A model for using discussion preparation meetings to promote graduate teaching assistant discipline-specific pedagogy training

Teaching discussion courses requires skill in teaching specific content at a specific level in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. This skill is best developed through discipline-specific training; however, the professional development that graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) most commonly receive is at the whole-university level. In this Tips and Tools article, we provide a model for filling this gap in pedagogical content knowledge training for GTAs of STEM discussion courses through weekly discussion preparation meetings. The major elements of the discussion preparation meetings are community norm setting, reflection on the GTA experience, and modeling of discussion activities. We have found that this model facilitates alignment of learning experiences for undergraduate students across GTAs, development of pedagogical content knowledge for the GTAs, and opportunities for reflection on the GTA experience.