants and online language instruction(Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global database. (UMI No. 10745323)

Abstract:

“The purpose of this case study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of Spanish foreign language graduate teaching assistants in online language instruction through the lens of two theoretical models and their intersections, Teacher Efficacy and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. The final purposive sample included two Spanish foreign language graduate teaching assistants from a Midwestern public university who participated in a semi-structured interview and shared documents related to their online Spanish teaching experience. Pattern matching coding was used to identify four emergent themes that were concomitant across research questions 1, 2, and 3: (a) Organization and lesson planning in an online environment bolstered confidence, (b) Vicarious experiences modeled online course structure and organization, (c) Reports of positive student experience boosted teacher self-efficacy, and (d) Technology challenges negatively impacted teacher confidence. Two minor themes were found specific to research question 2: (a) Development of communication strategies in a technological environment, and (b) Technology use to help students master challenging concepts. Recommendations for practice were Foreign Language Graduate Teaching Assistant training programs should (a) differentiate preparation for classroom versus online instruction and (b) should include an assistant teaching opportunity prior to their own teaching assignment. Three recommendations for future research included (a) a qualitative narrative study to examine these themes in different educational contexts, (b) a mixed methods study to investigate change in FLTA teacher self-efficacy and TPACK over time, and (c) a quantitative correlation study to examine FLTA teacher self-efficacy, TPACK, and student achievement.”