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TeachingAssistantHandbook

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TableofContentsIntroduc9on 1.........................................................................................................................................................

WhyTAs? 1..................................................................................................................................................................

TheABCsofBeingaTA 1.........................................................................................................................................

Appointments 1...........................................................................................................................................................

HoursandDu8es 2......................................................................................................................................................

SalaryandBenefits 3...................................................................................................................................................

E-credits 3....................................................................................................................................................................

GeCngPaid 3..............................................................................................................................................................

HealthBenefits 4.........................................................................................................................................................

YourStudentsandTheirWorld 4.............................................................................................................................

WhatisitliketobeanUndergraduate? 4...................................................................................................................

TheStudentBody 5......................................................................................................................................................

CampusesandSchools 5..............................................................................................................................................

BeginningtoTeach 6...............................................................................................................................................

TAAssignments:WhatwillIteach? 6..........................................................................................................................

PreparingfortheFirstDay 7.......................................................................................................................................

FirstImpressions 8.......................................................................................................................................................

TheFirstClass 9...........................................................................................................................................................

Crea8ngtheRightAtmosphere 11..............................................................................................................................

PreparingaSyllabus 12...............................................................................................................................................

ChoosingtheText 14....................................................................................................................................................

SupplementaryReadings 15........................................................................................................................................

RecordKeeping 16.......................................................................................................................................................

RostersandDrop/Adds 16...........................................................................................................................................

TheClassroom 18........................................................................................................................................................

DigitalClassroomServices 18......................................................................................................................................

Facili8esMaintenance 18............................................................................................................................................

GeCnganOffice 19.....................................................................................................................................................

SchedulingHours 20....................................................................................................................................................

UsesofOfficeHours 21................................................................................................................................................

Problems 22.................................................................................................................................................................

A^endancePolicyforTAs 22........................................................................................................................................

A^endancePolicyforStudents 23...............................................................................................................................

TheCraBofTeaching 24..........................................................................................................................................

TheLecture 24.............................................................................................................................................................

TheDiscussionClass 27...............................................................................................................................................

TheRecita8onClass 30................................................................................................................................................

TheLaboratorySec8on 31...........................................................................................................................................

Online/HybridTeaching 33..........................................................................................................................................

TheForeignLanguageClass 35...................................................................................................................................

IntheField 35..............................................................................................................................................................

Ac8veLearning 36.......................................................................................................................................................

AskingQues8onsintheClassroom 38.........................................................................................................................

StudentsinGroups 39..................................................................................................................................................

AssessmentandTes8ng 40..........................................................................................................................................

DeterminingCourseGrades 43....................................................................................................................................

Students'RightstoPrivacy 45.....................................................................................................................................

TheChalkboard/Whiteboard 45..................................................................................................................................

HelpfulResources 47...................................................................................................................................................

HelpingYourself 47.................................................................................................................................................

TA/FacultyRela8ons 47...............................................................................................................................................

GraduateProgramAdministrators 49.........................................................................................................................

Interna8onalTAs 49.....................................................................................................................................................

WorkloadManagement 51.........................................................................................................................................

TeachingEvalua8ons 52..............................................................................................................................................

TheTeachingPorbolio 52............................................................................................................................................

OtherConsidera9ons 52..........................................................................................................................................

Non-tradi8onalStudents 53........................................................................................................................................

StudentAthletes 53.....................................................................................................................................................

StudentswithDisabili8es 54........................................................................................................................................

DifficultStudents 55....................................................................................................................................................

AcademicIntegrity 59..................................................................................................................................................

Informa8onLiteracy 61...............................................................................................................................................

TroubledStudents 62...................................................................................................................................................

OurCommonPurposes 63...........................................................................................................................................

Introduc9onAsaTA,youwillfindyourselffillingtworoles:notonlywillyoucon8nuetobeastudent,but

youwillalso(possiblyforthefirst8me)beateacher.Howwillyoubehavewithstudentsand

whilestandinginfrontofaclass?Whatexpecta8onswillyousetforyourstudentsintermsof

classwork,discipline,aFendance,andgrades?Howcanyouensurefairtreatmentofall

students?Whatkindofrela8onshipshouldyouestablishwithyourstudents?Theseanda

hundredotherques8onswillprobablypresentthemselvestoyou.Though8meandexperience

willul8matelybeyourmosteffec8vementor,hopefullythishandbookcananswersomeofyour

ques8onsandputyourmindmoreatease.

WhyTAs?

Theteachingassistant(TA)atRutgers,asatothermajorresearchuniversi8esintheUnited

States,playsanimportantroleintheeduca8onofundergraduates.Rutgersdependson

teachingassistantstostaffundergraduatecourses.Itisararestudentwhograduateswithout

havingbeentaughtbyaTA.Furthermore,withoutteachingassistantshipstheuniversitywould

beatadisadvantageincompe8ngtoaFractthebestfacultyandwouldhavedifficultymee8ng

itsobliga8ontotrainanddevelopthenextgenera8onofscholarsandteachers.

Thebenefitsofanassistantshiptoagraduatestudentareconsiderable.First,therearethe

financialbenefits,includingtui8onremission.TAsalsogainvaluableteachingexperience.

Finally,TAshaveanopportunitytostrengthentheirknowledgeoftheirchosenfield,since

teachingdemandsnotonlyathoroughunderstandingbutalsoaconstantrethinkingofthe

subjectmaFer.TAsandprofessorsfrequentlycommentonhowmuchbeFertheyhavegrasped

asubjectaPerteachingit.

Asgraduatestudents,TAsmayfeelthattheyhavecomealongwayfromtheir

undergraduatedays,butasteachers,theymayfeelthattheyhavefartogo.Althoughresolving

thisconflictmaynotbesimple,workinghardatprofessionaldevelopmentwillmakeTAsfeel

moresecureintheirstatusasmembersoftheteachingstaffandhelpacceleratetheir

professionalgrowth.

TheABCsofBeingaTAAppointments

� 1

Theindividualdepartmentsestablishtheirownproceduresforappointmentand

reappointment(consistentwithuniversitypolicy).Thedepartmentalsodeterminesthespecific

TAassignments,whichmayincludeteachingyourownclass,leadingarecita8on/discussion/

laboratorysec8on,grading,laboratorysupervision,orotheracademicdu8esasdictatedby

need.ThetermofappointmentforteachingassistantsisfromAugust25toCommencement,

butforpayrollpurposesrunsfromSeptember1toJune30;allstandardappointmentsaremade

foroneyearonly.

Appointmenttoateachingassistantshiponeyeardoesnotguaranteereappointmentthe

nextyear.Sincealluniversityappointmentsaresubjecttoavailabilityofresources,itisessen8al

thatTAsreapplyeachyear,accordingtodepartmentalinstruc8ons.Allques8onsabout

reappointmentshouldbedirectedtotheindividualdepartmentorgraduateprogramdirector

oradministrator.

HoursandDu9esAfull-8meteachingassistantworksnormallyatthemaximumrateoffiPeenclockhoursper

week(theaveragetotalhoursworkedforthesemesterdividedbythenumberofweeks).Some

weeks,especiallyaroundexams,requiremoreworkwhileotherweeksrequireless.Thenumber

ofhoursvariesaccordingtothe8meofsemester.Forexample,TAshiredasgradersshould

expecttoputinmorehourswhenexamsorpapersarescheduled.

Ifyouareunhappywithyourassigneddu8esorfeeloverburdenedbytheamountofwork

and8meyouareexpectedtoinvest,trytalkingtootherTAswithinthedepartmenttoseeif

yourexperienceisunusualandyourexpecta8onsarerealis8c.(Itisunrealis8ctocomparethe

workloadofonedepartmenttoanother;becauseofthevarietyofdu8esandthedisparityof

disciplinarydemands,whatisusualinoneprogrammaynotbeinanother).Discussthecauseof

yourdispleasurewiththedepartmentchairtoseeifchangescanbemadeforthenext

semester.Mostfacultymembersaresympathe8ctotheproblemsoftheTAandtrytobefairin

theirassignments.

� 2

QuickFacts:• YourassistantshiplastsfromAugust25toUniversityCommencement

• Yourfirstpaycheckarrivesmid-September

• Youarepaidun8ltheendofJune

Ifyoufeel,however,thatyouarebeingaskedtoperformdu8eswhichareinappropriate,or

thatyouarebeingexploitedoroverburdened,donotsufferinsilence.Speaktosomeone.You

shouldnotbepu`nginsomanyhoursasaTAthatyourgraduateworksuffers.Youradvisorisa

goodpersontobeginwith,butifyougetnosa8sfac8onthereyoushouldmakeanappointment

withthecourseordepartmentchair.Ifthatdoesnothelp,thencontactBarbaraBenderinthe

Dean’sOfficeforassistance.Youcansaynotoafacultymemberwhoisoverwhelmingyouwith

work––youareaprofessionalanddeservetobetreatedlikeone.

SalaryandBenefits

Inaddi8ontoasalary,paideverytwoweeksduringthecontractyear,thefull-8meTAat

Rutgersisen8tledtoavarietyofbenefits,suchashealthandlifeinsurance,dental

insurance(anop8onalbenefitforwhichtheTAmustpayapor8onofthecost),andtui8on

remission.

Fulltui8onremissionisgiventoallTAsonstandardappointments;thiswillcoverupto

twelvecreditsasemesterandsixcreditsduringthesummerfollowingafull-yearappointment.

TAsdonotneedtodoanythingtotakeadvantageofthisbenefit––thedepartment

administratorshandlethepaperwork.

E-creditsAteachingassistantship(standardappointment)carrieswithit6E-credits.(Par8alTA

appointmentshavepropor8onallyfewerE-credits.)TheEindicatesthatnocredithasbeen

earnedtowardthedegreeandnogradecomputedinthecumula8veaverage.Thismeansthatif

youareregisteredforatleast3othercreditsofcourseworkorresearchyoumaintainfull-8me

statusintheuniversity,thusensuringthatyoureceiveallthebenefitsofafull-8mestudent.

GePngPaid

Theuniversitymusthavecertaininforma8onbeforeapaycheckcanbeissued;withoutthis

informa8on,itisimpossibletogetpaid.Bediligentincomple8ng,andpromptinreturning,the

formsthedepartmentprovides,sinceitmaytakeuptosixweekstoac8vateanewnameinthe

payrollsystem.Ifyouhaveanyques8ons,checkwithyourgraduateprogramadministrator.

Interna8onalTAsmustreporttoRutgersGlobal–Interna8onalStudentandScholarServices

tocompletetheproperpayrollforms.ContacttheCentertolearnthescheduled8mesfor

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processingemploymentverifica8ons(I-9s);thiscannotbedoneonawalk-inbasis.Un8l

interna8onalTAscompleteemploymentverifica8ons,theirpayrollcannotbeprocessed.

ManystudentsalreadyhaveaUnitedStatesSocialSecuritynumber.Ifyoudonot,applyfor

oneimmediately.Thisisrequiredbythepayrolldepartment,withoutwhichyoucannotbepaid.

Ifaproblemarisesatthebeginningofthesemesterandyourpaycheckisdelayed,speaktothe

graduateprogramadministratortofindoutwhomtocontacttotraceyourcheck.(Ifnecessary,

thegraduateprogramadministratormaybeabletoprocessarequestforanemergencycheck.

Sincethisentailsevenmorepaperwork,however,itisbesttotrytogeteverythingstraightened

outbeforethesemesterbegins.)

PayrollisdepositeddirectlyintoyourbankaccountonalternateFridays(rememberto

completethenecessarydirectdepositform).PaymentsbegininSeptember.ForTAsappointed

forthefalltermonly,paymentsrunfromSeptemberthroughJanuary,andforTAsappointedfor

thespringtermonly,FebruarythroughJune.

HealthBenefits

Allfull-8mestudentsareen8tledtouseRutgersStudentHealthservices;TAsonstandard

appointmentsareconsideredfull-8me.Therearemul8plehealthcentersforNewBrunswick/

Piscatawaystudents.TomakeanappointmentvisittheStudentHealthwebsiteorcall

848-932-7402.

Addi8onally,theuniversityoffersavarietyofbenefitplansfromwhichallfull-8meTAsmay

select.Tobecoveredyoumustfilloutthenecessaryformsatthebeginningofthesemester.

Informa8ononmedicalplans,theprescrip8ondrugplan,anddentalcoverageisavailablefrom

theBenefitsOffice(848-932-3990).

YourStudentsandTheirWorldWhatisitliketobeanUndergraduate?

ManyTAsfeelfarremovedfromundergraduateculture,distantfromthatwayoflivingand

thinking,evenwhentheythemselveswereundergraduatesnotsolongago.Althoughthelifeof

anundergraduatemayseemidyllicwhenviewedthroughtheeyesofanoverburdenedgraduate

student,itisnotquiteassimpleasmemorymaymakeit.Mostundergraduateshaveafull

scheduleofclasses,carryingatleasttwelvecredits(oPensixteen,ormore).Inaddi8ontothis,

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manyundergraduatesmustworkpart-8meorevenfull-8mejobstosubsidizetheireduca8on.

Formanystudents,ajobisanecessity:withoutit,theywouldbeforcedtoleaveschool.

Furthermore,manyofthesestudentsarelivingawayfromhomeforthefirst8meintheirlives.

Clearly,studentswhoareoverwhelmedbyworkandsociallifewillhavedifficul8esinves8ngthe

8meneededtocompletetheircoursework.

OnceTAsrecognizethefactthatthelifeofanundergraduateisnotalwaysaneasyone,they

areinaposi8ontoadoptproac8veteachingstrategies.Perhapsthemosteffec8vefirststepTAs

cantakeistostopthinkingabouttheirstudentsasanamorphousmass,“theundergraduates,”

andtoaFempttoseethemasindividuals.Donotgeneralize(e.g.,undergraduatesarelazy,silly,

shallow,unmo8vated).Moststudentsaresincerelyinvolvedwiththeireduca8onandwillingto

workhardtosucceed.

Beunderstandingwhenstudentscometoyouwithproblemsorwithexcusesforlateor

unsa8sfactorywork;theyhonestlydohave8ghtschedulesandmaybeunderalotofpressure.

Helpthemifyoucan;don’tputanotherobstacleintheirway.Thisdoesnotmeanthatyou

shouldfallforeverylinetheygiveyou,butdonotbesoskep8calthatyoudonotacceptany

excuses.Dealingwithstudentsinafairandhonestmanneristhebestpolicy.Trytohelpthem

findwaystomeettheircommitmentstoyourclasswithoutlosingcontrolofotherequally

importantpartsoftheirlives.Itisimportanttoalwaysrememberthat,attheendoftheday,

yourjobistoteachthem;ifsomeflexibilityonyourpartcanfacilitatethat,thenyoushouldfeel

freetobeflexible.

TheStudentBodyWhatexpecta8onscanaTAhaveaboutaRutgersstudent?Inauniversityofmorethan

69,000students––nearly50,000inNewBrunswickalone––youcanexpectvariety.Thereare

morefull-8mestudentsthanpart-8mestudents,morewomenthanmenenrolledatRutgers.

Mostofthestudents(82%)arefromNewJersey.Numbersandpercen8lessayliFleaboutthe

abili8esofagivenindividualorthescopeofknowledgeorrangeofexperiencesastudentmay

bringtoyourclassroom.Avoidstereotypingstudents—treateachstudentasanindividualand

holdhighexpecta8onsfortheirsuccess.

CampusesandSchools

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TrytobecomefamiliarwiththefiveNewBrunswick/Piscatawaycampuses;youwillfeel

morecomfortableifyoudoso.Specialeventsofinterestareheldoneachcampus—lectures,

movies,spor8ngevents,etc.,soyouwillprobablyhaveoccasiontovisitallofthematone8me

oranother.AlthoughthecampusesmayseemwidelyscaFered,allcanbereachedwiththe

campusbusservice.Knowledgeofthecampusesandthedifficul8essome8mesencountered

ge`ngfromonecampusfromanotherwillalsohelpyouunderstandthechallengesstudents

mayhavereachingyourclasson8me.

Addi8onally,recognizingwhichschoolyourstudentsarematriculatedinwillgiveyouclues

abouttheirgoals.Thereare12undergraduatedegree-gran8ngschoolsonthe5NewBrunswick

campuses.Eachhasanadministra8vecodethatyouwillseeonrostersnexttothestudent’s

name.Thesecodesarelistedwiththeschoolnamebelow.

• EdwardJ.BlousteinSchoolofPlanningandPublicPolicy(10)

• ErnestMarioSchoolofPharmacy(30)

• MasonGrossSchooloftheArts(07)

• RutgersBusinessSchool(33)

• SchoolofArtsandSciences(01)

• SchoolofCommunica8onandInforma8on(04)

• SchoolofEngineering(14)

• SchoolofEnvironmentalandBiologicalSciences(11)

• SchoolofManagementandLaborRela8ons(33)

• SchoolofNursing(25)

• SchoolofPublicHealth(10)

• SchoolofSocialWork(09)

Iden8fyingastudent’sschoolmayhelpyoutounderstandthefocusofastudent'sinterestin

yourdiscipline:whyheorshearetakingyourcourse,whyhisorherlevelofinterestissohigh

orsolow,andwhattherestofhisorherprogrammaybelike.Ofcourse,morecanbelearned

byspeakingwiththestudent.

BeginningtoTeachTAAssignments:WhatwillIteach?

� 6

AlthoughyoumayhavefoundoutinJunethatyouwereawardedateachingassistantship,

youmaynotknowthepar8cularsofyourassignmentun8llateAugustorevenearlySeptember.

Becauseofvariablessuchasstudentenrollment,assignmentsaresome8mesmadequitelate.

Feelfreetoreachouttoyourdepartmentandothergraduatestudentstogetasenseof

commonplacements.

CommonTAassignmentsincludegrading,teachingrecita8onssec8ons,andteachinglab

courses.AssoonasyoureceiveyourTAassignment,youwillwanttoreachouttoafaculty

memberforassistance.EverydepartmentshouldhavesomeonetoassistandadviseTAs.Ifyou

areassignedtoworkwithonespecificfacultymember,contactthemandletthemknowyou

willbetheirTAandsetupamee8ngtodiscussyourdu8esforthesemester.

Mostimportantly,getorganizedearly.Thefollowingsec8onsmayhelpyouindoingso.In

addi8on,don’tbeshyinaskinggraduatestudentsandfacultymembersforhelp.Themore

preparedyouareonthefirstdayofclass,themoresecureyouwillfeel.

PreparingfortheFirstDayItisnaturaltobenervousonthefirstday;evenexperiencedteacherssome8mesfeel

anxious.Takingthe8metopreparewillhelpensurethatthefirstclassgoessmoothly.Remind

yourselfthatyouweregiventhisposi8onbecauseyouarequalifiedtoperformit.Beprepared

butrelax––youmayevenhavesomefun!

Itisnormaltoexperiencesomeofthecommonfearsassociatedwiththefirstdayofclass.

Forexample,whatif…

• astudentasksmeaques8onIcan'tanswer?

• Ican'tcontroltheclass?

• Ilosemytrainofthought?

• Igiveawronganswerormakeamistake?

• ademonstra8onorexperimentdoesnotworkproperly?

Thesethoughtsareallnormalandtobeexpected,butwithprepara8onandconfidenceyou

canhandleanythingthatcomesyourway.Asyouwalkintotheclassroomorlabonthatfirst

day,rememberthatstudentsmakecertainautoma8cassump8onsabouttheteacher.Thefirstis

thatsinceyouaretheteacheryoumustknowwhatyouaredoing.Yourposi8on––thepersonin

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frontoftheclassroom––vestsyouwithauthority.Usethisknowledgetobolsteryourconfidence

beforeyoustepintotheroom.Andremember,thestudentsareprobablyfeelingmorethana

bitanxiousandworriedaboutthecourseandwhattoexpect.

