Graduate Instructors at Work: A Narrative Inquiry into the Development of Writing Assessment Literacy

Writing assessment shapes what students learn and the extent to which they invest in their writing development, with lasting consequences on academic growth, literacy development, and retention. University writing programs often rely on Graduate Teaching Associates (GTAs) to teach first-year composition (FYC) courses and assess student writing; however, GTAs often receive incomplete or inadequate training in writing assessment theory and practice. English Departments that provide writing pedagogy education have not yet fully considered how GTAs learn to assess writing nor the assessment challenges they face in the FYC classroom, creating a significant gap between the importance of effective writing assessment and the often-minimal preparation instructors receive to deliver that assessment. To address this gap, this qualitative study examined how new GTAs developed writing assessment literacy. Using narrative inquiry as a research methodology, I followed eight GTAs during their first year teaching FYC courses as instructors of record at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). I collected stories through a series of three interviews with each participant over the 2023–2024 academic year, triangulating interview data with focus groups and assessment materials. Then, I composed eight individual narratives that document and analyze GTAs’ writing assessment literacy. Based on the narratives and thematic analysis, I developed an expanded conceptual model for tracing writing assessment literacy development that emphasizes lived experience, prior knowledge, affect, and labor in teacher learning. I use the results to redefine the development of writing assessment literacy as literacy labor to draw attention to the material, intellectual, affective, and embodied dimensions of GTA development. Key findings suggest that the conditions that most impacted writing assessment literacy were peer support, classroom teaching experience, and prior knowledge and experience. The formal aspects of writing pedagogy education that most influenced writing assessment literacy development were ranked as teaching assistantship, tutoring, composition pedagogy coursework, and departmental workshops. Based on these findings, I suggest that writing program administrators refocus writing pedagogy education to foster the development of writing assessment literacy. Graduate student instructors need experiential learning, guided reflection, and ongoing support beyond the first year to thrive as they teach and assess writing.