Teaching Politics: Graduate Students as Tutors

Abstract

Seminars form a key part of undergraduate politics teaching in Britain, and Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) are often at the forefront of this delivery. This article explores the attitudes and understandings of GTAs towards teaching and learning in the Department of Politics at Sheffield. Interviews were conducted with 16 GTAs, covering not only their approach to teaching and learning, but how this manifested itself, for example in the way they organise their seminars. Related issues such as the training and development of GTAs were also discussed. Based on these findings, some initial recommendations for training and mentoring of GTAs are offered in the conclusion.