This dissertation addresses three distinct areas of composition: literacy,technology, and teacher training. The research questions I investigate are as follows:Are graduate programs in rhetoric and composition offering preparation for teaching new literacies, especially with digital technology? If so, what is the nature of that training?Does the faculty within a program perceive that training to be effective? Is thattraining perceived to be effective by graduate students?How do individual programs shape their graduate technology training to reflectand manifest specific programmatic agendas and goals?The first two sets of research questions are investigated using survey research methods. The last research question is addressed via case study methods.Using a multi-methodological research design that includes a national survey and two institutional case studies allows me to combine methodologies to draw meaningful conclusions from the data. For example, the survey helps to provide a brief sketch of the state of technology training in rhetoric and composition programs as well as universities, while detailed case studies provide a context that illustrates how the integration of technology into both the university and rhetoric and composition program affects teacher training. The survey demonstrates that many programs do not require courses or workshops that extend special help to those teaching in computer classrooms especially as technology relates to new literacies. Information from the survey also indicates that rhetoric and composition programs have no procedures in place to assess the state of technology training for new teachers and TAs. This dissertation offers one way of assessing technology training.The case studies reveal that the two universities have grand visions and broad technology initiatives. However, a closer look at university mission statements and specific rhetoric and composition programs reveals that the integration of technology is sometimes a less than smooth one. In one case, the department struggles to implement technology at the grass roots level, while another department, despite the inconsistencies apparent at the university level, seems to succeed at both integrating technology and training new teachers to address the new literacies produced by those digital technologies. / Department of English

The employment of International Teaching Assistants in U.S. universities has caused concern with regards to the communicative competence of nonnative speaker TAs in undergraduate classrooms. Researchers such as Rounds (1985), Bryd (1986), Constantino (1986), Tyler (1990), Shaw (1994), and Hoekje and Williams (1994), among others have suggested that more research is needed on the performance of nonnative speaker TAs in specific disciplines.This study is an-attempt to describe the discourse skills of nonnative speaker TAs in Computer Science. The speech event of twelve nonnative speaker TAs was observed and video and audiotaped in teaching lecture and laboratory (programming session) classes. Three native speaker TAs of the same profession were also studied as a comparison group. A profile of each of the TAs was made based on field notes, interviews and student evaluations, to determine TA typologies along Bailey's (1982,1984) classification. The profiles also contributed to grouping the TAs into more skillful and less skillful TAs.The classroom observations were analyzed to determine whether NNSTAs encountered difficulty speaking comprehensibly and explaining the computer science concepts clearly. The other questions investigated included: the apparent degree and ease of student comprehension of the teachers; the amount of student participation allowed and encouraged; the degree of interaction in the classes; and the amount of rapport between the NNSTAs and their students.The rhetorical analysis of the discourse structure of the computer science classrooms revealed two genres. Descriptive discourse was predominant in the lecture sessions and procedural discourse was predominant in the programming sessions. Linguists have shown that there are interesting connections between discourse type and the interlocutor's choice of particular syntactic structures. The investigations in this study showed that the successful NNSTAs complied with these connections and the less successful NNSTAs did not. The discourse problems of nonnative speaker TAs stemmed mainly from their inability to use various cohesive ties and deictic markers appropriately.Finally, the study showed that despite pronunciation and grammatical deficiencies, NNSTAs' success in their classes was determined by their speech acts. The moreinteractive TAs who employed various illocutionary acts to transact disciplinary information were the more skillful TAs. / Department of English

This is an exploratory, interpretive study, focusing on classroom communication experiences of Chinese teaching assistants (CTA) in a U.S. university. The research asked: What are CTAs' experiences communicating in the U.S. university classroom? How do they interpret their experiences from their own perspective? And what is their emergent adaptation pattern to the U.S. university classroom?

In the last three decades, there has been a significant growth in the number of undergraduate students taking introductory statistics. As a result, there is a need by universities and community colleges to find well-qualified instructors and graduate teaching assistants to teach the growing number of statistics courses. Unfortunately, research has shown that even teachers of introductory statistics struggle with concepts they are employed to teach. The data presented in this research sheds light on the statistical knowledge of graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) and community college instructors (CCIs) in the realm of probability by analyzing their work on surveys and task-based interviews on the p-value. This research could be useful for informing professional development programs to better support present and future teachers of statistics.

