Download PDFInstitutional Barriers
Individual departments play a critical role in engaging GTAs with multimodal composition. Chen (2021) demonstrates that even if instructors possess the knowledge to more actively employ PD, which would provide immediate mentoring opportunities for GTAs, “[they] simply don’t due to various factors such as department cultures, institutional policies, or consequently poor working conditions that rob them of the energy to do so” (p. 86). Chen’s conclusions accurately portray my own experience, as I must work a second job to meet minimal financial security, along with more than half of my cohort. I have a lot of knowledge from my professional life that would invigorate pedagogical practices in teaching multimodality, but even if my department was more accepting, it would be unethical to do so without recognition or financial compensation.
Chen (2021) also urges that PD efforts should be inclusive of all instructors’ experiences and suggests the use of knowledge bases that individuals can contribute to. I agree that this approach of crowd-sourcing resources and tips to teach multimodality is effective and low-maintenance, but departmental culture can be a barrier. In my experience, the contributions of select GTAs seem to be more welcomed than others by department leadership. This results in hesitation by all GTAs in sharing tangible resources such as lesson plans or contacts who can shed light onto software or applications.