Itisalsobesttoacceptthefactthat,soonerorlater,youprobablywillmakeamistake––it

happens.Itwon't,however,betheendoftheworld.Considerbeforehandhowtorespondto

suchasitua8on,anditwillbecomelessthreatening.Beassuredthatyourerrorswillnotseem

asdisastroustothestudentsastheydotoyou.Infact,theymaynotevenno8ce!Ifyourealize

thatyouhavegivenincorrectinforma8on,itisokaytomakeastatementcorrec8ngyour

mistake.Thestudentswillappreciatethis.Admi`ngthatyouwerewrongwillnotcause

studentstoloserespectforyou,infact,itmayleadthemtovalueyourhonestlyandleadthem

tofeelmorecomfortableaskingques8onsthemselves.

Inaddi8on,despiteyourbestprepara8on,understandthatsome8mesthingsdonotgo

exactlyasyouhadplanned.Forexample,onelessonmaytakelongerthanyouexpected.

Anotherac8vitymaynotproduceresponsesfromthestudentsthatyouexpected.Whenthings

don’tgoasplanned,thisdoesnotmeanthatyouhavefailed,itsimplymeansthatyounow

haveanopportunitytoenactanalternateplanofac8on.Asyouplaneachac8vity,considerthe

variouspathsitmighttakeanddoyourbesttobepreparedwithalternatewaystohandlethese

poten8alsitua8ons.Ifyoufindyourselfinasitua8onthatyouarenotpreparedfor,itisokayto

takeafewminutestocollectyourthoughtsandmakeanewplanbeforereconveningtheclass.

Remember,youarehumantoo!

FirstImpressionsYourfirstimpressiontotheclassisveryimportant.Infact,youcansetacertaintoneforthe

semesterbyyouroverallbehaviorandappearance.Forexample,ateacherwhoisnotpunctual

maysendamessagetothestudentsthattheir8meisnotvaluable,orthattheyareallowedto

belatetoclassaswell.Besuretoarriveon8me,ifnotafewminutesearly.Arrivingearlyallows

you8metocollectyourthoughtsandreorientyourfocustowardtheclass.Thisalsoallowsyou

8metotalktoyourstudentsinformallyandallowsstudentstoaskyouques8ons.Inaddi8on,

alwaysbeginclasspromptly.

� 8

Duringthefirstweek,trytohavealiFlepa8enceforstudentswhowanderinlate;theymay

haveregistra8ondifficul8es,problemsfindingclassrooms,ormiscalcula8ngthe8meittakesto

getfromclasstoclass.Beunderstanding.

Youmaydressinanywaythatyoufeelisappropriatebutknowthatstudentswillinterpret

yourdressincertainways.Yourstudentsmaybefairlyclosetoyouinage.Ifyouarepar8cularly

concernedaboutestablishingauthorityintheclassroom,dressingabitmoreformallythanyour

studentsmakesanimportantdis8nc8onwhichcanhelpyouestablishproperauthority.

Althoughyoumaywanttoconnectwithyourstudents,youwillalsowantthemtoseeyouasan

authorityfigureratherthananotherpeer.Ifyoudresstoocasually,thismaysubtlysuggestyou

arejustanotherstudent.

TheFirstClassTobegin,youmustdecidewhatyouintendtoachievewithyourfirstclass.Doyouwishto

plungeintothecourseworkalmostimmediately?Or,doyouwishtospendthefirstdayge`ng

toknowsomethingaboutyourstudentsandle`ngthemgettoknowyou?Eachapproachhas

itsadvantagesanddisadvantages––thechoicedependslargelyonhowmuchguidanceyouhave

beengivenfromyourdepartmentandyourleadinstructor.Youmayalsoconsideryourstyleas

ateacherandtheimpressionsyouwanttomaketowardsyourstudents.

TakingaFendance,atleastforthefirsttwoweeksofclass,isimportantsoyoucanhelp

establishanaccurateclassroster.Somedepartmentsevenrequireateachertoreport

aFendancenumberstothemduringthedrop/addperiod(thefirstweekofeachsemester).

CheckwithyourdepartmentaboutrulesandstandardsforaFendance.Yourcoursemayormay

nothaveanaFendancepolicythatwillrequireaFendancebetakenduringeveryclass.

TakingaFendancealsoaidsinquicklylearningstudents'names.Learningastudent’sname

isanincrediblyeffec8vewayofdemonstra8ngtothemthattheirindividualideasarevalued.It

canbedifficultifnotimpossibletorememberallthenamesofyourstudentsinalargelecture

class,howeverinmostlabsec8ons,recita8ons,andsmallerclasses,itisfeasible.Ifyouare

commiFedtolearningstudentnames,somestrategiesmayhelpyou,suchasaskingthemto

wearnametagsforthefirstweekordoingintroduc8onsseveral8mesatthebeginningofthe

semester.Thereisalsoaphotorosteravailablefromyourcourserosterwhichcanhelpyou

� 9

matchnameswithfaces.Someteachersevenaskthatstudentstakethesameseatsothatitwill

beeasiertoremembernames.

Inaddi8ontoprovidinganintroduc8ontothecourse,amajorpartofthefirstdayis

introducingyourselftotheclass.Howshouldthestudentsaddressyou?Thisisyourdecision.

Theleveloffamiliarityyouwishtoestablishissomethingthatyou,notthestudents,should

determine.Whateveryouchoose,informstudentsatthebeginningofthefirstclass.Donot

merelytellthemthatyournameisAnnSmith.Thisforcesthemtodecidewhethertocallyou

AnnorMs.SmithorProfessorSmith.Writeyournameontheblackboardatthebeginningof

classinthewaythatyouwishtohearitallsemesteranddirectlytellyourstudentshowto

addressyouinemailsandin-person.

APeryouhavetakenaFendanceandintroducedyourself,manyinstructorschoosetobegin

thecoursebyhandingoutasyllabusthatprovidesaclearplanforthesemester(seePreparinga

Syllabus).Thisisoneofthemoststraighxorwardwaystoconveyinforma8onaboutthecourse,

whatyouwillcover,whatthestudentswillbeexpectedtodoandlearn,aswellaswhatthe

classroomcultureandexpecta8onswillbe.Thesyllabusisalsoapreview,presen8ngan

overviewofthecoursethatwillhelpstudentsdecideduringthedrop/addperiodwhetheror

nottocommitthemselvestotheclass.Youcanchoosetogooverthesyllabustogetherwiththe

class,clarifyingimportantpointsandansweringques8ons.Studentshavearighttoknowwhat

toexpectfromacourseintermsofworkload,grading,andothermaFers.Forlabinstructors,it

isoPennecessarytoopenthefirstclasswithadiscussionoflabprotocolandsafetyprocedures.

Thesepreliminarieswillnotnecessarilytakeuptheen8reclassperiod.Manyteachersliketo

spend8melearningaboutthestudents.Somedistributeindexcardsandaskthestudentsto

respondtoaseriesofques8onsdesignedtogivethemanopportunitytodescribetherangeof

theirknowledgeinthesubjectandoutsideintereststheyhavethatmaybeofuseinplanning

discussions.Otherteacherspreferhavingthestudentsshareinforma8onaboutthemselveswith

theclassinordertobreaktheiceandaccustomthestudentstospeakingup.Dependingonthe

classroomcultureyouseektocreate,variousac8vi8esmaybeappropriate.

Analternatewayofbeginningthesemesterisbypresen8ngamini-lecturethatgivesa

broadoverviewofthesubjectofthecourseandageneralideaofvariousscholarlyapproaches

tothisfieldofknowledge.Thismethodcangivestudentsdirectexperienceastowhattoexpect

fromthecourse.Otherteachersprefertobeginthesemesterwithadiscussion.Thistakessome

� 10

ofthepressureoffthenewteacher(althoughadiscussionclasspresentsitsownunique

challenges—seeTheDiscussionClass)andsignalstothestudentsthatthecoursewilldemand

engagementandpar8cipa8on.Adiscussioncanbeavaluablewayofintroducingsomeofthe

concernsoftheclasswhileallowingtheteachertogaugethelevelsofknowledgeofthe

students.

Whicheverapproachyoutakeforthefirstdayofclass,beawarethatsomestudentswill

invariablymissthefirstday.Studentsares8lladdingtheirclasses,andotherswillul8mately

dropyourcourse.Becauseofthis,don’tassignpermanentgroupsormakeanydecisionsthat

requireyourrostertobeset-in-stone.Someteacherschoosetosavetheintroductorylectureor

syllabusoverviewforthesecondclass,whenthestudentshavealreadyhad8metodosome

preliminaryreadinginthetexts.Studentswhodonotarriveun8lthesecondoreventhirdclass

maybeataslightdisadvantage,buttheywillalsounderstandthat8meintheclasswillnotbe

wastedandtheirregularaFendanceisrequired.

Crea9ngtheRightAtmosphereOneofthehallmarksofagoodteacheristheabilitytocreateaclassroomenvironment

whereallstudentsfeelfreetoofferopinionsandaskques8ons.Thisatmospherewillprobably

developoverthecourseofthesemester,asyouandthestudentsbegintotrusteachother.

Acknowledgetotheclassthatbothyouandyourstudentshavethingstoteacheachother,and

bothyouandyourstudentscan(andwill)makemistakes.Youmayevenchoosetoincludea

statementabouttheclasscultureinyoursyllabus.

NeverbeliFleorcri8cizeastudentformakingamistake.Youcancorrecttheerror,butitis

besttodothisinakindlyandnon-judgmentalway.Studentswillonlypar8cipatefreelyifthey

knowtheywillnotbecri8cizedformakingmistakes.Witheveryconstruc8vecomment,tryto

leadwithaposi8veoneaswell.Offerpraisewheneverpossiblebutonlywhendeserved.

Instructorswhosay"verygood"aPereverystudentresponseruntheriskofdevaluingallpraise.

Inaddi8on,allstudentsinyourclassshouldfeeltheyhaveanequalclaimtoyouraFen8on.

Consideryournon-verbalbehavior.Whenyoulookaroundtheclass,doyoutendtomakeeye

contactonlywithcertainstudents?Doyouteachtoonesideoftheroom,oronlytothefrontof

theroom?Beonguardagainstpersonalprejudicesandunconsciousstereotyping(seeOur

CommonPurposes).Doyoucallonwomenasfrequentlyasyoudomen?Doyoufindyourself

� 11

le`ngclassdiscussionsbedominatedbysomestudentsorsomegroupsofstudents?Inyour

classroom,doyoumakeeyecontactwithmembersofthesegroupsasoPenaswithothers?

Althoughteachersmaybeunawareofthesehabits,studentswillno8ce,soguardagainstthem.

Furthermore,setconsistentrulesandguidelinesands8cktothem.Thiswillencourageyou

totreateveryoneequallywhentherearesetstandardsinplace.However,don'tfeelobligated

tobeasterndisciplinarianatall8mes.Althoughyoushouldexpectstudentstoconformtothe

rulesyouhaveset,beunderstandingwhenonecomestoyouwithalegi8mateexcuseora

requestforaspecialfavor—anextendeddeadlineoramake-uptest,forexample.Youhavethe

right(inlinewiththeleadinstructorwhenapplicable)tomakejudgementcallsaboutthese

situa8ons.Youshouldcertainlynotgranteveryrequest,andrepeatedonesbythesamestudent

shouldbelookeduponwithsuspicion,butyouareallowedtohearthemoutandmakea

decisionbasedonthecircumstances.

Aboveall,besuretolistentoyourstudentsandtreatthemwithrespectandcourtesy.You

canbetheauthoritywhilebeingrespecxul.Youmayaskandexpectthesamerespectand

courtesyfromthemwhichtogethercanallowyourclassroomtobeamutualandrespecxul

learningenvironment.

PreparingaSyllabusYourTAdu8esmayormaynotrequireyoutoprepareasyllabus.Ifyouareleadingalabor

recita8onsec8on,youmaybeprovidedwithasyllabustouse.Thismightbethecaseevenif

youareteachingastand-alonecourse,whichwillsome8meshaveadepartment-approved

syllabus.Inothercases,youwillhavetheresponsibilityofdesigningyourownsyllabus.

Regardless,itiscrucialtounderstandhowasyllabusworks,whatshouldbeincludedinit,and

whatitspurposeis.

Asyllabusiscomposedofseveralparts,allofwhichrequirecarefulthoughtandplanning.

Someclasseswillrequireaddi8onalcomponents,butallsyllabishouldincludeatleastthe

following:

• ContactandLogis8calInforma8on:Allsyllabishouldincludeyourname,email,office

loca8on,andofficehours,aswellastheloca8onand8mesofclassmee8ngs,recita8on

sec8ons,and/orlabs.

� 12

• LearningGoals:Usuallyappearingatornearthebeginningofasyllabus,learninggoals

setoutasclearlyaspossiblewhatyourstudentsshouldexpecttolearninthecourse.

Theywillusuallyincludebothskillsandinforma8onandmayalsocoverarangeoftopics

fromthegeneraltothemorespecific.

• PoliciesandProcedures:Agoodsyllabusprovidesclearandconciseinforma8onabout

whatthecourse’spolicieswillbe,andhowassignments,exams,andotherac8vi8eswill

proceed.Thoughitismuchmorethanthis,asyllabusisinsomewaysacontractwith

yourstudents.EstablishingclearpoliciesonaFendance,classroome8queFe,technology

use,andotherexpecta8onscanhelpavoidproblemsdowntheline.

• TheSchedule:Formostclasses,thesyllabuswillincludetheschedulefortheen8re

term.Thescheduleshouldcontaindetailsaboutwhateachclassmee8ngwillcover,how

studentsshouldprepareforit,andspecifywhenassignmentswillbedistributedand

whentheyaredue.Makesuretotakeintoaccountholidaysandbreaks,and,ifpossible,

includesomeflexibilitytoaccountforclassesthatmightbecancelledforreasonssuchas

snowdays.Itshouldalsoconsiderwhatotherresponsibili8esyouandyourstudents

mayberesponsibleforatcertain8mesduringthesemester.

Ul8mately,thedesignofthesyllabuswillbedeterminedbythenatureofthecourse

material.Forexample,somesubjects,likehistoryandliterature,oPenlendthemselvesto

chronologicalarrangement,whileothers,suchasscienceandengineering,mayrequire

organiza8onaroundgeneraltopics.Whichevermethodyouchoose,itshouldbemadeclearto

thestudentsfromthebeginning.Inaddi8on,theoverallconnec8onbetweentheclassmaterial

andthetext(s),thelabs,orotherelementsofthecoursemustbeexplainedtoyourstudents.

Youaretheexpertintheroomandpartofyourjobistohelpstudentsunderstandthese

connec8ons.

Strivetocreateasyllabusthatgivesarealis8cindica8onofwhattheclasswillachieveover

thesemester.AlteryoursyllabusasliFleaspossibleoncethesemesterhasbegun.Itisunfair––

and,insomecases,againstuniversitypolicy––tochangethecourserequirementsaPerstudents

cannolongerswitchsec8onsordropthecourse.

� 13

ChoosingtheTextDependingonthecourseyouareteachingandthedepartment’spolicies,youmayormay

nothaveachoiceaboutrequiredbooksforthecourse.IfyouareTAingforacoursewith

mul8plesec8ons,membersofthedepartmentoPenchoosewhattheyconsiderthemostuseful

booksforthemajorityofstudents.Inthiscase,youwillnotberesponsiblefororderingbooks.

Instead,thedepartmentwillsupplyyouwithadeskcopyofeachbookand,some8mes,witha

teacher'sguide.Besuretobeintouchwithyourfacultyadvisorifyouarenotsureaboutthis

process.

Beforethecoursestarts,revieweachbookcarefullyandassesshowmuchyourcourserelies

onthetext.Therewillcertainlybechaptersyouwillwanttostress,othersyouwillwishto

minimize.Considerhowmuchsupplementarymaterialwillbenecessaryforyourstudentsto

reachthegoalsyouhaveset.

Some8mesyoumayberequiredtoteachfromatextthatyoudonotlike.Youarewelcome

toexplainyourreserva8onsandevensuggestalternateop8ons,however,keepinmind,that

almostcertainlynochangecanbemadefortheupcomingsemester.Whiletheinstructormay

sympathizewithyourcomplaints,heorshemays8llhavevalidreasonsforchoosingthatbook.

Ifyoumustteachfromatextthatyoudonotpar8cularlylike,youmayshareyourfeelingswith

theclass,givingthestudentsyoures8ma8onofboththestrengthsandweaknessesofthetext,

buttrytostresswhatyouseeasposi8ve.Ifyouarewhollynega8ve,studentsmaywonderwhy

youorthedepartmentmadethemwastetheir8me(andmoney)onwhatyouaretellingthem

isabookofdubiousvalue.Remember,too,thatthesestudentsdonothaveyouradvanced

knowledgeofthesubjectandmayfindthebookveryusefulinhelpingthemtounderstandthe

basics.Makethebestofthesitua8onasmuchaspossible!

Ifyoudohavetheopportunitytoselectyourownbooklist,therearemanyfactorsforyouto

consider:

• Whichbookorbookscanbestfurtheryourcoursegoals?Themoreclearlyyou

formulateyourlearninggoalsforthecourse,themoresurelyyoucanchoosethebooks

thatwillhelpyourstudentsreachthesegoals.

� 14

• Howmuchmaterialcanbecoveredoverthesemester?Considerbothhowmuch

readingstudentscanbeexpectedtodo,aswellasthedepthofmaterialyouwantto

cover.Some8mesitishardtojudgewhatisareasonableworkload.Experienced

instructorsinyourdepartmentwillhaveafairideaofhowmuchworkstudentscanor

willcover.Insomefields,forexample,therearefairlystandard'rulesofthumb'

concerninghowmanypagesofreadingperclassmee8ngcanbeassigned.Feelfreeto

consultfacultymembersorotherTAsforguidanceaboutthesestandards.

• Howexpensivewillthesebooksbe?Althoughcostshouldnotbetheonlyconsidera8on,

giventhepriceofbookstodaysomestudentsmayoptoutofpurchasingbookseven

whentheyarerequirediftheyaretooexpensive.Ifstudentsdonotpurchasethebook,

thiswillcertainlyimpacttheirlearning.Perhapsconsideranopentextbook.

• IfyouchoosetorelyheavilyonPDFsorsharedmaterials,copyrightlawsmustbetaken

intoaccount.

Youmaychoosetoreachouttovariouspublisherstoacquiresamplecopiesofbooks.You

willfindthisishelpfulifyouwanttopittwobooksagainsteachotherside-by-side.Onceyou

havecompiledwhatyouthinkisagoodpreliminarylist,takeit,alongwithyoursyllabus,tothe

departmentchairortoaninstructorwhohasalreadytaughtthiscourseorasimilarone.

Considerallsugges8ons––remembertheyhavemoreextensiveclassroomexperience––but,in

theend,itisyouwhowilldeterminethestructureandfocusofthecourse.

Onceyouhavedecideduponthebooklist,youmustcompleteanonlinebookorderform.

Thegraduateprogramadministratorwillbeabletoassistyouwithplacingthebookorderand

yourdepartmentmayrequesttheinforma8onaswell.Theselistsshouldbecompletedassoon

aspossiblesothatthebookswillbeavailableatthebookstorebythefirstdayofclasses.

SupplementaryReadingsManyteacherschoosetousePDFsandonlinematerialsfromvarioussourcestosupplement

thetextandtheirlectures.Usually,suchmaterialisplacedonlineviathecourselearning

managementsystem(suchasSakaiorCanvas).Whilesupplementalreadingscanbeveryuseful,

takecarenottooverwhelmstudents––thepurposeistoclarify,nottomakelearningmore

� 15

difficult.Furthermore,ifyouchoosetorelyheavilyonPDFsorsharedmaterials,copyrightlaws

mustbeconsidered.

