The ZONE learning community: Gaining knowledge through mentoring

Abstract

Assisting doctoral students with developing teaching skills along with providing effective instruction is a common dilemma in academia. We propose a model for developing skill sets of two audiences, doctoral teaching assistants and students. For the teaching assistants, or ZONE mentors, they gain valuable and meaningful skills in course design, online feedback and evaluation, and demonstration of course concepts. For students, the ZONE model encourages self–direction, development of evaluation skills, and the ability to problem solve when assisting peers. Each audience gains experience through scaffolding and mentoring.