GuidelinesandBestPracticesfor

UndergraduateTeachingAssistants

College of Arts & Sciences

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TABLEOFCONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 2

UNIQUEPRESSURESFORANUNDERGRADUATETA 2SOCIALCONCERNS 2TIMEANDSCHEDULEPRESSURES 2CONDUCTINGACLASS:MORETHANKNOWLEDGE 3THENEEDFORCOMMITMENT 3

YOUANDTHECOURSEINSTRUCTOR 4THEINSTRUCTOR’SEXPECTATIONSOFYOU 4YOUREXPECTATIONSOFTHEINSTRUCTOR 4

WHENTHINGSGOWRONG 5

ENJOYYOUREXPERIENCE 6

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Introduction Servingasateachingassistantcanbeagreatsourceofpersonalprideandsatisfaction.However,actinginthiscapacitycarriesauniqueresponsibilitybecauseyouaredirectlyassistingyourpeersintheirlearningprocess.Therefore,thequalityofyourworkhasthepotentialtoaffectmanystudents.ThepurposeofthisguideistomakeyouawareofsomeofthechallengesofbeinganundergraduateTA,andtooffersuggestionsforasuccessfulexperience.

UniquePressuresforanUndergraduateTASocialConcerns Unlikeagraduateteachingassistant,youareapartofthesamesocialstructureasthepeopleyouareteachingand/orgrading.Youwillprobablyknowanumberofthem,andmayevenhavepersonalrelationshipswithsome.Youarenowbeingplacedinauniquesituation,inwhichyouaregivenadegreeof“power”overyourpeers—averychallengingsituationforanyonetobein.Thejobcallsforbeingobjectiveandneutralinallofyourteachingandgradingefforts,buttherearetimeswhenhumannaturemaymakethisalmostimpossibletoachieve. Youmustmakeeveryeffortpossibletoavoidsituationsthatcreateaconflictofinterest.Donotsimplyassumetherewillbenoproblems;itisfarbettertobecautiousupfrontthantobecaughtinadifficultsituationoncethesemesterisunderway.Remember,youwillcontinuetosociallyinteractwithyourfriendsandpeerslongafterthesemesterisover. Beforethestartofthesemester,youshouldreviewthelistofstudentsforwhomyouareresponsiblewiththecourseinstructor.Ideally,astudentwhopresentsapotentialconflictwillbemovedintoanothersectionorthefacultymemberoranotherTAcangradethatstudent’swork.Ifthesesolutionsarenotpossible,youshouldprobablyhaveafranktalkwiththestudentbeforethesemesterstartsaboutthetemporaryrolesyoufindyourselvesin.Youmustalsotakegreatcaretodoublecheckyourobjectivityregardingthesestudents.

TimeandSchedulePressures Asanundergraduate,youfaceamorerigidacademicschedulethanmostgraduatestudents.Youareenrolledinmanycourses,andmostofthesehavefairlystricttimetablesforhomework,presentationsandexams.Asyouwellknow,thesetendtooccurataboutthesametimeseachsemester(aroundmid-semester,forexample).Obviously,yourteachingandgradingpressuresarebothlikelytopeakattheseexactsametimes.Becauseyourteachingandgradingworkpotentiallyaffectssomanyotherpeople,itmustreceivetoppriorityandattention,butitmaybeimpossibletopre-scheduleyourworkloadtoaccountforthisaddeddemand. Again,youshouldtrytoidentifypotentialtimeproblemsasearlyaspossible.Youneedtocommunicateyouradvanceconcernstoboththeinstructorofthecourseyouarehelpingtoteach,andpossiblytoyourothercourseinstructorsaswell.Itmaybepossibletomakesomepre-arrangementswhenconflictsareidentifiedfarinadvance.Bothgroupsofinstructorswillbelessableorwillingtomakelast-minuteexceptionsorchanges.Infact,itmaybeimpossiblefortheteachingcourseinstructortodoanythingbecausesomanyotherstudentswouldbeaffected,andthetimetableforthecoursehasalreadybeensetintomotion.