Youmayincludea“ForFurtherReading”listforstudentswhowanttodivedeeperinto

varioustopics.Occasionallyalludingtothesematerialsinclassorchoosinginteres8ngexamples

fromthemmayhelptomo8vatestudentstoreadthematafuturedate.However,students

cannotbeheldresponsibleforanymaterialthatisnotspecificallylabeledasrequired.

RecordKeepingConsiderthekindsofstudentrecordsthatmustbemaintainedanddeviseaworkable

systemfordoingso.Theuniversitymandatesthatallgradesbekeptonfilebytheinstructorfor

atleastoneyear––yourdepartmentmayalsohaveitsownrules.Manyexperiencedteachers

suggestthatyoukeepthisinforma8onforaslongaspossiblebutcertainlyforatleastfiveyears.

StudentaFendanceandperformanceshouldbeaccuratelydetailedintheserecords.All

leFerornumbergradesforquizzes,exams,homework,andin-classworkmustbeproperly

recorded.Inaddi8on,manyteachersfinditusefultoreserveaspacenexttoeachstudent's

recordforabrieffinalevalua8onofhisorherstrengthsandweaknesses(oneortwosentences

atmost).ThisbriefnotemayassistyouinthefutureifthestudentasksforaleFerof

recommenda8on.

Take8metorecordallinforma8onclearlyandaccurately.Youwillhavetorefertothis

informa8onseveral8mesinthecourseofthesemester––atmid-semesterwhenitis8meto

issuewarningno8ces,atsemester'sendwhenyouarecalcula8ngfinalgrades,andatany8me

duringthesemesterwhenyoumeetwithstudentstodiscusstheirprogress.Thesetaskswillbe

muchless8me-consumingifyourgradeinforma8onisinorder.Ifyourrecordsarestoredona

computer,itisessen8altokeepabackup.Similarly,ifyoupostgradesonline,makesuretohave

thefullgradebookstoredforyourownpersonalrecordsaswell.Keepinmindthepossible

securityrisks––whoelsewillhaveaccesstoyourrecords?Ifyouloseyourrecords,theburden

ofproofforagradeisonyou,andtheresul8ngproblemscouldbecomeabureaucra8c

nightmare.

RostersandDrop/Adds

� 16

Theonlineclassrostersareupdatedasstudentschangetheirregistra8on.DonotaFemptto

addthenamesofstudentswhodonotappearonyourrosteranddonotaFempttodeletethe

namesofstudentswhohavenotaFended.

Somestudentsdoconsiderable'shopping'forcoursesduringthefirstweeksofasemester;

otherswillbederegisteredaPerthefirsttwoweeksofclassesbecausetheyhavenotpaidtheir

termbill.Oncethesestudentspaytheirtermbill,theircoursesareautoma8callyrestored;they

donothavetoreregisterfortheirclasses.Therefore,youmayno8cestudentrosterschanging

overthefirstfewweeksofthecourse;thisisnormal.

Duringthefirstweekstudentsmayaddclasses.Duringthefirsttwoweeksstudentscan

dropcourseswithoutincurringanypenalty,however,forthefollowingsixweeksa'W'willbe

recordedonthestudent'stranscript.APereightweeks,astudentcandropacourseonlywith

thepermissionofthecollegedean;aPerthetwelPhweekofclasses,astudentcandropa

courseonlywiththepermissionofboththecollegedeanandtheinstructor.

Warningrostersaregenerallyavailablebetweenthefourthandseventhweekofthe

semesterwhichallowyoutosubmit“warning”gradestostudentsandtheirdepartments.You

willbeno8fiedofthespecificduedateforwarningrosters.Thefirsthourlyexamorsome

substan8algradedassignmentshouldbescheduledandgradedbeforetheseventhweekof

classessothatstudentswhodopoorlyandareindangeroffailingcanbeno8fied.Comments

shouldbeenterednexttothewarninggrades.TheWarningRosterwilllistallofthestudents

registeredforyourclass.Ifastudent'snameisnotlisted,pleasesendthestudenttotheir

dean'sofficetoproperlyregister.Warninggradesareasfollows:

• W1=Warningforpoorperformance;

• W2=WarningforpooraFendance;

• W3=WarningforbothpooraFendanceandpoorperformance;

ThefinalrosteristheGradeRoster.GradesmustbesubmiFedwithin48hoursaPerthefinal

examasscheduledbytheuniversity.InstructorsareexpectedtosubmitfinalgradesusingREGIS

(RostersandElectronicGradingInforma8onSystem).

Forundergraduatestudents,youmaysubmitagradeofeitherA,B,B+,C,C+,D,F,NG,TZ,

orTF.NotethatminusgradesarenotpermiFed.AssignagradeofNG(nogradegiven)toa

� 17

studentwhohasnotaFendedthecourse.TheNGwillhavenoimmediateeffectonastudent's

GPA;however,ifthesitua8onisnotresolvedwithinthefollowingsemester,theNGwillconvert

toanF,andtheGPAwillberecalculatedaccordingly.AssignagradeofTZwhenastudentis

unabletocompletethesemester'scourseworkduetoaverifiableemergencysitua8on;reach

anagreementwiththestudentassoonaspossibleastohowthecourseshouldbecompleted.

TheTZwillhavenoimmediateeffectonastudent'sGPA,however,ifthesitua8onisnot

resolvedwithinthefollowingsemester,theTZwillconverttoanF,andtheGPAwillbe

recalculatedaccordingly.AssignagradeofTFifthestudentdoesnotcompletethecoursework

requiredorhasnottakenthefinalexam.TheTFwillbecalculatedintotheGPAimmediately.If

thecourseworkisnotmadeupwithinthefollowingsemester,theTFconvertstoanF.Similarly,

instructorscansubmitTD,TC,TC+,TB,orTB+gradesiftheinstructorbelievesthatthestudent

shouldreceivethatleFergradeevenifthestudentcompletesnofurtherworkforthecourse.T

gradescanneverbelowered.Pleaseconsultwithyourdepartmentregardingproceduresfor

submi`ngchangesofgradesaPerthesemesterhasended.

TheClassroomYouwillbeassignedaspecificclassroomorlabwhenyouaregivenyourfirstrosteratthe

beginningofthesemester.Ifpossible,goandlookattheclassroombeforethefirstclassto

judgeitssuitability.Thelogis8csofschedulinganenormousnumberofclassesmakeitalmost

impossibletogetaclassloca8onchanged,butiftheclassroomistotallyinappropriateforthe

course(insize,availablefacili8es,etc.)reporttheproblematoncetothegraduateprogram

administratorortosomeoneatSchedulingandSpaceManagement.

DigitalClassroomServicesInforma8onregardingthesize,loca8on,andpermanentlyinstalledequipmentina

classroomisavailableonDigitalClassroomServices’website.Instruc8onsandvideosexplaining

theopera8onofthesystemsandequipmentarealsoavailable.

Facili9esMaintenanceAlthoughwhathappensintheclassroomisnaturallymuchmoreimportantthanthe

physicalappearanceoftheroom,nooneshouldhavetospendasemesterinanunpleasant

environment.Whenyoulookattheclassroomorlabforthefirst8me,takenoteofitsphysical

condi8on.

� 18

• Istheclassroomclean?

• Doallofthelightswork?

• Doestheheat/aircondi8oningwork?

• Arethereenoughdesks?

• Ifyouwillneedapodium,doestheroomhaveone?

• Isthereanadequatesupplyofchalk/markersanderasers?

• Aretherebrokenwindowsorlocks?

Inmostcasestheclassroomwillbeadequate.Ifthereisaproblem,however,actatonceto

remedyit.Anannoyingbuzzinglightwilldistracteventhemostinterestedstudents,justasan

overheatedclassroomwilllulleventhemostaFen8vetosleep.

Facili8esMaintenanceshouldbeno8fiedintheeventofproblemswithplumbing,air

condi8oning,repairs,maintenance,classroomsupplies,orbrokenlocks.Ifitisanemergency,

theoperatorcanhavesomeonerespondimmediately.

GePnganOfficeTheuniversityrequiresthatallteachersmakethemselvesavailabletotheirstudentsoutside

ofclass.Officeassignmentsareusuallymadebeforeclassesbeginorduringthefirstfewweeks

ofthesemester.Becauseoftheshortageofofficespaceinmanydepartments,itislikelythat

youwillhavetoshareyourofficewithseveralotherTAs.Teachingandclassschedulesareso

variedthatthispresentsfewerproblemsthanmayseemprobableatfirst.

Unfortunately,insomedepartments,spaceisatsuchapremiumthatTAswhogradeor

teachlabsandrecita8onsmaybewithoutofficeassignmentsatthebeginningofthesemester.

Ifyoufindyourselfwithoutanoffice,askyourgraduateprogramadministratorforsugges8ons

aboutwhattodo.Ifnohelpisreceived,speaktotheinstructorwithwhomyouareworking.

SomefacultymembersallowTAstoholdofficehoursintheirownofficesat8meswhenthey

willnotbeusingthem.

Somedepartmentshavesharedofficespaceorextraroomswhichyoumayuseintheevent

thatyouwanttoholdofficehoursorscheduleamee8ng.Youcantrytofindanunused

classroomwhereyoucanmeetstudentsorreserveamee8ngroominoneofthelibraries

� 19

whereconversa8onispossible.Besuretoannounceinclasswhereandwhenyouwillbe

available,andthenbethereforthefulllengthoftheappointed8me.

SchedulingHoursTheimportanceofmaintainingregularofficehourscannotbeoveremphasized––students

mustfeelthattheyhaveaccesstotheirteachers.NomaFerhowgoodateacheryouare,ifthe

studentsfeelthatyouareinaccessibleortoobusytomeetwiththem,eventhesmallest

confusioncanleadthemtofeelbehindorloseinterestintheclass.

Yourdepartmentmayrequireyoutoholdacertainnumberofofficehoursperweek.

Whetherandwhereyouholdaddi8onalofficehoursisadecisionyoucanmakebasedonthe

needsofthestudents.Studentschedulesaresovaried,withclassesspreadaroundfive

campuses,thatmee8ngsmaysome8mesbeverydifficulttoarrange.Someteachersfindthat

schedulingofficehoursbeforeoraPerclassworksoutwellbecausemanystudentstrytoavoid

schedulingback-to-backclasses.

Inaddi8on,youmayholdofficehours“byappointment”sothatstudentscanschedule

during8mesthatfitwiththeirbusyschedules.Letyourstudentsknow,oPen,thatyouare

availableformee8ngsatother8mesbyappointment.Some8messtudentsmaybemore

hesitanttoreachoutforapersonalappointment,sobesuretoencouragethemtodoso.You

maymeetwithstudentsinthelibraryorinoneofthestudentloungesifthatismore

convenientforbothofyou.Ifyouareteachingalargesec8on,youmustexpecttosetasideat

leasttwoperiodstoaccommodateallstudentswhowishtospeakwithyou.

Youmaywishtosupplementtheseface-to-faceofficehourswith“virtual”officehourson

Skype,GoogleHangouts,etc.Alternately,youcanusethechatroomfunc8oninSakai.This

chatroomisavailableonlytoyourstudentsandtheconversa8onsarearchivedonline.This

featuremakesitpar8cularlyusefulforreviewsessionssothatstudentswhowereunableto

par8cipateinreal8meareabletoreadthetranscriptofyouranswerstoques8onsposedby

otherstudents.Itisvitaltorememberthat,sincethechatroomisviewablebyallstudents,itis

notsuitableforpersonaldiscussionsaboutgrades,makeupwork,etc.StudentsoPenappreciate

onlineofficehoursbecausetheycan'aFend'regardlessofwheretheyare(home,dorm,

betweenclasses,breakatwork,etc.).

� 20

Makingthemostofyourofficehoursisafundamentalwayofensuringthatyourstudents

makethemostofyourclass.Aninstructorwhoisabletoestablishpersonalcontactwith

studentsnotonlyhelpstheindividualstudentsbuttheclassasawhole.

UsesofOfficeHoursIfyousitbackandwaitforthestudentstoappearatyourdoor,youarele`ngagreat

opportunitypassby.Somestudentswillshowuponlylateinthesemesterwhentheyare

worriedabouttheirfinalgrades.Letstudentsknowthatofficehoursarededicated8mefor

themandcanonlyhelp.Someaddi8onalsugges8onsforge`ngstudentstocometoyour

office:

• Remindthestudentsfrequentlyofthescheduledhoursandotherappointment

possibili8es;

• Duringofficehours,keepthedooropentoletthestudentsknowthatyouarethereand

available;

• Whenstudentsdocomeintoyouroffice,putyourworkasideandmakethemfeellike

welcomeguests,notintruders;

• Whenyoumeetwithstudents,lookatthemandlisten.Letthemdothetalking.Pay

aFen8on.Lookinterested.Beinterested;

• Establishafriendlyrela8onshipwiththemintheclassroomsothattheywillbeless

hesitantaboutcomingtoseeyoulater.

Afewstudentscominginwiththesameproblemshouldsuggesttoyouthetopicsthatneed

tobeexplainedmoreclearly.Manyteachersrequirethatallstudentsscheduleanappointment

beforeoraPerthefirstpaperexam,sothattheirprogresscanbediscussed.Oncestudentsfind

yourofficeforthisrequiredappointment,theyaremoreapttomakeareturnvisit.

Addi8onally,ifyouwriteacommentonanessay––"Whynotcomeandtalktomeaboutthis

inmyoffice?"––moststudentswilltakethisadviceandmeetwithyou.Evenstudentswho

wouldnotini8ateacontactaregratefulfortheopportunitytomeet.

� 21

ProblemsIfastudentcomestoyouwithpersonalproblems,youshouldlisten;butrememberthatyou

arenotalwaysqualifiedtohelp.DonotaFempttobeacounselororpsychiatrist.Youcanbest

assistthestudentbyknowingwheretofindhelpandbyurgingthestudenttomakean

appointmentwithamorequalifiedpersonbyvisi8ngRutgersCounseling,ADAP&Psychiatric

Services(CAPS).Ifpossible,walkthestudentovertotheappropriateoffice.Alwaysbe

suppor8veandunderstandingbutrecognizeyourlimita8ons(seeTroubledStudents.)

AproblemsomeTAsencounteristhestudentwhocomesonceaweekforofficehoursand

wantstojustsitdownandchat.Althoughthismaynotalwayscauseaproblem,at8mesitcan

beveryfrustra8ng.Onewaytoavoidthisistomaintaindistancefromyourstudentsasearlyas

thefirstdayofclass,communica8ngthatyouaretheirTAratherthantheirpeer.Inacaselike

this,kindly,butfirmly,tellthestudentthatalthoughyouwouldliketotalk,yourconversa8ons

shouldstayfocusedontheclass.Ifyoususpectthatthestudent'sfrequentvisitsaresymptoms

ofanemo8onalproblemratherthanfocusedontheirperformanceinthecourse,youwillwant

tohelpthestudenttoreceivethepropercounseling(seeTroubledStudents).

Anotherpossibleconcernisthestudentwhocomestoyourofficeat8mesotherthanyour

officehours.Ifyouarenotengagedinanypar8cularwork,youmaydecidetoseethestudent.If

thestudentisonewhogenerallyseemsapprehensiveorappearstobeundersomestress,you

shouldwelcometheopportunityatany8metoopenupthelinesofcommunica8on.Useyour

ownjudgmentaboutthestudent'sneeds.But,ifyouhavebudgetedyour8mecarefullyandset

thisperiodasideforyourownwork,yourstudentsshouldbeexpectedtorespectyourdecision

aboutofficehours,exceptinextremecases.Explaintothesestudentsthatyoucannotspeakto

themnow,butthatyouwillgladlyseethemduringyourregularofficehoursoratanagreed-

upon,mutuallyconvenient8me.

A]endancePolicyforTAsIfforanyreasonyouareunabletoconductaclassforwhichyouarescheduled,no8fythe

departmentortheappropriatepersonassoonaspossible.Missedclassworkmustbemadeup

atsomepointinthesemester,placingafutureburdenontheTAandonthestudents.IftheTA

isinchargeofalabsec8on,asubs8tutemustbefoundbecauseinmostcasesthestudentswill

notbeabletomakeupthelab.Studentswouldbejus8fiedincomplainingaboutaTAwho

� 22

missesclassesorwhoisregularlylatejustasyouhavearesponsibilitytospeaktoastudent

withtheseproblems.

Everybody,ofcourse,becomesillatone8meoranotherorhasanemergencywhich

preventshimorherfromaFendingtodu8es.Inthesesitua8ons,dowhatyoucantomakeyour

absencecauseasliFledisrup8onaspossibleinbothyourownlifeandinthatofyourstudents.

Keepabackupplaninplace.Knowbeforehandthedepartment'spolicyonabsencesandthe

appropriatepersontono8fyaboutthem.

A]endancePolicyforStudentsOfficialuniversitypolicyisthataFendance"shallbeexpected."Thisisgenerallyinterpreted

byfacultyandadministra8ontomeanthataFendanceisrequired.Howcloselyshouldyou

monitortheaFendanceofindividualstudents?Thiswillgenerallybedecidedbythefaculty

advisor’saFendancepolicyandtendstodependonthecoursestructure.Inalargelectureclass,

takingaFendanceis8me-consuminganddifficulttomanageunlessasign-insheetiscirculated

ateveryclass.Eveninsmallerclasses,however,whereitispossibletomonitoraFendance,

someteachersarereluctanttoestablishastrictaFendancepolicy.Someinstructorsfeelthat

collegestudentsshouldbeallowedmorefreedomthanhighschoolstudentsandshouldbefree

toaFendornotaFendastheychoose.Othersdonotwanttowasteclass8meintaking

aFendanceorwanttoencourageintrinsicmo8va8ontoaFendclass.

Thereare,however,compellingreasonsforrequiringaFendanceandmoreorlesspainless

waysofmanagingthenecessaryrecordkeeping.Perhapsthemostimportantreasonfor

regula8ngaFendanceisthatitforcesyoutolearnyourstudents'namesveryquickly.Youmay

besurprisedathowsoonyourecognizestudentsbyname,andatthatpointyoucantake

aFendancequicklyandsilentlyatthebeginningoftheclassperiod.

Inaddi8on,byse`ngalimitonthenumberofabsences,theteacherissignalingtothe

studentsthatwhattakesplaceinclassisimportant.Youarenotmerelyrehashingwhatthe

professorsaidinthelectureclass,orresta8ngthematerialfoundinthetext,butyouareusing

yourrecita8on,lab,orlecturetoenlargethestudents'understandingofthetopic.

TakingaFendancemayalsoassistyouattheendofthesemesterwhencompilinggrades.

Yourdecisionaboutastudentwithatrueborderlinegradecouldbeinfluencedbythestudent's

� 23

aFendanceandpar8cipa8on;incasessuchasthis,beingabletomatchafacewithanameis

helpful.

AclearlyestablishedaFendancepolicywillavoidmanyproblems,buttobeeffec8veany

policymustbeenforcedconsistentlyandequally.Thisisnottosuggestinflexibility––excep8ons

canand,at8mes,shouldbemade.Regardlessofwhatpolicyyoudecideon,makeyour

expecta8onscleartothestudents.ItisnotfairtosecretlytakeaFendanceallsemesterifthe

studentswerenotinformedthiswouldbeconsideredaspartoftheirgrade.Beclearabout

whatisexpectedofthestudentsandtheywillvaluetheir8meintheclassevenmore.

