From clicks to connections: applying activity theory to multimodal materials design for GTA development

Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) often occupy a liminal space in higher education, tasked with delivering high-quality teaching while receiving limited formal training or pedagogical development. This uneven provision, often shaped by departmental discretion, intersects with the pressures GTAs face to progress in their research, develop their teaching practice, and manage time and wellbeing. In response to this gap, I designed a series of multimodal units, delivered asynchronously, to offer more accessible, flexible, and supportive professional learning opportunities. These units drew on the best principles of online learning (Nilson & Goodson, 2018) and were underpinned by a commitment to personalisation, accessibility, and community-building. To evaluate the impact and limitations of this intervention, I draw upon Carabantes’ (2024) Activity Theory framework to critically analyse and design contextually relevant materials, moving beyond static curricular prescriptions toward dynamic, need-responsive pedagogies. In this reflection, I critically examine the contradictions and affordances, ranging from institutional constraints (limited training, time, and recognition) to the mediating tools employed (e.g., Rise, ChatGPT-generated visuals, Padlet). I argue that Activity Theory not only makes visible the tensions in GTA learning contexts but also supported design choices that enhanced engagement and agency through personalisation, accessibility, and community-oriented tasks. This reflection situates material development as a deeply relational and political act, one that demands awareness of power, equity, and evolving identities in higher education. By focusing on multimodal learning design as a third-space intervention (Whitchurch, 2008), I suggest that GTAs’ professional learning can be enriched when self-study material design is treated not as an afterthought, but as a central, theory-informed element of pedagogical practice. I conclude with implications for the professionalisation of postgraduate teachers and a call to reimagine materials development training within GTA programmes.