This study contributes to theory and public policy in Canada and globally. It uses mixed methodology and triangulation of evidence through policy documents(Bovey,Rae,Drummond),empirical studies and surveys(ranking,NSSE data,regression), CAUT/AUCC and Statistics Canada sources and qualitative sources - writings of university presidents (Bok,Kerr,Fallis),researchers (Rajagopal, Clark et al.)as well,talks with sessionals,teaching assistants and administrators. The framework consists of Altbach's four factors - democratization, the knowledge economy, globalisation and competition and three ideal types for university development - entrepreneurial, liberal education and deliberative. The thesis contrasts classical college with the modern university system. The results show strong evidence for research domination, mission drift and shift towards the entrepreneurial model. Quality is compromised by lowering requirements, compressed courses, less study time, large classes taught by sessionals and TAs, grade inflation and consumerist behaviour, while critical thinking and moral development are neglected.

This study contributes to theory and public policy in Canada and globally. It uses mixed methodology and triangulation of evidence through policy documents(Bovey,Rae,Drummond),empirical studies and surveys(ranking,NSSE data,regression), CAUT/AUCC and Statistics Canada sources and qualitative sources - writings of university presidents (Bok,Kerr,Fallis),researchers (Rajagopal, Clark et al.)as well,talks with sessionals,teaching assistants and administrators. The framework consists of Altbach's four factors - democratization, the knowledge economy, globalisation and competition and three ideal types for university development - entrepreneurial, liberal education and deliberative. The thesis contrasts classical college with the modern university system. The results show strong evidence for research domination, mission drift and shift towards the entrepreneurial model. Quality is compromised by lowering requirements, compressed courses, less study time, large classes taught by sessionals and TAs, grade inflation and consumerist behaviour, while critical thinking and moral development are neglected.

This exploratory case study investigated the Graduate Assistant (GA) Scholarship Programme at Technikon Natal (TN) as a staff development mechanism. Although GA programmes are not a new concept and have been used internationally for decades as a means to develop academic staff, the programme at TN has some differences. This programme was initiated to address the development of young Black, and in the main African, academics in order to assist with meeting future employment equity requirements. The programme in its simplest form offers the GA the opportunity to gain teaching experience while studying for a post graduate qualification. Between 1995 and 2000, fifty GAs were involved in the programme at TN, with the majority of GAs studying at the BTech qualification level. This case study identified the juxtaposition of two perspectives of influence, those of the institutional and the individual issues. The institutional issues identified were categorised into policy and procedural issues and the individual issues focused on staff development and mentorship issues. Although the findings cannot be generalised, significant issues have been identified which could prove of value to a wider audience. In addition to developing Black academics, the programme makes a significant contribution to increasing the achievement of higher qualifications from the technikon sector. This is desirable in order to produce the technological foundation for South Africa's future economy. The study identified great potential in the GAs and in the community at TN who have embraced this opportunity to develop young academics of the future. Although there are a number of issues to be addressed, the key stakeholders of this study; the GAs and their Heads of Departments, are well supported by the management and relevant units at TN. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

This study contributes to theory and public policy in Canada and globally. It uses mixed methodology and triangulation of evidence through policy documents(Bovey,Rae,Drummond),empirical studies and surveys(ranking,NSSE data,regression), CAUT/AUCC and Statistics Canada sources and qualitative sources - writings of university presidents (Bok,Kerr,Fallis),researchers (Rajagopal, Clark et al.)as well,talks with sessionals,teaching assistants and administrators. The framework consists of Altbach's four factors - democratization, the knowledge economy, globalisation and competition and three ideal types for university development - entrepreneurial, liberal education and deliberative. The thesis contrasts classical college with the modern university system. The results show strong evidence for research domination, mission drift and shift towards the entrepreneurial model. Quality is compromised by lowering requirements, compressed courses, less study time, large classes taught by sessionals and TAs, grade inflation and consumerist behaviour, while critical thinking and moral development are neglected.

This study contributes to theory and public policy in Canada and globally. It uses mixed methodology and triangulation of evidence through policy documents(Bovey,Rae,Drummond),empirical studies and surveys(ranking,NSSE data,regression), CAUT/AUCC and Statistics Canada sources and qualitative sources - writings of university presidents (Bok,Kerr,Fallis),researchers (Rajagopal, Clark et al.)as well,talks with sessionals,teaching assistants and administrators. The framework consists of Altbach's four factors - democratization, the knowledge economy, globalisation and competition and three ideal types for university development - entrepreneurial, liberal education and deliberative. The thesis contrasts classical college with the modern university system. The results show strong evidence for research domination, mission drift and shift towards the entrepreneurial model. Quality is compromised by lowering requirements, compressed courses, less study time, large classes taught by sessionals and TAs, grade inflation and consumerist behaviour, while critical thinking and moral development are neglected.

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