TheCraBofTeachingTheLecture

Themosttradi8onalformofcollegeteaching,ands8llthemostcommon,istheformal

lecture.LecturingcanalsobethemostfrighteningteachingmethodfornewTAs.Thepressure

ofstandinginfrontofaclassroom,some8mesfilledwithhundredsofstudents,andasser8ng

exper8seonatopiccanbedaun8ng.Thegoalofthefollowingpagesistoanswersome

ques8onsandprovidesomeprepara8ontohelpdemys8fythelectureandallowyoutowalk

intoclassonthatfirstdaywithconfidence.

Beforebeginningtocompilematerialforalecture,itisusefultoposeafewques8ons,the

answerstowhichwillhelptodetermineyourfocus:

• Whatisthepurposeofthelecture?

• Isitmeanttointroduceen8relynewmaterial,orisitintendedtosummarizematerial

alreadycovered?

• Isthelectureanexpansionofmaterialscoveredbythetext,orisitareview?

• Howisthesubstanceofthelecturerelatedtothetextorthelabmaterials?

Oneofthetoughestproblemsfacedbynewinstructorsisinjudgingtheabili8esoftheir

class.Thematerialpresentedmustbechallengingenoughsothatstudentsarenotbored,yet

notsodifficultthattheyarelost,overwhelmed,ordiscouraged.Strikingareasonablebalance

betweenthesetwopointstakesprac8ce––andevenexperiencedfacultysome8mesmisjudge.

Manynewinstructorstendtoover-preparebecausetheythinktheymustknoweverything

wriFenaboutatopicbeforetheycanteachit,ortheyareafraidthatthestudentswillask

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difficultques8ons.TAsshouldrealizethatitisalwayspossibletosaytostudents,"Idon'tknow,

butI'llfindout."

Inaddi8on,rememberthatstudentsareprobablynotasinterestedasyouinthecurrent

scholarlydebatesandcontroversies.Lateron,whentheyhaveafullerunderstandingofthe

field,theymaybeinterested,butfirstgivethemthebasicinforma8on.Ontheotherhand,you

donotwishtoinsultyourstudentsbypresen8ngalecturesoelementarythatthestudents

barelyneedtolisten(andcertainlywon'tasthesemesterprogresses).Youshouldassumethat

youraudienceiscomposedofintelligent,interestedadultswho,whiletheymaynothavedeep

knowledgeofthefield,arecapableanddesirousoflearning.

Onceyouhavedecideduponthedepthofmaterialtobecovered,youcanbegintoprepare

yournotes.Perhapstheworstwaytogivealectureisbywri8ngouttheen8re"script"

beforehandandreadingittotheclass.Unlessyouareanexcep8onallygiPedspeaker,thiswill

alienateandboreyourstudents.Beginninginstructorsmayfeelmoreconfidentwithatyped

textinfrontofthem,butthisconfidenceisgainedatthelossofsomeexcitementandmuch

spontaneity.

Instead,prepareagoodoutlineforyourself,includingallthemaintopics,sub-topics,sub-

sub-topics,illustra8ons,examples,andanecdotes,detailedenoughsothatyouwillnot

uninten8onallyomitanythingofimportance.Forsometeachers,fourtofivepagesaremore

thanenoughforaneighty-minuteclass,whileothersmayneedmoreorfewer.Usinganoutline

ratherthanapreparedtextallowsyoutopaceyourlectures.Ifapointatthebeginning

producesafloodofques8ons,8mecanbemadeuplaterinthelecturebyelimina8ngsomeof

thelessimportantpoints.Thisisalmostimpossibletodoifyouarereadinga8ghtlyorganized

lecture/essay.

Donottrytocovertoomuchinonelecture.Thoroughlyexplainingtwoorthreepointsmay

beconsideredarealachievement.Duringthesecondhalfofthesemester,whenthepressures

of8mearemorefelt,youmaybetemptedtotrytocramtwolecturesintoone.Thisusually

doesnotsave8meintheendbecausethestudentsrarelyabsorbitall,andyouwillprobably

endupspending8meinthefollowingweeksansweringques8onsandclearinguptheconfusion

causedbythisdoublelecture.

Althoughinstructorsarediscouragedfrompresen8nganessayasalecture,alectureshould

bemodeledonthebasicelementsofagoodessay,withaclearlyiden8fiedbeginning,middle,

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andend.Studentsneedtounderstandveryspecificallywhatyouproposetotalkaboutandhow

itrelatestoothercoursematerials.Onepieceofadvice,foundinalmosteverytextonteaching,

offersthreestepstopreparingasuccessfullecture:

1. Tellthemwhatyouaregoingtosay;

2. Sayit;

3. Tellthemwhatyousaid.

Manyteachersliketobeginclasswithanamusingstory,ananecdote,oranewsitemthatis

relatedtomaterialsalreadycoveredorabouttobecoveredintheclass.Thisworksasan

effec8vetransi8onaldeviceforthestudents,easingthemgentlyfromwhatevertheyhavejust

leP—theirpreviousclass,theirjob,theirfriends—totheworkathandinyourclass.Beginning

theclassinthiswayhelpsstudentstorelaxandmakesthemmorerecep8vetotheworkthat

follows.

Inedi8ngyourlecturesothatitfitsintotheallocated8me,avoidcu`ngoutillustra8ons,

examples,andanecdotes.Asuccessfullectureisonethathelpsstudentscomprehendthe

point––oPenanaptillustra8onorexamplecanmakethedifferencebetweenmerelycovering

thematerialandactuallyteachingit.Peoplerememberwell-chosenexamplesandvivid

illustra8ons.

Itisagoodideawhenplanningalectureclasstoreservesome8meforstudents'ques8ons

andresponses.Ifyouplantocovertwomaintopics,pausemidwaytogivethestudentsa

chancetoaskques8onsormakecomments.Reserve8meatthebeginningofeachclassfor

ques8ons.Rememberthatthepurposeofagoodlectureistomakestudentsthink,toraise

ques8ons,andtoprovokeresponses.Asuccessfullecturedoesnotremainamonologuebut

developsintoadialogue.

Giveyourstudentsanoutlineofeachlecture.Writetheoutlineontheboard,use

PowerPoint,orprovideahardcopyordigitalhandout.Thisoutlinecanbeadis8lla8onofyour

ownoutline,perhapslis8ngonlythemainideas.Thebenefitsofthishandoutoutweighthe

smallamountof8methatitwilltakeyoutoprepareit.Thestudentscanfollowyourlecture

moreeasilyandiden8fythemajorandminorpointswithoutdifficulty.Inaddi8on,justhavinga

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pieceofpaperinhandgivesmanystudentsafeelingofconfidenceintheinstructor's

organiza8on.

Teachers,likeanyotherpublicperformer,mustworkontheirdeliveryandmovements.If

yourspeechisdifficulttounderstandorifyourdeliveryunanimated,youmaysoonlosethe

class’interest.Atleastatfirst,checkandevaluateyourselfregularly.Belowaresomeofthe

thingsyoushouldbeawareofwhenyoubegintolecture:

• Usenaturalhandgesturesasyouspeakandmovearoundabit;

• Makeeyecontactwiththestudents;

• Speakloudlyenoughandenunciatedis8nctly;

• Avoidfillerwordsandphraseslike"er,""uh,""oh,""um,"or"youknow;"

Usetheblackboard/whiteboardorotheraudio-visualaidstobreakupthemonotonyofone

voicespeaking.Eventhemostexci8ngpublicspeakerknowsthatvisualsareasurewayto

regainanaudiencewhoseaFen8onisfading.

TheDiscussionClassLeadinganeffec8vediscussioncanrequireasmuchorevenmoreprepara8onthanfora

lecture,aswellastheflexibilityandpercep8venesstofollowtheconversa8oninthedirec8on

thatwillbemostproduc8veforagivengroupofstudents.Youmustalsoensurethatstudents

par8cipate.Allofthiscanbeachievedthroughacombina8onofcarefulplanning,enthusiasm,

andabitofluck.

Theshapeofanydiscussionclassisdeterminedinlargepart,ofcourse,bythekindofclass

youareteaching.Insomecourses––manyhumani8escourses,forexample––thelively

exchangeofideasistheveryheartoftheclass,withmostclass8medevotedtoadiscussion

basedonassignedreadings.APercomple8ngthereadingandwithtextsinhand,studentscome

toclasspreparedtotalk,ques8on,analyze,orofferopinions.Inothercourses,discussionforms

alesscentralbutnolessimportantfunc8on.OPen,adiscussionclassisanadjuncttoalarger

lectureclass,allowingstudentstoinves8gatecrucialpointsinmoredepththanispossibleinthe

lecturehall.Inbetweenthesetwotypesofclassesareawholerangeofclasseswhichuse

discussiontoagreaterorlesserdegree.NotallsubjectmaFerlendsitselftoadiscussion.A

teacherinterestedinconveyingspecificinforma8onandfactswoulddowelltogivethe

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studentstheinforma8oninalectureorahandoutandthen,perhaps,usethatmaterialasthe

basisforadiscussion.

Allinstructorswhomakeuseofthediscussionformat––and,atone8meoranother,thatis

almosteveryinstructor––mustbeginwithafewbasicques8ons.Theseques8onswillsimplify

anddefinetheaimsofyourclassandhelpyoutobegintoplanyourclass.

Thepivotalques8onis:whatisthepurposeofthediscussion?Isitmeanttoreinforceideas

introducedduringalectureorreadingortoexplaintheminmoredetail?Isthepurposetoallow

studentstomakeconnec8onsbetweentheabstrac8onspresentedinthetextandmore

concreteexamples,perhapsintheirownlives,orarediscussionsmeanttointroducenew

material,tostartthestudentsthinkinginanewdirec8on?Howarethetopicsunderdiscussion

relatedtotheoverallaimsofthecourse?Insomecases,theseques8onswillbeansweredby

thecoursesupervisor,soitisnecessarytoconsultwithhimorherbeforethesemesterbegins

andtomaintainregularcontactoverthesemester.

Beforeconduc8ngadiscussionclass,youshouldmakeanoutlineofwhatyouhopetocover.

ThisoutlineneednotbewriFeninstone––beflexibleinmovingfromtopictotopicandallow

thestudentssomela8tudeintherangeoftheirdiscussion.Withasmuchthoroughnessasis

requiredinpreparingalecture,aninstructorshouldgothroughthedetailsofthediscussion,

decidingwhichpointsareabsolutelynecessary,whicharelessimportant,andwhichcanbe

omiFeden8rely.

Oncethesepriori8eshavebeenestablished,youshouldformulatethought-provoking

ques8onsthatmayleadthestudentstowardthedecided-upontopicswithoutdicta8ng

responses.Justasforalecture,adiscussionshouldnottrytocovertoomuch,soestablishing

2-3overarchingques8onswithseveralclarifying/specificques8onsforeachwillusuallysuffice.

APerformula8ngtheseques8ons,ahelpfulstrategyforpreparingtoleadthediscussionis

tocompilealistoftheexamples,accompaniedbypagenumbers,whereapplicable,thatare

relevanttothem.Feelfreetoincludeanythingyouthinkmightbehelpful.Thislistmerely

servesasareferencesothatyoualwayshaveapathforwardreadyathand.Ifastudentraisesa

newques8onormakesanobserva8onrelevanttooneoftheseexamples,youcanthenquickly

directeveryone’saFen8onthere.

Whenbeginningthediscussion,donotpanicifyourfirstques8onfailstoproducethe

desiredresponse.Givethestudents8metothinkandformulateananswer.Don’tbeafraidof

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silences!Wecansome8meshaveanurgetofilleveryminuteofclass8me,butinsomecases

allowingstudentstothinkquietlyandcomeupwiththenextlinkinthediscussionchainisthe

mosteffec8vewayforward.Ifstudentsseemlost,recapabitsothattheymaybeFerseewhat

youareproposingwiththeques8on.Likeagoodconversa8on,agooddiscussionmustevolve

naturally.

Inspiteofallyourprepara8ons,adiscussionclasswillonlylimpalongunlessthestudents

aremo8vatedtopar8cipate.Occasionally,ateacherwillencounteraclassthatforonereason

oranothernevercatchesfire,butmostclasses,withaliFleencouragementandplanning,profit

fromdiscussions.Ifstudentsseemespeciallyreluctanttojoininthediscussion,ahelpfulac8vity

mightbetotemporarilybreaktheclassintosmallergroups,witheachpreparingafewthoughts

andiden8fyingafewexamplesthatmighthelpthemaddressthediscussionques8ons.Youcan

thenreconvenetheclassasawholeandallowthesmallgroups’ideastoserveasanew

jumping-offpoint.Thiscanalsoallowstudentswhomayfeeltoonervoustospeaktothewhole

groupachancetopar8cipate.Aswithanysmallgroupac8vity,youshouldcirculateamongthe

groupsprovidingpointersandobserving.

Thoughthismaynotalwaysbepossiblegiventheconstraintsofclasssizeandclassroom

setup,havingstudentssitinacirclefacingeachotherisusuallybestwhenleadingaclass

discussion.Havingstudentsfaceeachotherforcesthemtomakeeyecontact,helpingthem

engagewiththerestofthegroupratherthanleavingthemfeelingisolatedanddisconnected.

Theotherbenefitisthattheimportanceandtheauthority(andin8mida8on)oftheinstructor

seemstemporarilyminimized.

Beencouragingtoyourstudents.ShowthemthatyouarepayingaFen8ontowhattheyare

saying.Remembertomakeeyecontactyourselfandofferanappropriatecommentwhenthey

finishspeaking.Donotjustallowthemtospeakandthengoontoanothertopicwithout

acknowledgingtheircontribu8on.Makeposi8vecommentsabouttheirresponsesifpossible.

Usediscre8on,however;donotsay'verygood'iftheanswerwasnotverygood.Students

dislikethistypeofdishonestyandwillbegintodistrustanddevalueallthattheteachersays.It

isimportanttoestablishaclassroomclimateconducivetothefreeexchangeofideas.Students

shouldfeelabletogivewronganswerswithoutbeinghumiliated,toexploreideaswithoutbeing

censored.

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Finally,theenthusiasmoftheteacherforthetopicwillalmostalwayssparkstudentinterest.

Ifateacher'smannerisuninterestedanduninteres8ng,eventhemostexci8ngtopicwillfallflat.

Aquiet,reservedteacherisascapableofprojec8ngintensityforasubjectasanoutspokenone.

Expressyourideasandfeelingshonestly,andyourstudentswillsoonfollowyourexample.

TheRecita9onClassArecita8onclassisasmallsub-groupofalargerlectureclasswhichmeetsregularlyasa

supplementtotheweeklylectures.Thelecturesec8onsareusuallytaughtbyfacultywho

superviseTAsresponsiblefortheirrecita8onclasses.Thefacultymemberwillgenerally

determinethepurposeoftherecita8onclass,althoughtheTAwillsome8mesbeabletoshape

theclassinanindividualway.

Intheseclasses,asinallotherdiscussionclasses,thelearninggoalsshoulddictatethe

ac8vi8es.Whatisthepurposeoftheclass?Whatdoyourstudentsneedtoleaveeachday

knowing?Istheclassperiodareviewsessionmeanttofurtherexplainmaterialalreadycovered

inthelecture?OristheTAmeanttointroducenewmaterialorengagethestudentswithhands-

onapplica8onstoconceptsalreadylearned?AstheTA,youshouldclearlydefinethesegoalsto

yourselfandtoyourstudents.

Runninganefficientrecita8onrequirestheTAtohaveafirmgraspofthecoursematerial

andtokeepupwiththecoursereadings,labs,andlectures.SomedepartmentsrequireTAsto

aFendalllecturesforthecourse.Dependingonyourdepartmentrequirementsandyour

knowledgeofthecourse,aFendinglecturescanbeanextremelyusefulprac8ce.Althoughthe

syllabusmaygiveTAsageneralideaofwhatisbeingcoveredinclass,onlyaFendanceatthe

lectureswillshowifallpointswereclearlyandcomprehensivelyexplained.TheTAisalsoaware

ofanypoten8allyconfusingeventinthelecture(e.g.,amisinterpretedwordorphraseora

poorlydesignedPowerPoint).

Letthestudentsknowatthebeginningofthesemesterthattherecita8onclassisnotjusta

rehashofthelecturebutanopportunityforthestudentstograpplewithproblemstheymay

notthoroughlyunderstand,tobroadentheirknowledgeofconcepts,andtogivethemsome

prac8ceinapplyingthethingstheyhavelearned.

Agoodwaytoinvolveeveryoneintheclassistoaskthestudentstobereadyatthe

beginningofclasswithaques8onthattheywouldliketohaveanswered.Youmightstartthe

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classbywri8ngalloftheseques8onsontheboard.Thistakesonlyafewminutesandwillgive

youanideaoftheareaswherestudentsarehavingproblemsandgivethemasenseof

par8cipa8ngintheshapingoftheclass.

Analternatewayofinvolvingstudentsisbyoutliningontheboardthetopicsthatyouthink

needtobecoveredandhavingthestudentsrankthem.Thismethodhastheadvantageof

givingyoumorecontroloverthecontentsoftheclasswhiles8llallowingthestudentssome

voice.

Attheendofeachrecita8onclassyoumaywanttoassessiftheday’slearninggoalshave

beenmet.Some8mesyouwillhaveweeklyquizzesorassignmentsasdictatedbythecourse,

howeveryoumaychoosetosupplementtheseassessmentstogetabeFersenseforhowthe

courseisgoing.Onesugges8onistousean“exit8cket”approach.Thisrequiresthatstudents

submitabriefassignmentbeforeleavingfortheday.Alterna8vely,thisprovidesanopportunity

forstudentstowritedownques8onsthatares8lluncleartothem.Feelfreetodothis

anonymouslyifyouwanttoensureutmosthonestyforthosewhomightbeshyaboutfeeling

behindinrela8ontoapar8culartopic.Assessingstudentunderstandingregularlycangive

insightintotopicsthatyoumaywanttocoveratthebeginningofthenextmee8ngorteaching

methodsthataremosteffec8ve.

TheLaboratorySec9onAlabinstructormustknowthematerialsoftheclass,whichmeansworkingcloselywiththe

lecturerandkeepingupwiththecoursereadings.SomedepartmentsrequireTAstoaFendall

lecturesforthecourse.Dependingonyourdepartmentrequirements,yourknowledgeofthe

course,andtheextentthatthelabcourseisalignedwithanothercourse,aFendinglecturescan

beFerprepareyoutoguidestudentsduringthelabmee8ngs.

Carefulplanningisessen8alinteachingasuccessfullabsec8on.Theprimarystructureof

eachlabclassshouldbedictatedbythelearninggoals.Eachlabmee8ngshouldhaveaclear

purposewithdefinedlearninggoalsandwaystoassessifthoselearninggoalshavebeenmet.

OPen8mesalabclassismeanttoapplymateriallearnedinclassusingahands-onapproach.

Whateverthesegoalsare,besuretoclearlydefinethembothtoyourselfandtoyourstudents.

Youmaychoosetoprepareabrieflecturetobeginthelab,onethathelpstofocusthe

studentsontheproblemathandandcoversallofthepointsthatneedtobear8culated.Sothat

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studentsunderstandtheendgoalofthelabanddonotfeelthattheyaremerelyrepea8nga

meaninglessexercise,preparehandoutsorusePowerPointortheblackboard/whiteboardto

providethemwithaclearoverviewofthedemonstra8on.

Manyinstructorsliketouseafewminutesatthebeginningofthesec8ontoreviewthelab

fromthepreviousweekandestablishsomeconnec8onsbetweenthatlabandthecurrentone.

Mostlabcourseshaveasupervisorwhoisresponsibleforthelabs,holdsweeklylab

prepara8onmee8ngs,andisavailabletohelpwithproblems.Thelabinstructor,however,is

ul8matelyresponsibleforthesuccessandsafetyofthelab.Alabinstructorshouldalwaysgo

throughallthestepsofthedemonstra8onatleastoncebeforeconduc8ngeachlab.Infact,it

mayhelpyouplanaheadtocompletethelabonyourownbeforeclassbegins.Thisallowsyou

toasses8mingaswellasprepareforanymistakesthatstudentsmightmake.