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ConductingaClass:MoreThanKnowledge Youwereprobablychosenforateachingrolebasedonyourgoodgradesorexcellentperformanceinthecourseinwhichyouwillassist.Althoughitiscertainlyarecognitionofyouracademictalents,itisnotenoughtoautomaticallymakeyouanexcellentteachingassistant.Therearemanypeoplewithworld-classknowledgeofasubjectwhoare,nevertheless,poorteachers. Youwillneedtoworkatbuildingyourskillsasateachingassistant,evenifyoufeelitwillbeaneasyjob.Recallsomeactivityinwhichyounowexcel,suchasswimmingorplayingchess.Undoubtedlyyouweren’tgoodatfirstandtheactivitytookmuchmoreconsciousthoughtthanitnowtakesyou.Inaddition,earlyon,youprobablyreachedapointwhereyouthoughtyouweregood,butthenencounteredasituationthatshowedyoustillhadalotmoretolearn.Conductingaclassissimilartotheseactivities.Thebestteachersmakeitlookeasy,butthisishighlydeceptive. Youareundoubtedlyagoodstudent,butyouwillhavetoworkinordertobecomeaneffectiveteachingassistant.ThisisespeciallytrueinthefirstsemesteryouTA.Skillsthateventuallybecomeautomaticwillrequireconsciouspreparationatfirst.Allaspectsofyourpresentationmustworktogethertoexplainanidea.Youmustbesufficientlypreparedthatyoucanwriteordrawwhilespeaking,soastoconveyaverycomplextopicorchainofideastoalargeaudience.Youmustalsounderstandthematerialatadeeperlevelthanthatatwhichyouteach.Theclasswillaskquestions,andyouareexpectedtoprovideananswer—ifnotthedefinitiveanswer—mostofthetime.Itisyourdutytotheclasstobeaseffectiveaspossible,inthesamewaythatyouexpecteffective,engagedinstructionwhenyouparticipateasastudent. Beyondeffectivecommunication,youmustinvolvethestudentsinyourclass.Thisisadifficulttask,becauseyourstudents’abilitieswillcoverawiderange.Therearethosewhowerebornforthesubject,andotherswhojustaren’tgettingit.Itisyourjobtoengageasmanyasyoucan,andtomakethematerialunderstandabletothosewhoarewillingtoworkwithyoutowardthatgoal.Thismeansthatyourinstructionwillfrequentlydeviatefromyourplannedcourseofaction.Youmayhavetoslowdown,speeduporgoovermaterialinmuchfinerdetailthanyouwouldhavethoughttoberequired.Youarewalkingafinelinebetweenengagingtheslowerstudentswithoutalienatingthequickerones.Thisinvolvesacontinuousmentalbalanceadjustmentinthesamewaythatwalkingatightroperequirescontinuousphysicaladjustment.Bothactivitiesalsorequireyourfullattentionatalltimes.

TheNeedforCommitment Teachingorgradingcommitsyoutoafixedschedule.Asastudent,youhavesomeleewaytobelateforaclass,skipclassesorvarydeadlines.Youdonothavetheseluxurieswhenyouteachorgrade.Studentsexpectyoutobepromptandtimelyinyouractions.Theyalsoexpectfeedback,helpandanopencommunicationpathway.Thecourseinstructorexpectsyoutofollowhisorherinstructionsandguidelines,andtocommunicateeffectively.Inotherwords,youractionsareintegraltothesuccessoftheentirecourse.Soafailureonyourpartaffectsnotonlyyou,buttheentireclass.

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YouandtheCourseInstructor Beforethesemesterbegins,youandthecourseinstructorshoulddiscussyourmutualexpectationsforthesemester.Together,youshouldfillouttheUndergraduate Teaching Assistant Duties Agreement Form (availableontheCASDean’swebsite).OnceyouagreeondutiesforthesemesterthefacultymembershouldfileasignedcopywiththeDepartment.

TheInstructor’sExpectationsofYou Wehavealreadytouchedonanumberoftheseexpectations,soletussummarizeafew:

o Effectivecommunicationatthestartofthesemestertoidentifypotentialpersonalconflictswithstudentsintheclass,andscheduleconflictswithmajordemandsinyourothercourses.

o Familiaritywiththeclassmaterial,atadeeperlevelthanthepresentationrequires.o Goodpreparationforclass,tomakethepresentationeffectiveandmaximizethe

learningexperience.o Timelinessandpunctualityinallcourse-relatedactivities.o Availabilitytothestudents.o Feedbacktothecourseinstructor,tohelpidentifyproblemareas.o Adherencetothecourseinstructor’srulesandguidelines,andparticipationinallcourse

formationandevaluationmeetingsasrequired.

YourExpectationsoftheInstructor Inturn,thecourseinstructoralsohasobligationstoyou.Alloftheseobligations—yoursandtheinstructor’s—arerootedintheneedtoeffectivelypresentcoursematerialtothestudents:

o Especiallyinyourfirstsemester,thecourseinstructorshouldhelpyoutoprepareforthetaskoffacingaclass.Theinstructorshouldworkwithyoutoatleasthelpyouplanyourfirstfewpresentationsifyouareinchargeofarecitation,andpossiblyattendsomeofyourinitialclassperiodstogiveyoufeedback.Additionally,theinstructorcouldreferyoutosomeonewhohasbeenaTAforthecoursepreviouslyforadviceandhelp.

o TheinstructorshouldnotexpectyoutohavetheknowledgeorexperienceofgraduatestudentTAs.Heorsheshouldworkwithyoumore,andatamorefundamentallevel.