Ifyouteachalabthathasbeentaughtinthepast,youmaywishtoaskotherlabinstructors

wheretheirstudentsencountereddifficul8es.Forlabsthatnecessitatetheuseofunfamiliar

equipment,theTAisrequiredtotake8metodemonstrateitsuse,thoroughlyandcarefully.In

somelabs,studentsmaybereluctanttohandletherequiredmaterialsbecauseof

squeamishnessorfear;inothers,theyareconfusedbythetopicandareunabletointerpretthe

resultsinanymeaningfulway.Knowingbeforehandwheretroublecanbeexpectedsaves

valuable8me.

Labsafetymustalwaysbeamajorconcern.AllTAsneedtobeinformedaboutthenecessary

safetyprecau8ons,sincethelabinstructorisresponsibleforthesafetyofthestudents.

Althoughvigilanceisnecessaryinalllabs,extracau8onmustbeexercisedinintroductory

courses.InaFen8vestudentsposearealdangertothemselvesandtheen8reclass.Clowning

aroundinthelabcancauseserioustrouble,anditisuptoyoutoseethatorderismaintained.

Warnstudentsatthebeginningofclassaboutanypoten8allyhazardousmaterialstheywillbe

handling.Writewarningsontheblackboard/whiteboardandrepeatthemoPenthroughoutthe

class.Makesurethatstudentswearsafetygogglesandotherequipmentasnecessary.Ifyouare

notsureaboutthepossibledangersofamaterial,asktheprofessorinchargeofthecourse.You

cannotbetoocareful.Studentswhorefusetocomplywithsafetyregula8onsshouldnotbe

allowedtocon8nuewiththelab.Youshoulddemonstratepropersafetycomplianceforthe

en8redura8onofthelabasameanstocommunicatethisimportancetoyourstudents.They

willlearnbyyourexample.

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Labinstructorsshouldarriveearlytomakesurethatallequipmentisinworkingorderand

theneededsuppliesareavailable.Althoughinstructorsshouldmaketheirstudentscleanup

aPerthelab,youwillwanttodouble-checkbeforeyourclassbeginstomakesurethatall

equipmentisintact.Donotdependonsomeoneelsetodothisforyou.Whensomethinggoes

wrong,itisyouwhowillberesponsible.

Beforethestudentsbeginwork,itisoPennecessarytoorganizethemintogroups.There

aremanystrategiesforpu`ngstudentsintogroupsbutbesuretoprovideclearinstruc8ons

abouthowthegroupsshouldbeformed.Donotleavethistochance.

Whilethestudentsareworking,yourpresenceshouldbefeltintheroom.Donotjustsitin

thefrontoftheclass.Circulatearoundtheroom,makingsurethatallstudentsaremaking

progress.CheckinonthemoPen,askques8ons,andtakeanac8verole,offeringsugges8ons

andassistancewhenneeded.

Online/HybridTeachingTheInternethasbecomeaninvaluabletoolforteaching,butitalsonowrequiresthatTAs

becomefamiliarwithanewrangeofskillsandcompetencies.Theuseofonlinelearning

plaxormssuchasSakaiandCanvaswilllikelybeanimportantpartofanyclassyouteach.These

toolscanhelpyoucommunicatewithyourstudents,shareresources,anddistribute,collect,

andgradeassignments.Itispossiblethatduringyour8meatRutgers,youwillbeaskedtoteach

anonlineorhybridcourse,andyoushouldbepreparedforwhatthatwillentail.

Anonlinecourseisacourseinwhichstudentswillnotmeetinperson,andallcoursework

ac8vi8esarecompletedusinganonlinelearningplaxorm.Inahybridcourse,therewills8llbe

somein-personmee8ngs,butthebulkofthecoursewillbeconductedonline.Inaddi8ontothe

usualthinkingandplanningthatgoesintoteachingacourse,foranonlineorhybridcourse

thereareaddi8onalconsidera8ons.

Communica9on.Goodcommunica8onbetweenyouandyourstudentsisalwaysacrucial

aspectofanycourse,butwhenteachinganonline/hybridcourseitcanbeabitmore

challenging.Thisisbecauseweusemorethanjustwordswhencommunica8ngwithour

students—bodylanguage,eyecontact,andtoneallcontributetoeffec8vecommunica8on,but

areusuallylostwhencommunica8ngsolelythroughemailorotherelectronicmeans.Tomake

upforthis,youshouldconsiderincorpora8ngvideoandaudiocommunica8onintoyouronline/

� 33

hybridcourse.(RutgerssupportsSakai,Canvas,Zoom,Webex,andothertoolswhichallowyou

torecordaudioandvideotosharewithstudents.)Allowingthemtoseeyourfaceandhearyour

voiceisoPentheclearestandmostefficientwaytoexplainanideaoranassignmenttothe

class.

OfficeHours.Thoughanonline/hybridcoursewillincorporatefewer,ifany,in-personclass

mee8ngs,itisimportantforyourstudentstoknowthattheycans8llschedulein-person

mee8ngswithyou(ifthisissomethingyoucanaccommodate).Again,afewminutesofface-to-

facecontactcansome8mesaccomplishwhathundredsofwordsofemailedtextcannot.Ifyou

cannotaccommodatein-personofficehours,orifyouwouldliketosupplementyourin-person

officehours,youcanuseplaxormssuchasZoom,Webex,AdobeConnect,BigBlueBuFon,or

GoogleHangoutstohostvirtualofficehours(likely,oneoftheseplaxormsorasimilaroneis

currentlyintegratedintothelearningmanagementsystemthatyouareusing).Theseplaxorms

allowstudentstotypeques8onsinachatboxandallowyoutocommunicatewiththemvia

videoand/oraudioviaawebcam.Thoughits8llhaschallengeswhencomparedtoin-person

mee8ngs,theop8ontoallowstudentstoseeandhearyouwhenyouanswertheirques8ons

oPenmakesthatcommunica8onmuchsmoother.

Pacing.Whendesigningandteachinganonline/hybridcourse,someextrathoughtmustbe

giventothepacing.Forone,youmustdecidewhetheranyac8vi8eswillbeheldsimultaneously

forallstudents,orifinagivenweekstudentscancompleteac8vi8esandassignmentsattheir

ownpace.Ifyoudodecidetorunac8vi8essimultaneously(vialiveblogging/cha`ng,livevideo

lecturing,etc.)youmustschedulethesewithstudentsaheadof8me,ideallyatthestartofthe

semester.Rememberthatnotallstudentswillbeavailableforallsuchac8vi8es;manystudents

takeonlinecoursesspecificallybecausetheyworkorhaveotherac8vi8esthatwouldprevent

themfrombeingreliablyavailableatthesame8meseachweek.Youshoulddoyourbestto

accommodatestudentswhoarenotabletopar8cipateinsimultaneousac8vi8es.

Discussions/GroupWork.Theonline/hybridplaxormcanbeespeciallychallengingfor

coursesthatrelyonclassdiscussionorsmall-groupwork.Usingthetoolsprovidedbyonline

learningplaxormslikeSakaiandCanvascanhelpwiththis—toolslikechatrooms,blogs,and

file-sharingcanallowstudentstocollaboratewitheachother,eveninreal-8me.Addi8onally,

thesetoolsallowyoutomonitorstudents’progress,sothatyoucanensureallstudentsare

devo8ngsufficient8meandefforttotheassignmentorac8vity,andsothatyoucanhelp

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strugglingstudentsasneeded.Itisimportanttoremember,though,thatforonlinediscussions

youwillneedtomodelthekindofcontribu8onsyouexpectfromyourstudents.Youshouldnot

expectthemtoarriveknowingwhatablogpostordiscussionthreadentryneedstolooklike—

theywillbelookingtoyoutoleadbyexample.

TheForeignLanguageClassMostforeignlanguagedepartmentsintheuniversityhavealreadyestablishedongoing

trainingandsupportprogramsfortheirTAs.Aslanguagecourses,especiallyintroductoryones,

requirethemasteryofcertainlessonsinasetsequence,thecourseoutlineisoPendetermined

beforehandandiscommontoallinstructorsteachingthatcourse.Withintheselimits,however,

theTAwillcertainlyfindroomforindividualcrea8vity.

NewTAswoulddowelltorecalltheirfirstforeignlanguageclassandthefeelingstheyhadat

that8me.Asitua8onwhereapersonissuddenlyunabletocommunicatecoherentlycanbe

profoundlydisturbing.Thetaskoftheinstructoristoenablethestudentstogetbeyondtheir

fearstoastatewherelanguageacquisi8onispossible.

Toalargeextent,theclimatethattheTAestablishesdeterminesthesuccessoftheclass.

TheTAmustbesensi8vetotheinhibi8onsandembarrassmentsexperiencedbysomeonefirst

learningalanguage,yetheorshemusts8llbeabletofacilitateconversa8on.Givethestudents

8metoansweryourques8onsandtorespondtoyourstatements.Donothelpthembefore

theyneedit;letthemmakemistakesandthengentlycorrectthem.Beginningtolearna

languagemustbeseenasaseriesofsmallstepsandminorvictories.Languageteachersshould

cheerthesevictoriesandmakeanextraefforttogiveencouragement,confidence,andsupport

totheirstudents.

IntheFieldInmanydisciplines,workinthelaboratoryorclassroomisenrichedbytripsintothefieldto

explorethesubjectmaFeroftheclassinahands-onway.AmyCliPon,aformerTAwho

receivedherPh.D.fromtheGeologicalSciencesprogram,offersthefollowingguidelinesto

considerwhenplanningtotakestudentsintothefield:

• Introducewhateverskillsortechniquesnecessarybeforehand,ifthatisthegoalofthe

trip;

• Fieldtripsshouldbehands-onratherthan"showandtell;"

� 35

• Makesureyouknowwhattodoincaseofanemergencyoraccident;

• MakesurethereareenoughTAsfortheclasssize;

• Makesureyouplanforbadweather(i.e.,havea"raindate"orgo"rainorshine").

Ac9veLearningIn2014,Freemanetal(2014)publishedametanalysisof225educa8onstudieslookingat

theeffectsofac8velearninginthesciences,engineering,andmathema8cs.Theirresultswere

overwhelminglyinfavoroftheuseofac8velearningintheclassroom.Perhapsmosttellingis

thefollowinganalogytheauthorsprovideoftheirresults:“Iftheexperimentsanalyzedhere

hadbeenconductedasrandomizedcontrolledtrialsofmedicalinterven8ons,theymayhave

beenstoppedforbenefit—meaningthatenrollingpa8entsinthecontrolcondi8onmightbe

discon8nuedbecausethetreatmentbeingtestedwasclearlymorebeneficial.”

Ac8velearningcantakeawholespectrumofforms,fromquick2-minuteac8vi8estobreak

upalecturetoacompletelyflippedclass.Ifyou’renewtoac8velearning,tryincorpora8ng

smallac8vi8esatfirst.Theseac8vi8escouldtakeanywherefrom2to5minutesandcans8ll

providesignificantgainsinstudentlearningandfocus.Theycanbegradedorungraded,

dependingontheac8vitychosenandpurposeforincludingit(seeAssessmentandTes8ng).

Someexamplesoftheseshortac8vi8esarelistedbelow.

Think-Pair-Share:Putaques8onontheboardoraslidewhichyouwouldlikethestudentsto

answer.First,havethemanswertheques8onthemselves.Then,havethemdiscusstheir

answerswiththepersonnexttothem.Finally,discusstheques8onandsolu8onasaclassall

together.Manyinstructorsliketouseclickersaspartofthink-pair-shares,askingstudentsto

submittheirsolu8onsaPerthefirsttwostages.Thisgivestheinstructorimmediatefeedbackon

howwellthestudentsunderstandtheques8onortopic,whichcanhelpguidetheinstructor-led

discussionwiththewholeclassattheendoftheac8vity.

MinutePapers:Thisac8vityisexactlywhatitsoundslike.Givethestudentsaques8onto

writeaboutandhavethemspendoneminutefreewri8ngtheirresponse.Youcouldaskany

ques8onwhoseresponseentailsenoughcontentanddetailthatthestudentswillbeableto

writeforthefullminute.

Forsometopics,youmaywanttoincludelongerac8vi8estoallowformoredetailed

discussion.Inthiscase,youmaychoosetoreplacesomeofthelecturecontentwithanac8vity

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ratherthanjustbreakingupthe8me.Forexample,youmaychoosetoremovedetailsoren8re

topicsfromthelectureandinsteadgivestudentsthatmaterialthroughtheac8vity.Some

examplesoftheselongerac8vi8esinclude:

• Jigsaw:Inthefirstround,dividetheclassintogroups.Giveeachgroupadifferent

ques8onorproblemtosolve.Oncethegroupsfinishtheseproblems,shufflethe

classintonewgroups.Inthisround,eachgroupshouldhaveatleastone

representa8vefromeachgroupfromround1.Thestudentsareresponsiblefor

sharingtheirgroup’ssolu8onstotherestoftheirnewgroup.

• Outlines(fillinginthedetails):Providethestudentswithoutlinesofthematerialyou

wantthemtolearnorprac8ceduringthatsession.Havethemworkingroupstofill

inthedetailsontheoutlines.Youcangivethemresourcessuchastheirtextbooks,

theirnotes,orifapplicable,accesstotheinternet.

• WrenchintheGears:Breakthestudentsintogroupsandgivethemacomplex

problemtoworkon.Periodicallyaddnewparametersorconstraintstotheproblem

astheywork,forcingthemtoadjusttheirsolu8onsorstrategies.

Formoreac8vityideas,perusethislistfromtheRutgersAc8veLearningCommunity.

Themostextremeversionofac8velearningisaflippedclassroom.Inthismodel,students

firstseethecoursecontentoutsideofclass.Bymovingthismaterialoutsidetheclassroom,this

freesupclass8meforac8vi8es,discussion,andprac8ceproblems.Thoughflippedclassrooms

haveagrowingfollowingintheeduca8oncommunity,designingaflippedcourseisan

enormousundertaking.Beforeyouembarkonthatjourney,besureyouhavethe8meto

devotetoit.Forexample,ifyouplantomakevideostoreplacethelectures,youshouldplanfor

each5minutesofvideototakeabout4hourstoputtogether.Ifandwhenyoudecidetotry

thismodel,askifanyoneelseinyourfieldhastriedthisbefore.Usematerialsthatalreadyexist

asmuchasyoucan.Learnfromthemistakesortriumphsofothers.Youmayalsofindsomeof

thefollowingresourceshelpful:

• SuccessfulFlippedClassesbyStephanieButlerVelegol,SarahE.Zappe,andEmily

Mahoney(Tomorrow’sProfessorPos8ng1421)

• FlippedClassrooms–OldorNew?byMarillaSvinicki(Tomorrow’sProfessorPos8ng

1330)

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• TheFlippedClassDemys8fiedfromNewYorkUniversity

• Freeman,S.,Eddy,S.,McDonough,M.,Smith,M.,Okoroafor,N.,Jordt,H.,&

Wenderoth,M.(2014).Ac8velearningincreasesstudentperformanceinscience,

engineering,andmathema8cs.ProceedingsoftheNa8onalAcademyofSciencesof

theUnitedStatesofAmerica,111(23),8410.

AskingQues9onsintheClassroomWhetherleadingadiscussionclass,direc8ngalab,orevenlecturingtoalargesec8on,the

qualityoftheques8onsthatyouaskdeterminesthequalityoftheresponses.Askingtheright

ques8onsforcesstudentstotakeamoreac8vepartintheclass,leadingthemtoformulatetheir

ownopinionsbasedonthematerialspresented.

Closed-endedques8onsthatrequirea“yes,”“no,”oranyothersinglewordanswercanbe

usefulforquickassessmentofbasicfactsbutshouldbeusedsparinglywhentes8ngdeeper

understandingofmaterial.Askingavarietyoftypesofques8onscanallowyoutoassess

differenttypesandlevelsofstudentunderstanding.Whenusedduringclassdiscussionsoron

shortquizzes,thisvarietycanhelpstudentstodevelopthedeeperunderstandingthatyouwill

eventuallyevaluateontheirexams.Afewtypesofques8onsyoucouldemployincludethe

following.

Trueorfalse:Givestudentsastatementandaskthemtodeterminewhetheritisatrue

statementorafalseone.Foradeeperassessment,youcouldaskthestudentstomodifythe

falsestatementstomakethemtrue.Includingthistypeofques8ononshortquizzescanbe

helpfultocounteractcommonstudentmisconcep8ons.

Fillintheblank:Givethestudentsastatementwithoneorafewwordsmissingandask

themtofillinthemissingword(s).Ifyouaskthemtofillinmorethanoneword,youshould

considertellingthemhowmanywordstheyshouldbeincluding.Thistypeofques8oncanbe

usefulforassessingwhetherstudentsknowbasicfactsordefini8ons.

Mul8plechoice:Askthestudentsaques8onfollowedbyalistofpossibleresponses.You

havemanyop8onsforhowtostructurethepossibleanswers.Inmanycases,exactlyoneofthe

possibili8eslistedisthecorrectanswer,andsome8mesoneofthechoicesis“Noneofthe

above.”Toassessdeeperunderstanding,youcouldhavemorethanonecorrectanswerandask

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thestudentstofindallcorrectanswers.Formoresubtlepoints,youcouldaskthestudentsto

choosethe“best”answerandthenexplaintheirchoice.

ScenariosorFind-the-Error:Describeapoten8alstudentsolu8onordebateandask

studentstoevaluateit.Thiscanbeextremelyhelpfulinmi8ga8ngcommonstudentmistakes.

Studentsdon’talwayslookatthecommentsontheirgradedassignments.However,youcould

buildsomeoftheirmistakesintoques8onslikethis,forcingthemtofacetheseconcernsand

learnfromthem.

ManyeducatorshavewriFenhelpfular8clesofferingsugges8onsforaskingques8onswhich

encouragestudentpar8cipa8onandaidindeeperlearning.Thefollowingpostsfrom

Tomorrow’sProfessorarejustafew:

• TheSoundofSilenceCanBeDeafeningandtheQues8onsYouAskYourStudentsCan

ProvokeItbyHowardAldrich

• Mul8ple-ChoiceQues8onsYouWouldn’tPutonaTest:Promo8ngDeepLearningUsing

ClickersbyDerekBruff

• DeeperUnderstandingThroughQues8onsbyEllenWeber

StudentsinGroupsIngroupsitua8ons,theteacher'sroleisoneofunobtrusiveguide:determiningthe

des8na8onandguidingtheway.Withcarefulprepara8on,ateachercanprovidestrongsupport

whileallowingstudentsthefreedomtomakediscoveries.Forexamplesofac8vi8esthatthe

studentscoulddoingroups,seeAc8veLearning.

Establishgroupswithcare.Theeasywaytodivideuptheclasswouldbetoseparatethe

studentsaccordingtowheretheyaresi`ng;thisisnotalwaysthebestway.Thewayyoudivide

yourgroupsmightchangebasedonthecourse,theclassroomdynamic,oreventheac8vityat

hand.Some8mesitisbesttomakegroupswithamixofabilitylevels.Thisallowsthestronger

studentstoactasinstructorstoguidestudentswhoneedmorehelp.Insomecases,youmay

wantrandomgroups.Youmayevenwanttochangethegroupseveryclassmee8ngorac8vity.

Howeveryouchoosetodividetheclass,besurethatitfitswiththepurposeoftheac8vity.

Worktoovercomestudents'naturalreluctancetopar8cipateingroupac8vi8es.Students

oPenresistworkingingroups.Overtheyears,theyhavebeencondi8onedtolooktothe

teacheraloneforalltheanswersandsoperceivegroupworkasawasteof8me.TeachersoPen

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finditdifficult,eveninclassdiscussions,topersuadestudentstotalktoeachother—moreoPen

thannottheylookatandspeaktotheteacher,evenwhentheyaredirectlyrespondingtoa

statementbyafellowstudent.Worktohavethestudentslistenandspeaktoeachother.In

classdiscussion,askthemtorelatetheiranswerstootherstudents'answers,thusguidingthem

toaFendtotheresponsesofothers.Tryaskingstudentstoexplaintheirgroup-mate’sideaor

solu8on.Thisforcesthemtodiscusstheirideaswitheachother,eveniftheendgoalisto

explainittoyou.Youcanalsotryassigningrolestoeachstudentintheclass.Forexample,you

couldsaythatonepersoninthegroupisinchargeofwri8ngdownthesolu8onstobeturned

in.Thisforcesthestudentstocommunicatewiththatperson.Youcouldalsohavearulethat

onlyonestudentinthegroupisallowedtoaskyouques8onsduringtheac8vity.Bepa8entand

bewillingtotrydifferentstrategiesorgroupstructurestocoaxthemtoworktogether.Students

cannotunlearnoldbehaviorovernight.Trus8ngtheirownideasortheideasoftheirfellow

studentsmaybeanewexperienceforthem,butitcan,intheend,bearewardingone.

Beyondclassroomac8vi8es,workingingroupscanbeespeciallyhelpfultostudentswhen

studyingforexams.Studentswhoworkingroupsaremoreinclinedtogothroughevery

ques8onorproblemtheyneedtoknow;itismorelikelythatthey,asagroup,havearangeof

knowledgethatcoversallofthenecessaryproblems.Studentsstudyingalonemayhavegapsin

theirknowledge,causingthemtoskipovercomplicatedproblems,ortheymaygetstuckand

spendfartoomuch8mestrugglingwithasingledifficultproblem.Teacherscannotforce

studentstostudytogether,buttheycanusecertainstrategiestoencouragestudentstoadopt

thiseffec8vestudyhabit.

AssessmentandTes9ngTestsactasakindofbroadmirroroftheworkdoneoverthesemester.Theyshouldpresent

nomajorsurprisesforthestudentwhohasaFendedclassandkeptupwiththereadings.

ConsiderprovidingstudentswithawriFenpropor8onalbreakdownofareastobetested—that

is,apre-testhandoutindica8nghowmanypointsofthetestcorrespondtoapar8cularareaof

focus.Evenifyoudonotdothisforstudents,suchanexercisemayhelpyoupreparetests.Test

yourself:doyourques8onsfocifaithfullymirroryourclass8mefoci?Ifnot,planyourclass

beFersothatyourtestsarenotsurprisesforstudents.Iftestsseemtotallydivorcedfrom

classwork,studentsmayhaveliFleinclina8ontoaFendclassesfromthatfirsttestonward.

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Studentsperformbestinclasseswheretheyarefrequentlycheckedontheirknowledge.

Thismeansthatcourseswhichhaveonlyamidtermandafinaldonotprovidethestudentswith

aseffec8vealearningenvironmentascourseswheretestsaremorefrequent.Theuseof

weeklylow-stakequizzesandwri8ngassignmentshelpstudentsfocusonthematerialandto

quicklydiscoverinwhichareastheirunderstandingisweak.Ofimportancehereisquickturn-

around8me.Wheneveryougiveaquiz,makesurethatyoureturnittothestudentsbythenext

class.Thereisnoneedforlengthycommentsoranalysisonyourpart—asentenceortwo

no8ngthegoodandbadpointsisallthatisneeded.Ifyouprocras8nateandgivebackquizzes

orotherminorassignmentsonlyaPeryouhavegoneontoanothertopic,theresultsdonot

helpthestudentsinanymeaningfulway.

TAscanhelpstudentsdowellonexamsbyofferingextrareviewsessions—eitherinperson

oronline,forstudentswhoareinterested,givingthemachancetogoovermaterialsabout

whichtheyfeelunsure.Anotherwaytoassiststudentsisbyprovidingthemwithstudy

ques8onsand/orsampleproblemsthatshowthemwhattheycanexpectfromtheexam.

Althougheachexamwillbedifferent––itsfinalformdeterminedbysubjectmaFerand

coursegoals––somecommonali8esconfrontallinstructors.Whenwri8ngyourexam,you

shouldconsiderthreecrucialques8ons:

1. Whatcontentorskillsareyoutes8ng?

2. Whatweightintheoverallcoursegradeshouldthisexamcarry?

3. Howcanyoumaketheexammostbeneficialtothestudents?

Firstandforemost,theinstructorshouldbeclearaboutwhattheywishtotest.Isthetest

meanttomeasureknowledgeofspecificfacts?Isitmeanttodemonstratethestudents’ability

todealwithcertainfactsortheoriesinanoriginalandcomprehensiveway?Ormake

connec8onsamongagroupoftextsorideas?Theanswertotheseques8onswillusually

determinethetypeoftest,objec8veoressay(orpossiblyacombina8onofthetwo).Test

ques8onsshouldreflectthekindsofassignmentsthestudentshavebeendoingallsemester

andshouldneverbesomethingen8relynew.Theteachershouldalsotrytodetermine

beforehandthevalueofeachanswerandtherangeofacceptableresponsestoeachques8on.

Youshoulddeterminehowmuchofthefinalcoursegradeanexamwillcounttoward.A

midtermexamwillseemmostthreateningtostudentsforwhomthisexamandthefinalexam

willlargelydeterminetheirgradefortheclass.Manyeducatorsfeelthatitismorebeneficialto

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studentstogiveseveraltestsoverthecourseofthesemester,makingeachtestequally

important,thuselimina8ngthe"doordie"elementofonlyoneortwosignificantgrades.Tests

givenonaregularbasisarealsoaidstotheteacherwhowishestoknowifthemajorityof

studentsarekeepingupwiththeclass.OPenthisdecisionismadebeforethecoursestarts,

whenwri8ngyoursyllabus.However,youshoulds8llconsiderthemakeupofyourexamwhen

decidingitsweight,evenifyouarenotwri8ngtheen8reexambeforethecoursestarts.

Lastly,theinstructorshouldmakesurethattheexamwillbebeneficialtothestudent.Tests

canbeaneffec8vewayofprovidingfeedback,butforthistohappen,thestudentmustbe

mo8vatedtolookbeyondtheleFergradeassigned.Arrangeforstudentstocomespeaktoyou

inyourofficeabouttheexam.Useclass8metogooverthoseques8onsthatmanystudents

answeredincorrectly.Beawareofthefact,however,thatthismaybelessanindica8onthatthe

studentsdonotknowthematerialthanthatyourques8onwasambiguousormisleading.One

strategyyoumightconsiderwouldbeallowingstudentstosubmitcorrec8onstotheirexams.

Youmightconsidergivingthembacksomefrac8onofthepointstheylostiftheysubmita

correctsolu8onandexplainthemistakeintheiroriginalsolu8on.Theprospectofge`ngpoints

backwillmo8vatestudentstolookovertheirgradedworkwithacloseeye,andtheywilllikely

learnfromtheirmistakesinthisprocess.

Someteacherssuggestle`ngthestudentspar8cipateincrea8ngtheexams.Theabilityto

formagoodexamques8onisanindica8onthatthestudentshaveafullunderstandingofthe

coursematerialandofthegoalsofthecourse.Theirinputmayalsogivethemagreater

investmentintheexam.Youmaynotwishtodothisonthemidterm,butcertainlybythe8me

thefinalexamcomesaround,yourstudentsshouldbepreparedtohelpwritetheexam.Essay

examslendthemselvestothiskindofpre-testexercise.Someteachersevenusethisaspartof

theexamitself,askingthestudentstoformulatewhattheyconsideragoodexamques8onand

thenanswerit.Itshouldbesaidthatyoudonothavetoincludethestudents’suggested

ques8onsintheexamforthistos8llbeagoodexercise.

APercomposinganexam,putitasideforadayortwoandthenreconsideryourwork.Isthe

wordingofalltheques8onsclearandunambiguous?Isitrealis8ctothinkthatstudentscan

completetheexaminthe8mealloFed?Haveyoucoveredallofthematerialyouneedto

cover?IfaPerre-examiningthetestyous8llfeelthattheexamissound,thencarefullyconsider

andwriteoutyour'ideal'responsestoallques8ons.Thisexerciseisdoublyuseful.First,by

� 42

checkingyouranswerswiththeques8ons,youcanseeiftheytrulyelicitalltheinforma8onyou

desire.Ifyourresponsesaddedmoreinforma8onthantheques8ondemanded,youmaywish

torewritetheques8ontobemoreinclusive.Second,thisexercisewillhelpyouwhengrading

theexamsifyouuseyourownresponsesasamodelforstudentanswers.

Oncethestudentshavetakentheexam,evaluateitagain.Wasittoodifficultorsimple?Did

studentsmisunderstandanyoftheques8ons?Doyouseeareaswheretheclassasawhole

missedsomevitalpieceofinforma8on?NomaFerhowsa8sfiedyouarewiththeexam,thereis

agoodchancethatnotallthestudentswillfeelthesameway.Listentoyourstudents.Although

youarenotobligatedtoagreewiththem,youwilldiscoverwhereyourexpecta8onsandtheirs

didnotcoincide,informa8onthatyoucanusetoyourownandyourstudents'advantagein

futuresemesters.

DeterminingCourseGradesLikeitornot,tes8ngandgradingareintegralpartsoftheeduca8onalprocessandcentral

elementsofmostcoursestomanystudents.Decisionsaboutgradingshouldbemadewithcare

sinceyourgradingpolicy,morethananythingelse,willbescru8nized,discussed,and,

some8mes,contestedbyyourstudents.ManyTAsworryatthebeginningaboutwhetherthey

shouldbea'hard'graderora'soP'one,but,infact,thisisnottheques8on.Rather,TAsshould

worry(iftheymustworryaboutsomething)aboutwhetherornottheygradefairlyand

consistently.Donotbesurprisedtofindoutthatfairnessisforemostinthestudents'mindstoo.

Howcanateacherinsurefairnessingrading?Thisbeginsbyestablishingaclearstandardof

gradingatthebeginningofthesemester.Studentsshouldbetoldwhatquan8tyandqualityof

workisnecessarytogeteachpossiblegrade.Ifthegradewillbedeterminedstrictlyby

numericalgradesawardedonaseriesoftests,thestudentshouldknowhoweachonewillbe

weighedinthefinalgradeandwhatmaterialthestudentmustmastertoachievethehighest

grade.Theweightofclasspar8cipa8on,labwork,aFendance,andthepossibilityofmake-up

workandexamsshouldbelaidout.Ifaclassistobegradedonacurve,themethodshouldbe

explainedtothestudentsatthebeginning.Thisisallpartofthecontractthatagoodteacher

makeswithaclass.Remembertoothatfirst-yearstudentsmayneedmoredetailedexplana8ons

ofgradingprac8cesandstandardsthanmoreadvancedstudents.Allstudents,however,willbe

lessanxiousiftheyfeelthatthesystemtheirteacherusesisfairandsensible.

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RemindstudentsthattherearecertainacceptablestandardsofwriFenEnglishtowhich

theymustcomply.Studentsmightarguethatitisnotfairtopenalizethemfortheirwri8ngin

classesotherthanEnglish,sinceallthatreallymaFersarethefacts(i.e.,whattheysay,nothow

theysayit).ByemphasizinghighstandardsforwriFenEnglishearlyinthesemester,those

studentswithwri8ngproblemswillbeencouragedtoseekhelp.Consequently,readingand

gradingexamswillbealessdifficulttaskfortheteacher.Youshouldencouragestudentswho

needhelpwiththeirwri8ngtou8lizethewri8ngcoachingavailableattheRutgersLearning

Centers.

ATAwhoisgradingforanotherprofessormustdiscusstheseissueswiththeprofessorat

thebeginningofthesemestersothattherewillbenolatermisunderstandings.Thefaculty

memberandtheTA(orTAs)mustagreeonthegradingcriterionforthatclass.

Manyteacherstellstudentsatthebeginningofthesemesterthattheyshouldfeelfreeto

cometothemduringofficehourstodiscussgrades.Ifastudentdoescometoyouwith

ques8onsaboutagrade,listencarefully.Althoughyoumaydeclinetochangethegrade,you

mightdiscoverthatexamques8onsweremoreambiguous,oressayassignmentslessclearly

definedthanyouthought.

Ifstudentsfeelthattheymeritedahighergradeonanessayortermpaper,youshould

alwaysoffertorereadit.Thepossibilityexiststhatyoudidnotreadascarefullyasyoushould

havethefirst8me.Donotbeintractable:youarehumanandcanmakemistakes.Donot,

however,allowyourselftobemanipulatedorbulliedintogivinganothergrade.Fairnesstoall

yourstudentsdemandsobjec8vityandequalstandards.Ifyoucannotresolveagradeproblem

withastudent,donotallowyourselftogetintoanargument.Offertohavetheappropriate

personinthedepartmentreadthepaper,perhapsthecoursesupervisororthedepartment

chair.Knowaheadof8methenameofthepersoninyourdepartmenttowhomyoucanrefer

thesekindsofproblems.

ATAshould,ofcourse,consultwithmembersofthedepartmenttodiscoverthat

department'sspecialpoliciesongrades.TAsmustbeclearonthedepartment'spolicyand

developasysteminconformitywithit.

Instructorsshouldpostgrades(usingasecuresystemlikeSASGradebookorthegradebook

featuresinSakaiorCanvas)assoonaspossible.Addi8onally,allinstructorsshouldscheduleat

leastonefinalofficehouraPerthesemesterendstoallowstudentstodiscusstheirfinalgrade.

� 44

Occasionallystudentswillcomeintochallengetheirfinalgrades.Iflargenumbersof

studentscomplain,youwillneedtoreviewyourownperformance.Listencarefullytoeach

student'scomplaintandthenshowthestudenthowyouarrivedatthegrade.Remindstudents

whatwouldhavebeennecessaryforahighergrade.Ifyoucannotreconcileastudenttohisor

hergrade,heorshemustregistertheconcerninwri8ngtothedepartmentchairorother

appropriatepersonandtotheofficeofthedeanofthefacultyofferingthecourse.

TheboFomlineisthatstudentsmustbeprotectedfromarbitraryorcapricioustreatment.

Beclearonwhatisexpected,fairinevalua8on,andar8culateinpoin8ngouttheprosandcons

ofanypieceofgradedwork.

Students'RightstoPrivacyAllstudentsintheuniversityhaveabasicrighttoprivacy,anditistheresponsibilityofthe

instructortorespectandsafeguardthatprivacy.TheFamilyEduca8onalRightsandPrivacyAct

of1974,commonlyknownasFERPAortheBuckleyAmendment,dictatesthatinforma8on

aboutastudentcannotbereleasedtoanyone,includingparents,withouttheexpress

permissionofthestudent.Althoughthisrulingmostdirectlyconcernsstaffmembersworkingin

officesthatdealwithacademictranscripts,disciplinaryrecords,psychologicalfiles,and

placementofficecreden8alfilesthatcontainleFersofrecommenda8on,TAstoomusttakecare

thatstudentgrades,records,andiden8fiableinforma8onarehandledinaconfiden8almanner.

NEVERdiscussonestudent'sgradeswithanotherstudentorwithanyotherperson.Of

course,youmaydiscussstudentswiththosewhohaveaprofessionalneedtoknow,suchas

otherfacultymembersinvolvedwiththatstudent.

Whenreturningexamsorpapers,donotallowotherstudentstopickuppapersfortheir

absentfriends.ReturnwriFenworkonlytothestudentconcerned.Remindstudentsthatthe

universityispromptinreleasinggrades.Studentsmayvisitmy.rutgers.edutofindtheirgrades

shortlyaPertheinstructorisrequiredtosubmitthemifyou––orthefacultymember––decided

nottoalsopostgradesviaSASGradebook,Sakai,orCanvas.

TheChalkboard/WhiteboardThechalkboardandwhiteboard,usedwithcareandforethought,canbevaluableclassroom

aides:toillustrateanargumentordemonstra8on,tooutlineororganizematerial,ortowork

� 45

outcomplicatedproblems.Instructorsshouldconsiderhowtousetheboardtoitsbest

advantage.

• Startwithacleanslate.Atthebeginningofeveryclass,eraseallmaterialfromthe

previousclassevenifyoudonotplantousetheboard.

• Ifdrawingpicturesorotherdiagrams,drawthembiggerthanyouthinkyouneedthem

tobe.Ifyourdrawingisn’tlargeenoughwhenyoustartannota8ngit,itwillbecome

cluFeredanddifficulttoread.

• Ifyourhandwri8ngisdifficulttodecipher,printslowlyandcarefully.Cometoclassafew

minutesearlyifyoumust,towriteoutlongoutlinesorassignments.

• Donotstandinfrontoftheboard,blockingthestudents'view.APerwri8ngapieceof

thematerial,stepawayfromtheboardtoallowstudentstocopyitdown.

• RememberthatthereisadelayfromwhenyouhavewriFensomethingontheboardto

whenthestudentshavecopieditintotheirnotes.Infact,whenyouarefinishedwri8ng

animportantpoint,turntowatchthestudents.It’sokay–andinfactpreferable–to

pauseandbesilentforamomentwhilethestudentsfinishwri8ng.Whenyouseethat

mostorallofthestudentshavefinishedwri8ng,con8nuewiththelecture.Ifyoubegin

talkingwhiletheyares8llwri8ng,theywilllikelybetoofocusedonwri8ngthenotes

andmisswhatyousayoutloud.

• APerwri8ngtheen8reequa8onontheboard,turnfullytotheclassandpointoutthe

stepsasyoudescribethem.

• Donoteraseanythingbeforetheendoftheclassifyoucanavoidit.Beforeerasing,ask

thestudentsiftheyhavecopiedeverything.

• Coloredchalkcanbeagreattoolforvisualiza8onbutonlyifusedproperly.Before

choosingtouseacolor,besurethatitcanbereadfromthebackoftheroom.Oneway

toaccomplishthiswouldbetoarriveattheclassroomearly,writesomethingonthe

boardineachcolor,andthenwalktothebackoftheroomtoseeifyoucanreadwhat

you’vewriFen.

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Thinkcarefullyabouthowmuchdetailtowriteontheboardwhenlecturing.Giventhelimited

8meintheclassroom,itmaybetemp8ngtoonlywriteanoutlineortheessen8alideasonthe

board.Fukawa-Connelly,etal.(2017)however,foundthatofcommentsmadeorallybutnot

wriFenontheboard,atmost3%endsupinstudents’notes.Therefore,youshouldmake

choicesaboutwhatyouwriteontheboardbasedonhowyouwouldlikestudentstorecordthe

informa8on.Somepossibletechniquesinclude:

• Explainingtheideaverballyandthenwri8ngallthedetailsontheboard,orvise-versa.

• Wri8nganoutlineoftheideasontheboardandtheninstruc8ngthestudentstofillin

thedetailsingroupsduringclass.

• Ifyouwouldlikestudentstofillinthedetailsathome,writethatontheboardtoensure

thatinstruc8onmakesitintotheirnotes.

HelpfulResourcesTheRutgersLibrariesofferworkshopsintroducingstudentstoaresearchlibrary.This

orienta8onwillfocusdirectlyonthespecifictypesofmaterialthatthestudentswillneedfor

theirresearchprojects.

TheLanguageCentercontainsmaterialsforalllanguagesstudiedattheuniversity.Their

servicesareavailabletoanyoneintheuniversity.

TheLearningCentersprovideacademicsupportprogramsforundergraduates.Services

include:peertutoring,studygroups,andacademicandwri8ngassistance.