o Youshouldnotberequiredtomakeupquestionsorsolutionsforhomeworks,quizzesorexamswithoutoversight.Ifyoudoparticipateintheseactivities,theinstructorshouldreviewanymaterialsyoucreatebeforedissemination.

o Thecourseinstructorshouldbeexplicitaboutthematerialyouaretopresent.Youshouldnotbeexpectedtocreatecoursematerialortodecidecontentofthecourse.Again,youmaychoosetodosomeworkatthisleveltogainexperience,butthematerialyoucreateshouldbereviewedandmodifiedasnecessarybythecourseinstructorpriortopresentation.

o Thecourseinstructorshouldbeavailabletoyou,atleastweekly,inatimeandmannerofyourmutualchoosing,toreviewthecoursematerials,progressandotherconcerns.Yourconcernsshouldbeacknowledgedanddiscussed,includinganypersonalproblemsthatarisewithotherstudents.

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o Thecourseinstructorshouldaddressconcernsthataffecttheentireclass,suchascontinuouslydisruptivestudents,problemswiththeoverallcoursematerialortiming,classconcernswithcoursematerialorpolicy,andother“bigissues.”Youarenotresponsibleinanywayforsolutionstotheseproblems,althoughyoumayhelpintheirformulationandmaybeinvolvedinimplementation.

o Youshouldalwaysfeelcomfortableaboutapproachingthecourseinstructorwithyourcourse-relatedproblems,needsandconcerns.Atnotimeshouldyoubemadetofeelintimidated,“stupid”ortohaveyourconcernsandquestionsignoredortrivialized.Youarenotattendingthecourseasastudent;youareworkingasapartnerwithyourinstructortoconveyknowledge,insight,ideasandfeedbacktoothers.Undoubtedly,youwillhavetoworkatlearningmaterialinordertobeaneffectiveteacher,butyoushouldnothavetogenerateyourknowledgealone.

WhenThingsGoWrong Mostundergraduatesfindteachingandgradingtobearewardingexperience.Nevertheless,problemsdooccasionallyariseandyouwillneedacourseofactiontofollowinordertoresolvethingsasquicklyaspossibleandwithaminimumofdisruptiontotheclass.Mostproblemscanberesolvedthroughthecourseinstructor.Hopefullyyouwillneverhavetogobeyondthislevel,butifyoudo,hereisasuggestedprocedurefordisputeresolution:

1. StartwiththeseniorTAorcourseinstructor.Arrangeameetingspecificallytodiscusstheproblem.Beclearabouttheproblemandtheassistanceyouneed.Donotminimizethesituationorallowthecourseinstructortodismissitastrivialunlessheorshehasconvincedyouthatthisis,infact,thecase.

2. IfyourdepartmenthasdesignatedafacultymembertodealwithundergraduateTAissues,thispersonshouldbeyournextlevelofcontact.Youwillneedtopresentyourcaseinmoredetail,asheorshewillnotbefamiliarwiththesituation.Alwaysbeobjectiveinyourpresentation,andsticktotherelevantfacts.Ifyourdepartmentdoesnothaveadesignatedcontact,youmayconsidertalkingtoyourfacultycourseadvisor.

3. Ifthesituationstillcannotberesolved,youshouldscheduleanappointmenttodiscussthesituationwiththeDepartmentChair.Again,bepreparedtodiscussthebackgroundandfactsofthecaseinassuccinctamanneraspossible.Itisalsohelpfulforyoutohavethoughtthroughsomepotentialideasforresolvingtheproblem.

4. Afterallofthesesteps,ifyoustillfeelyourconcernshavenotbeendealtwith,youmayconsiderspeakingtotheAssistantDeanoftheCollege.TheDean’sofficehasconsiderableexperienceindealingwithstudentconcerns,andwemaybeabletohelpresolvetheissue.Beforetakingtheconcerntothislevel,youshouldensurethatyouhavetrulygiventhedepartmenteverychancetoresolvethesituation,andyoumustbefirmlyconvincedthattheresolutionstheyhaveofferedareseriouslylackinginsomeimportantaspect.

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EnjoyYourExperience Wehopetheinformationandadviceinthisbrochureprovesusefultoyouasyoubeginyournewroleasateachingassistant.Youwillfindthatteachingcanbeveryfulfilling,andwehopeyouenjoytheexperience.ThisdocumentwasapprovedbytheDepartmentChairsinMay2016andispublishedbytheCollegeofArtsandSciences.Itisbasedon“ObligationsandExpectationsforFacultyUsingUndergraduateTeachingAssistants,”publishedbytheEberlyCenterforTeachingExcellenceatCarnegieMelonUniversity(2002).Pittsburgh,PA,withpermissionfromtheEberlyCenter.