TheMathandScienceLearningCenterprovidesupportservicestostudentsinintroductory

mathandsciencecourses.

TheCenterforTeachingAdvancementandAssessmentResearchoffertechnologytraining

workshopsandarealsoresponsiblefortheend-of-semesterstudentcourseevalua8onsurveys.

Ac8veLearningCommunityisacommunityofeducatorsatRutgerswhoareinterestedin

ac8velearning.Theyrunworkshopsandtrainingsessionsandprovideresourcesforother

instructorsontheirwebsite.

HelpingYourselfTA/FacultyRela9ons

Althoughallprogramsmaynotofficiallydesignatesomeonebythe8tle"facultyadvisor,"

theyallshoulddesignateapersontowhomTAsmaygowithques8onsorproblems.

� 47

YourassignmentasaTAwilldeterminethenatureofyourrela8onshipwithyouradvisor.Ifyou

havebeenassignedtoteacharecita8onorlabsec8on,ortogradepapers,thefacultymember

whoteachesthelecturesec8onoftheclasswillusuallybethepersontowhomyougowith

yourproblems.Incourseswheretherearemul8pleTAs,itisabsolutelynecessarytowork

closelytocoordinateclassmethodsandgoals––howtheclasswillbeshaped,whatkindsof

exercisesandtestswillbeused––sothateachTA’sassignmentswillbeconsistentwiththerest.

Ifyouareasec8onteacherinamul8-sec8onedcourse,theremaybeacoursecoordinatorwho

canhelpyou.

ThoseTAsteachingsingle-sec8onupperlevelcoursesforwhichthereisnoapparentadvisor

shouldapproachthedepartment’sdirectorofundergraduatestudies,whowillactasadvisoror

mayrecommendanotherfacultymembermoreknowledgeableaboutthatpar8cularcourse.

Establishalinkbetweenyourself,yourcourse,andthedepartmentatthebeginningofthe

semestertoensureyouhavetheassistanceyourequirethroughoutthesemesterandtoletthe

departmentknowthatyouareinterestedindoingeverythingpossibletomakethecoursea

goodone.Clearly,yourTAassignmentwilldeterminehowmuchcontactyouhavewithyour

advisor;someTAswillbefairlyindependentwhileotherswillworkverycloselywithhimorher.

Clearguidelinesaboutcourseresponsibili8esshouldbeestablishedwithyouradvisorbefore

thebeginningofthesemester.Decisionsabouttes8ng,grading,content,anddivisionofwork

maybemadeatthis8me.Discussingtheseissuesbeforehandeliminateswhatcoulddevelop

intoseriousproblemslaterinthesemester.ATAtellingtheclassonethingandthefaculty

membertellingitsomethingdifferentcanleadtoconfusionintheclassandtensionbetween

theTAandfacultymember.

At8mes,youmayfindyourselfinthemiddle,betweenthestudentsandtheadvisor.Donot

feelthatyouhavetorelayeverycri8calstatementthatonemakestotheother.Thisisnotyour

job.However,youshouldbepreparedtoactasaliaisonwhenthereareseriouscomplaints.The

professorshouldbeinformedwhenamajorityofstudentshavewhatseemtobevalid

complaintsaboutthewaythecourseisbeingconducted.Awordtotheprofessorcandefuse

whatcouldturnintoanexplosivesitua8on.Betacxul,ofcourse.Noonewantstobetoldthat

heorsheisabadteacher.

Construc8vecri8cismfromyouradvisorcanhelpyouinyourprofessionaldevelopment;

acceptthiscri8cismgracefullyandmaturely.CourseadvisorsrecognizethatTAsareappren8ce

� 48

teachersandmaybenefitfromtheirgreaterexperience.Theyareavaluableresourcewhich

shouldnotbeoverlooked.

GraduateProgramAdministratorsTherearefewpeopleintheuniversitywhocanhelpyouasmuchonadaytodaybasisas

yourgraduateprogramadministrator.Heorsheisthepersoninyourdepartmentwhobest

understandsthoseuniversityproceduresthroughwhichyouwillhavetowendyourway.Ifyou

arenotsureaboutsomething––whomtocall,whenadeadlinefalls,orhowtogetsomeneeded

informa8on––inmostcases,thegraduateprogramadministratorwillhavetheanswerorknow

wheretofindit.Ofcourse,donotburdentheadministratorswithproblemsthatyoucanfigure

outforyourselfasmostofthemalreadyhavetheirhandsfull,butwhenyouarereallyataloss

theywillalmostcertainlysteeryouintherightdirec8on.

Interna9onalTAsMostoftheproblemsfacedbyinterna8onalTAsarethesameasthosefacedbyAmerican

TAs.However,becausemanyinterna8onalTAsarenotonlynewtoRutgersandtoteachingbut

alsotothiscountry,therearesomeuniqueconcernsthatmaytroublethem.Inpar8cular,

languageandcommunica8oncansome8mespresentchallenges.Interna8onalTAsmayworry

thattheywillnotbeabletounderstandtheirstudentsorthattheirstudentswillnotbeableto

understandthem.Thisis,ofcourse,averyrealconcernandonethatcanlessenonlyastheTA

gainsexperienceasaspeakerofEnglish.Tohastentheprocess,TAsshouldtrytoimmerse

themselvesinthelanguagebywatchingvideosandtelevision,listeningtopodcastsandthe

radio,readingAmericannewspapersandmagazines,and,ofcourse,speakingEnglishasoPenas

possible.Seekoutna8vespeakerswithwhomtoprac8cespeakingandlisteningskills.In

par8cular,talktoyourfellowTAswhoarena8veEnglishspeakersaboutthecourseandits

materials.Theymaybeabletoprovideinsightintohowtomostclearlycommunicatecertain

difficultideas.

Beawareofthefactthatyouraccentmaybeunfamiliartomanyofyourundergraduates,so

youshouldspeakslowlytogivethemachancetogetusedtoyouraccentedEnglish.Whenyou

introduceyourselfonthefirstday(beingsuretowriteyournameontheblackboard/

whiteboard),youmaywishtotellthestudentswhatcountryyouarefromandwhyyouarehere

atRutgers.StudentswhounderstandaliFleaboutaperson'scultureandbackgroundaremore

� 49

willingtogivethatpersonachanceandmakethesmallexer8onnecessarytounderstandan

unfamiliaraccent.

Letyourstudentsknowthatyoucareaboutthemandareinterestedinthem.Youmaywish

toexplainthatyouhopetheclasswillbeapartnershipwherebothpar8eshavesomethingto

offer.Youlooktothemforhelpwithcorrec8nganyini8aldifficul8esyoumayhavewiththe

language,whiletheycanlooktoyouforexper8seinthesubjectmaFer.Workingtogether,you

bothcanbenefit.

Itisveryimportanttomakeitcleartothestudentsthatyouexpectthemtoletyouknow

whentheydon'tunderstandsomethingyousayandpromisetodothesameforthem.Ifa

studentasksyouaques8onyoudonotunderstand,askthestudenttorephraseit.Don'tworry

thatsayingyoudon'tunderstandwillcompromiseyourauthority;pretendingtounderstand

whenyouclearlydonotwilldomuchmoretoundermineyourauthorityandloseyour

students'respect.Infact,acknowledginganycommunica8onchallengesupfronthelpsyou

maintainyourauthorityintheclassroom.Toavoidhavingstudentsuseyouraccentagainstyou

(e.g.,tellingyouthattheymisunderstoodyou,sotheydidnotcompletetheirhomeworkor

studyforatest––donotworry,veryfewstudentswilldothingslikethis)yoursyllabusshould

listallassignments.

Duringthefirstfewweeksatleast,pauseoPentoaskstudentsiftheyarefollowingyou,if

theyhaveanyques8ons,andwaitforananswer.Letthemknowthatyoureallydowantthem

totellyouwhentheyarehavingdifficul8es.Makesurethatduringyourlecturesyouwriteall

keywordsontheboard(orusePowerPointorsimilarpresenta8onsoPware)sothatyouare

surethestudentsareunderstandingthemcorrectly.

Americanstudentsmayseemverydifferentfromstudentsinothercountries.Interna8onal

TAsaresome8messurprisedatfirstbywhattheyperceiveasalackofrespecttowardthemas

teachers.UnderstandingsomeofthedifferencesinAmericanstudentsmayhelptoalleviate

this.Onewaytohelpdevelopthisunderstandingistositinonsomeundergraduatecoursesin

theuniversityduringyourfirstweeksasaTA.Thiswillallowyoutoseethevarie8esofaccepted

classroombehaviorandthekindsofstudent/teacherrela8onshipscommoninthiscountry.

IntheUnitedStates,studentscomefromawiderangeofbackgrounds.Someofyour

studentsmaybeolderthanyouexpect;manywillbeholdingpart-8me,orevenfull-8me,jobs.

Thedressandmannerofyourstudentsmaybequitecasual;donotinterpretthisasasignof

� 50

disrespect.Classroomsaresome8mesquiteinformal.AmericanstudentswilloPenques8onor

evendisagreewithsomethingtheteachersays.Thisisacceptedclassroombehaviorandisnot

meanthos8lelyorasachallengetotheteacher'sauthority;theclassisperceivedasadialogue

ratherthanamonologue.

WorkloadManagementClassprepara8on,grading,andyourowngraduateworkwillallplacecompe8ngdemands

onyour8me.Toavoidacrisis,drawupsomegeneralrulesatthebeginningofthesemester.You

maynotalwaysbeabletokeepthem,butyoushouldtrytoadoptthemasgeneralguides.

Rememberyourowngraduatework.Yourfirstresponsibilityattheuniversityisyour

graduatework,and,thinkingprac8cally,youmustrealizethattheassistantshipisdependent

uponsuccessfulcomple8onofyourowncourses.

Donotletworkpileup.Whenyoureceiveasetofpaperstobegraded,don'ttosstheminto

acornerun8lthe8mecomeswhenyoucandothemallatonce—that8mewillnevercome.

Instead,calculatehowmanypapersyouwouldhavetoreadeverydayinordertoreturnthem

withinareasonable8me(perhapsoneweek),andthenfindthatmuch8me.

Bereadytoaskforhelp.If,asthesemesterprogresses,youfindyourselfconsistentlybehind

inbothyourgraduateworkandyourteaching,itis8metoreassessyourmethods.Speakto

yourfacultyadvisoraboutyourproblems.

StephanieDonato,acareerdevelopmentandplacementspecialist,offersthefollowing

helpfulhints:

• Rankalltasksintheirorderofimportance.Thiswillgiveyouarealis8cperspec8veon

thetasksyouface.

• Makeanoutlineofalldeadlinesyoumustmeetbeforetheendofthesemester.This

relievespressure;ratherthanworryingaboutallofthedeadlines,youcanfocusmore

sharplyontheimminentones.

• Enteralltasksanddeadlinesinacalendarandflagthem.

• Setareminderfortwoweeksbeforeeachdeadline.

• Makeadaily"to-do"list.Everyday,beforeyoubeginyourwork,lookatthislist.Handle

themostcri8caltasksfirst.

� 51

TeachingEvalua9onsAgoodideaforallinstructorsisanevalua8onduringthefirstthirdorhalfoftheterm.

Wai8ngun8ltheendofthesemesterforanevalua8onofyourteachingperformancecanput

yourstudentsatrisk.Whatthestudentssayonthefinalevalua8onorhowtheydoontheirfinal

examorpapermaypermityoutodrawsomeconclusionsaboutyourteaching,butifthe

conclusionisthatyourteachingwasineffec8ve,itiscertainlytoolatetorepairthedamage.

Itisgenerallyusefultohavestudents'opinionsaboutyourteachingasthesemesterunfolds.

Considerpreparingyourownevalua8onform,orusingormodifyingTAP'smid-semester

evalua8onform,togivetothestudentsduringthefirstthirdorhalfofthesemester.

Donotviewevalua8onsasanintrusionorapunishmentbutasameanstobecominga

beFerteacher.Asinglecommentshouldnotbegiventoomuchweight,butseveralthatfocus

onthesameissueshouldbegivenseriousthought.Viewnega8vecommentsasconstruc8ve

cri8cism,evenifstudentsmaynotalwaysphrasethemthatway.

TheTeachingPordolioAnincreasingnumberofcollegesanduniversi8esareusingteachingporxoliostohelpthem

makehiring,tenure,andpromo8ondecisions.Ateachingporxolioprovidesaprofileofyouasa

teacher.Itisasolidcollec8onofevidencedetailingtheeffec8venessofyourteachingand

reflec8onsonthatevidence.Itcanalsohelpyouapplyforteachingawardsandresearchgrants

aswellasassistfacultymembersinwri8ngreferenceleFersforyou,astheywillbeabletoread

exactlyhowandwhyyou'vebeenteachingandtailortheirreferenceleFersaccordingly.

Foreverycourseyouteach,youshouldtakenotesthatdescribethecourse,howyoutaught

it,andwhyyoutaughtitthewayyoudid.Gathersyllabi,copiesofanyassignmentsyoucreated,

includingexamsandpapertopics,andanymaterialsyoucreated.Yourporxolioshouldalso

includeevalua8onsofyourteaching.Inaddi8ontostudentra8ngsorevalua8ons,youcanaska

facultymembertoobserveyourclassandwriteanevalua8on.

IfyouaFendaworkshop,takeacourserelatedtoteaching,orpar8cipateinanyother

ac8vi8estoimproveyourpedagogicalskills(suchasaTAPworkshoporseminar),documentitin

yourporxolio.Evidenceofaninterestinteachingandeffortstodevelopyourteachingskills

maymakeyoustandoutasajobcandidate.

OtherConsidera9ons

� 52

Non-tradi9onalStudentsThenon-tradi8onalstudent,suchasanolderstudentwithacareerorafamily,orboth,has

becomeastrongpresenceonAmericanuniversitycampusesoverthelastseveraldecades.Non-

tradi8onalstudentsmustmeetthesamestandardsasallstudents,but,oPen,becausetheyare

onlyaFendingpart-8me,theywilltakemore8metocompletetheirdegreerequirements.

Unlikethelivesofmany'tradi8onal'Rutgersstudents,thoseofnon-tradi8onalstudentswill

probablynotbecenteredaroundtheuniversity.Theirschoolworkisimportanttothem,but

theyareequallycommiFedtotheirjobsandfamilies.Thisisnottosuggestthattheyareless

interestedintheireduca8on;forthemostpart,theyarededicatedanddemandingstudents,

oPenmoreac8velyinvolvedintheireduca8onthanotherstudents.Manyofthesestudents

haveresponsiblejobsthathaveaccustomedthemtocarryingoutassignmentsindependently.

Thisexperiencemaymakethemmoredemandingasstudents,lesstolerantofwastedclass

8me,poorlypreparedlectures,andcarelessgrading.Changingrequirements,policies,ordue

datesmid-semester,whileneveragoodidea,couldcauseseverehardshipsforthesestudents

whose8meisnecessarilycarefullybudgeted.Alwaysbeclearaboutrequirements,whether

workisvoluntaryorrequired,extraornocredit.

YourpoliciesondeadlinesandaFendancemayhavetobemoreflexiblethanisusual.A

studentmayhavetotraveloccasionallyforherjob.Asickchildmaypreventanotherfrom

comple8nghispaper.Allthework,ofcourse,mustbecompleted,butdeadlinesshouldnotbe

totallyinflexible.

StudentAthletesSomeofyourstudentswillbecommiFedtooneormorevarsitysportsorinthebandoron

thecheerleadingsquad.BecausetravelisoPeninvolvedinsuchac8vi8es,thesestudentsmay

some8meshavetomissclassorevenanexam.Oneofyourresponsibili8esasateacheristo

ensurethattheseac8vi8esarenotallowedtointerferewiththeprogressthestudentsmake

towardadegree.

Asmostpeopleareaware,therehavebeensomenotablescandalsincollegeathle8csover

thepastseveralyears––studentathletesexemptedfromnormalcollegerequirements,teachers

pressuredtoaltergradesorlightencoursework,etc.Studentswhopar8cipateinsuchprograms

atRutgersunderstandthattheymustmeetcertainacademicstandards,ortheyloseeligibility.

� 53

Studentswhoareinvolvedinasportattheuniversityshouldinformyouofthisat

thebeginningofthesemesterandgiveyoutheirtravelschedule.Iftherewillbeserious

conflictsoverthesemester,itisbesttodiscusshowtoresolvethemattheverybeginning.

Approximatelyaweekbeforeeachtrip,thestudentwillbringyoualeFer,signedbythecoach

andanathle8cacademicadvisor,toremindyouoftheupcomingabsence.Studentswhotell

youthattheyareunabletoaFendclassbutfailtoproducesuchleFersshouldnotbeofficially

excused.ANCAAregula8onsaysthatstudentsmaynotmissclassforprac8ce,onlyforofficial

games.

Studentathletesareresponsibleforcontac8ngtheirinstructorsassoonastheyreturnfrom

atrip.Althoughtheyhavebeenexcusedfromclass,theyares8llresponsibleforfindingout

whatwentonintheclassandcomple8ngtheassignments.Ifastudentathleteinyourclass

seemstobehavingadifficult8mekeepingup,besuretospeaktothestudent.Giventhe

oPen8mesdifficultscheduleofclasses,prac8ces,andgames,itisnotsurprisingthatsome

studentsmayneedsomeextrahelp.

StudentswithDisabili9esAnyins8tu8onthatreceivesfederalfundingmustmakeitsprogramsaccessibletothose

withdisabili8es.You,asaninstructoratRutgers,havearesponsibilitytoseethattherightsof

thesestudentsarenotviolated.

SomeTAsmayfeeluncomfortableatfirstwithadisabledstudentbecausetheyhavenever

hadcontactwithapersonwithadisability.Oncetheyhaveadisabledstudentintheirclass

however,theywillrealizethatinnearlyallrespectstheyarejustliketheotherstudents.Be

carefultotreatthesestudentsfairly:neitheravoidthemnorsinglethemoutforspecial

treatment.

Rememberthatwhileinsomecasesthestudent'sdisabilitywillbeobvious,inmanyothers

youwillneverknowaboutitunlessthestudenttellsyou.Makeiteasyforastudenttotellyou.

Atthebeginningofthesemester,makeageneralannouncementinvi8ngstudentstocometo

yourofficeortospeakwithyouprivatelyaPerclassaboutanyques8onsorproblemstheymay

foreseeinyourcourse.

� 54

Asamemberofyourclass,thedisabledstudentshouldbeheldresponsibleforthesame

materialastheothers.Youmayandshould,however,makeanyreasonableaccommoda8ons

youcantoassistthestudentincomple8ngthecourserequirements.

Whatkindsofassistanceoraccommoda8onshouldyouexpecttoarrange?Thiswillvary

accordingtothestudentandshouldbedeterminedandconfirmedbytheOfficeofDisability

Services.Alldisabledstudentshaveacoordinatortoassisttheminsecuringtheproper

accommoda8ons.Forstudentswhohavenotyetmetwiththeircoordinator,theyshouldbe

directedtotheOfficeofDisabilityServicesandtheircoordinatortosecuretheproper

documenta8on.

APermee8ngwiththestudent,thedisabilitycoordinatorwillwritetoyouverifyingthatthe

studenthasadisabilityanddescribingthenecessaryaccommoda8ons.Astudentwithahearing

problemmaysimplyaskyoutoreserveadesknearthefrontoftheclassroom.Somestudents

mayneedtorecordlecturesortohaveascribetakenotesforthem.Othersmayrequirelonger

8mesforexamsorlabs.Byworkingtogether––you,thestudent,andthecoordinator––a

solu8onwillbefoundthatworksbestforallinvolved.

DifficultStudentsNewTAswillsoondiscoverthat,forthemostpart,Rutgersundergraduatesarehard-

working,courteous,andwell-behaved.Occasionally,however,instructorswillfindthemselves

facedwithastudentwhosebehaviorthreatenstoatleastsidetrackifnotdisruptthecourse

en8rely.TakingswiPandfirmac8onearlyon,beforeyourauthorityisseriouslycompromised,is

thebestpolicyforallconcerned.Beingabletoiden8fyproblemsbeforetheyescalatewillhelp

youtomaintaincontroloftheclassandthematerialsbeingpresented.

Preven8onisalwaysbeFerthancure.Establishcertainstandardsatthebeginningofthe

semester,adheretothemasthecoursegoeson,andmanyproblemscanbeaverted.Explainto

yourstudentsonthefirstdaythataFen8venessandpar8cipa8onarerequired.(Althoughmost

studentsunderstandthiswithoutbeingtold,abriefdiscussionofexpecta8onsatthebeginning

ofthesemesterleavesyoustandingonfirmergroundifproblemsdodevelop.)Makeitclear

thatstudentsarenotonlyexpectedtoaFendclassbuttobetherementally.Browsingtheweb,

listeningtomusic,tex8ng,cha`ngwithclassmates,shou8ngoutcomments,doinghomework

forotherclassesareac8vi8esthatdisturbothersandsignaladisregardforclassmates.Again,

� 55

se`ngthesegroundruleswillnotguaranteeaproblem-freeclass,buttheycandiscourage

certainkindsofbehaviorbeforetheybegin.Makecertaintolistthesestandardsand

expecta8onsonthesyllabus.

Perhapsthemostcommonproblemateacherfacesisthestudentwho,foranyvarietyof

reasons,feelstheneedtomonopolizeclassdiscussionsortoblurtoutanswersbeforeanyone

elsehasachancetorespond.Thesestudentsinhibitthequieterstudents,dampenthe

enthusiasmofthelessshy,andcauseresentmentandangeragainstthemselvesandtheteacher

whoallowsthemtodominatetheclass.

Onesuchstudentistheverybrightstudent,whousuallysitsnearthefrontoftheclassroom

whereitiseasiesttomakeeyecontactwiththeteacher.Whatthisstudentcontributestothe

classisgenerallyworthwhile,butthestudentsoonbeginstodominatethediscussions.Atthe

beginningofthesemesteratleast,thestudentisoPenimplicitlyencouragedinthisbehavior

bothbytheotherstudentsandtheteacher.Theotherstudentsintheclassarerelievedthat

theydonothavetorespondbecausetheyknowthatthisvocalstudentwill;theinstructor––

especiallythenewandnervousinstructor––willbehappythatsomeoneisresponding,that

ques8onsdonotfallflatuponawallofsilence.

Soon,however,problemsmaydevelop.Studentswillneverbecomewhollyengagedinthe

materialsiftheyfeelthattheclassisadialoguebetweentheteacherandoneortwostudents.

Theywillsoonresentthefactthatthecoursefocusesuponasinglestudentratherthanonthe

class,andthisresentmentcaneasilyturnintohos8lity.Becausethereisnonecessityfor

responding,otherstudentswillinvestless8meintheclass,oPencomingunprepared,thus

excludingthemselvesfromanychanceoffuturepar8cipa8on.Theendresultisaclasswhichis

disengaged,acoursewhichlacksthedepththatitcouldhavederivedfromafullrangeof

studentresponses,andateacherwhoseclasshasfailedtoexcitethestudents.

Fromthebeginningofthesemester,ateachermustworkhardtoengageallstudents.Give

thestudentsaminuteortwotoformulateanansweraPeraskingaques8on.Donotbeafraid

ofsilence.Lookaroundtheen8reclass,makingeyecontactwithasmanystudentsaspossible,

toletthemknowthattheyarevisibleandvaluablemembersoftheclass.Callonstudentswho

havenotraisedtheirhands.Iftheyareunabletoanswerthefirst8methatyoudothis,almost

certainlytheywillbebeFerpreparedthesecond8me.Ifastudentgivesanincorrectorvague

answer,workwiththisstudentawhile;donotmerelypassonquicklytothedomina8ngstudent

� 56

fromwhomyouknowyoucangetthedesiredresponse.Thedomina8ngstudentshould

certainlynotbeignored,butothersmustalsobegiventheopportunityandtheencouragement

topar8cipate.

If,inspiteoftheseprecau8ons,thestudentcon8nuestomonopolizetheclass,takethe

studentasideaPerclass.Explainthatalthoughyourecognizethevalueofthestudent's

contribu8onsandthedepthofthestudent'sknowledgeinthesubject,youalsoseethevalueof

involvingthewholeclassinthelearningprocess.Youmaywishtoinvolvethisstudentinyour

aFemptstomaketherestoftheclassmoreresponsive.Manybrightstudentsreadily

acknowledgetheirownover-eagernessandarewillingtogivetheotherstudentsinclassan

opportunitytorespondbeforetheydo,especiallyiftheirteachersmakeitclearthatthey

appreciatethestudent'sabilityandintelligence.

Ifastudentinterruptsothersorshoutsouttheanswerwithoutwai8ngtobecalledon,

makeitclearimmediatelythatthisbehaviorisnotacceptable.Eveninaclassdiscussion,where

spontaneityisdesirable,studentsshouldrecognizetherightsofothersandtreatthemwith

courtesy.Adiscussionshouldneverturnintoafree-for-all,andyou,theinstructor,shouldactas

moderatorofthedebates,exercisingsomecontroloverthestudents,direc8ngthediscussion

anditspar8cipants.

Arelatedproblemisthestudentwhoisforevervolunteeringanswersthatdonotreally

respondtotheques8onsyouhaveaskedorthattendtomovetheclassawayfromthetopic

underdiscussion.Thisisnottosaythatthereisonlyoneanswertoanyques8on,butthatsome

studentshavelearnedinhighschoolthatthebestwaytogethighgradesisbybluffingtheirway

throughaclass.Ratherthandiscussingthetextortheissueunderconsidera8on(aboutwhich

theyoPenknowveryliFle),thestudentwillrelatelongstoriesbasedonpersonalexperiences

orintroducematerialfromanotherclass,neitherofwhichhaverelevancetothetopicathand.

Theresultistogettheclassofftrackandcauseacarefullyplannedsyllabustoflyoutthe

window.

Itisalwayspreferabletotrytoavoidthissitua8oninthefirstplace,byformula8ng

ques8onscarefullyinclasssothatstudentsareforcedtorelatetheanswertothetextorthe

maFerunderdiscussion.Ifthestudentignoresyourpointedques8on,assuchstudentsoPen

do,askthestudenttorelatetheanswertotheques8onmorespecifically.Ifthestudentis

unabletodothis,youshouldaskhimorheradirectques8onaboutclassprepara8on:“Have

� 57

youreadthetext?”or“Haveyouworkedoutallthestepsofthesolu8on?”Ifnot,suggestthat

thestudentseeyouaPerclassandatthat8meyoushouldkindly,yetfirmly,explainthe

inappropriatenessofthatstudent'sresponsesandthenecessityofpayingaFen8ontothe

assignmentsandclassfocus.Whenonceinformedpoint-blankthatbluffingisnotuseful,the

studentwillusuallystopthisbehavior.

Anotherproblemisthegenuinelydisrup8vestudent.Youwillsome8mesencounter

studentswhosittogether(usuallyinoneofthebackcornersoftheclassroom)andtalkand

laughthroughoutclass.Direc8ngapointedcommentatthisgroupmayremindthemofthe

expectedbehavior."Didyouwishtoaddsomethingtothediscussion,Mr.X?"willletthem

knowthattheirbehaviorhasbeenobservedandthattheyarenotbehavinginanacceptable

manner.YoushouldalsospeaktothemaPerclass,individuallywheneverpossible.Ifyouwish,

youcanaskthattheynolongersittogetherduringyourclass.Moststudentswillnotpersistin

thiskindofbehavioronceyouhaveveryclearlyletthemknowthatyouwillnotallowit.

Otherstudentsmaysignaltheirlackofinterestintheclassbybrowsingtheweb,tex8ng,or

doinghomework.Trytocatchtheeyeofthesestudents,le`ngthemknowinanon-verbalway

thatyoudonotapproveoftheirbehavior.Or,ifthestudentsaresoengrossedintheac8vity

thatyoucannotcatchtheireyes,askadirectques8onoftheseinaFen8vestudents,andthey

willcertainlynotbeabletoanswer.OPenthisisenoughtodiscouragesuchbehavior.Ifthis

doesn'twork,however,askthemtostopatonceandtellthemtoseeyouaPerclass.Donot

ignorethesestudentsfortodosoonlyencouragesotherstopar8cipateinthiskindofbehavior.

Studentswhomakeoffensiveremarksintheclassroommustbeinformedatoncethattheir

behaviorisunacceptable.Makeitveryclearfromthebeginningofthesemesterthatthiscan

neverbetoleratedinauniversityclassroom.Sexist,racist,homophobic,andxenophobic

remarksshouldbeconfrontedonthespot.Ifthestudentseemsgenuinelynottounderstand

theproblem,explainwhytheremarkisunacceptable.Butifthestudentclearlymeansto

offend,youshouldrespondsternlyandquickly.If,aPerbeingspokento,thestudentpersistsin

suchbehavior,youmayhavetoappealtothedean'sofficeofthatstudent’spar8cularschoolfor

furtherac8on(seeOurCommonPurposes).

Inmostsitua8ons,however,thebasicruleisnottoembarrassthestudentinclass.

EmbarrassmentdoesliFletohelpchangethestudent'sbehaviorandmayinhibittheother

� 58

membersoftheclassfromcontribu8ng.Neverletastudentfeel'putdown'asthisin8midates

andusuallyturnsofffuturepar8cipa8on.

AcademicIntegrityNostudentshouldbeallowedanunfairadvantagethroughtheuseofdishonestmethods.

Examplesofacademicdishonestycoverawiderangeofbehaviors,includingcopying

homework,plagiarizing,buyingtermpapers,andchea8ngonexams.Somestudentsarefully

awaretheyarechea8ng,whileothersmaynotiden8fytheirac8onsassuch.Someteachers

denythattheirstudentscheatbecauseitseemstobeapersonalaffront,andsomerealizethat

studentsdocheat,indeedevensuspectcertainstudentsofchea8ng,butrefusetoactupon

theirsuspicions.Theymayworryaboutcausingthestudentirreparabledamage,ofruiningthe

student'slife,ortheymayjustwishtoavoidanunpleasantscene,ortheprocessinvolvedin

goingthroughauniversityhearing.So,forwhateverreason,theyremainsilent,buttoremain

silentistopar8cipateinthestudent'sdishonesty.

Beforethesemesterbegins,instructorsshouldreadtheAcademicIntegrityPolicy,andatthe

beginningofthesemester,spendafewminutestalkingaboutacademicintegritywiththeir

students.ReadingaloudfromtheuniversitypolicyonacademicintegrityisoPenasobering

experience,forthestudentslearnthattheteacherisobligatedtoreportallviola8onsfor

inves8ga8on.Explainverycarefullythatplagiarismdoesnotmerelymeancopyingsomeone's

wordswithoutproperlycredi8ngthembutcopyingtheirideasalso.Manystudentshavea

limitedideaofwhatcons8tutesplagiarism.Correctthismispercep8on.Setlimitsforyour

studentsonthefirstdayofthesemester.Explainthemeaningofgroupworkandwhereand

whenitisappropriate.

Theresearchpapercanbeanopportunityforstudentstobecomefamiliarwiththeprocess

oforiginalscholarship,oritcanbeanoccasionfordishonesty.Everyonebynowisfamiliarwith

theterm-papermills(ifyouarenot,doanonlinesearchfor"termpaper")whereastudentcan

buyapaper.Somesugges8onsforpreven8onfollow.

• Take8metodevelopagoodtopic.Setverydefiniteparameterstotheassignment.

• Don'tusethesameessaytopicseverysemester.

• Ifprac8cal,insistthatstudentshandinoutlinesandworkingbibliographies.

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• Ifpossible,meetwiththestudentsbeforetheyhandintheirthesisstatements.Discuss

thepaperstheyplantowrite.Makerecommenda8onsofsourcesforthepapers.Tell

studentsthattheymaybeexpectedtodiscusstheirpapersanditssourcesatalater

mee8ng.

Ifyoususpectthatastudenthascut-and-pastedpartofapaperyouneedtofollowthrough

onyoursuspicions.Whenpar8cularphrasesstrikeyouasunusual,forexample,(theysound

overlypolishedortechnicaloracademic),doanInternetsearchonit.Youmayalsowantto

searchAmazonorGoogleBooksortouseturni8n.com.(Whateveryoudo,documentyour

searches,wri8ngdownorbookmarkingtherelevantURLsandkeepingscreenshotsorprin8ng

outpageswhichcontainmatchingtext.

Ifthepaper,asawhole,doesn'tquiteconformtoyourassignmentorinsomewayseems

suspicioustoyou(toomanysources,sourcesthatyoudon'ttrust,footnoteswhichdon'tseem

togowiththetext,acompletelackoffootnotes),thestudentmayhaveacquiredtheen8re

paperonline,eitherfromafreesiteorfromapapermillwhichsellstermpapers.Formore8ps,

visitPlagiarismandAn8-PlagiarismbyProfessorHeywardEhrlich.

Ifyoucannotpinpointtheauthor,butyous8llhaveseriousdoubtsaboutthepaper's

source,speaktothestudent.Youmightasksomespecificques8onsaboutthepaper,whatthe

studentmeansbycertainwordsandphrases,oraskques8onsaboutsomeofthesourcescited.

Donotaccusethestudentdirectlyofchea8ng.Explorethesitua8onwithsuchques8onsas"I

wasinterestedinyourstatement...?"or"Idon'tunderstandhow...?"or"Canyoutellme

howyoucametothisconclusion?"etc.Intheabsenceofasa8sfactoryresponse,youareleP

withnoalterna8vebuttoreferthemaFerforreview.

Likewise,makeitdifficultforstudentstocheatonexams.

• Don'tusethesameexamseverysemester.

• Givethestudentsmul8plesmalltestsandpapersratherthanoneortwolargeones.

• Ifpossible,useshortansweroressayexamsratherthanrelyingsolelyontrue/falseor

mul8ple-choiceques8ons.Ifyoudousemul8plechoiceortrue/false,makeseveral

differentversionsoftheexam,withtheorderoftheques8onsscrambled.Prin8ngthe

examsondifferentcolorsofpaperalsohelps.

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• Onthedayoftheexam,askthestudentstoseatthemselvesinalternateseatsandrows

sotheywillnotbetemptedtocheat.

• Iftheexamisheldinalarge,crowdedclassroom,makesurethereareenoughproctors.

Somedepartmentswillhirethemforyou––askyourgraduateprogramadministratoror

advisor.

• Walkaroundtheclassroomduringtheexam.Ifyousitdown,dosointhebackofthe

room.

• Ifyouseeastudentchea8ngduringtheexam,takeac8onimmediately.Astudentwho

seemstobetryingtolookatanotherstudent'spapermaybestoppedwithameaningful

look.Ifthestudentcon8nuestolook,insistthatthestudentmovetoanotherpartofthe

room.

Ifyoudofindevidencethatastudenthasengagedinplagiarismoranyotherformof

chea8ng,don'ttakeac8ononyourown,likefailingthestudentortearinguphisorherpaper.

Followinguniversityproceduresprotectsyouandensuresfairnessforyourstudents.Makesure

youspeakwithyourdepartmentchair.

Informa9onLiteracyDependingonthetopicandyourgoalsfortheclassyoushoulddiscussstrategiesfor

iden8fyingreliableInternetsourceswithyourstudents.Makesurestudentsunderstandthat

theinforma8ontheyfindonlineprobablyhasn'tgonethroughafilteringprocesslikeedi8ngor

peerreview.Letstudentsknowthattheyneedtoaskthefollowingkindsofques8onstobegin

toevaluateinforma8ontheyfindonline:

• Whoistheauthorandwhataretheircreden8als?

• Doesanyins8tu8on(corpora8on,organiza8on,university,governmentbody,etc.)

supportthiswebsite?

• Doestheins8tu8onexercisequalitycontroloverthecontent?

• Howmightthecontentofthewebsitebebiasedbytheauthor'saffilia8onwiththe

suppor8ngins8tu8on?

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• Whenwasthecontentcreated,andhowrecentlywasitupdated?

• Whatistheapparentpurposeoftheinforma8on(topersuade,inform,entertain)?

• Whoistheintendedaudience?

TroubledStudentsForavarietyofreasons,studentsoPenconfideinTAsduringpersonalcrises.Listentoyour

students.Keepthelinesofcommunica8onsopen.Eveniftheproblemsofthestudentsseem

trivialtoyou,donottreatthemlightly.Rememberthatmanyofyourstudentsarelivingontheir

ownforthefirst8meandtryingtocopewithincreasedacademicandsocialdemands.Your

compassionandunderstandingcouldmakeabigdifferenceintheirlives.

Somestudentswon'tcomedirectlyoutandaskforassistancebutmaysendyousignals

abouttheirdifficul8esinotherways.Thereareanumberofsignswhichcanalertyoutothefact

thatastudentmaybeindistress.Theseinclude:

• Markeddeclineinqualityofcourseworkorclasspar8cipa8on;

• Increasedabsencefromclassorfailuretoturninwork;

• Prolongeddepression,suggestedbyasadexpression,apathy,weightlossorgain,

sleepingdifficulty,andtearfulness;

• Nervousness,agita8on,excessiveworry,irritability,aggressiveness,ornonstoptalking;

• Bizarre,strangebehaviororspeech;

• Extremedependencyonfacultyorstaff,includingspendingmuchoftheirspare8me

visi8ngduringofficehoursoratother8mes;

• Markedchangeinpersonalhygiene;

• Talkofsuicide,eitherdirectlyorindirectlysuchas,"Iwon'tbearoundtotakethatexam

anyway"or"I'mnotworriedaboutge`ngajob,Iwon'tneedone.";

• Commentsinastudent'spaperthatarouseconcern.

Ifyouareunsureabouttheseverityofthestudent'sproblem,orthestepswhichshouldbe

taken,contactCounseling,ADAP&PsychiatricServices(CAPS)orSeniorAssociateDeanBarbara

Bender(barbara.bender@rutgers.eduor848-932-7747).Alwaysrememberthatyouarenota

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licensedcounselororpsychologist,sotheextenttowhichyoucandirectlyhelpstudentsmaybe

limited.

Nevertrytoforceastudenttogotocounseling.Inevitably,thisiscounterproduc8ve.

Encouragethestudentsinwhateverwayyoucanandletthemknowthatyouareconcerned

andwillingtohelp,butdonottrytostrong-armthem.Toomuchpressurewillmakethem

retreat,perhapscu`ngthemofffromtheironlyavenueofassistance.If,however,yoususpect

thestudentwillharmthemselvesorothers,youshouldcontactCounseling,ADAP&Psychiatric

Services(CAPS)immediatelyorcall911.Theywillbeabletoguideyouthroughtheprocessof

makingsurethestudentandtheirclassmatesareprotected.

Undergraduatesarenot,ofcourse,theonlypeoplesubjecttodepressionandanxiety;

graduatestudentsarejustaslikelytosufferfromtheseproblems.Instructorsshould

acknowledgethefactthattheyarehumanandmaysome8mesneedhelp.Theyshouldalso

recognizethefactthattheiruniqueposi8onintheuniversity––bothteacherandstudent––

producesspecialproblems.Thereisnoneedtowaitun8lthepressureisunbearable.The

sooneryouseekhelp––foryourselforyourstudent––thebeFer.

Counseling,ADAP&PsychiatricServices(CAPS)providespersonalcounselingand

psychologicalservicesforstudentsatRutgers.Alluniversitystudents,includingthoseinthe

graduateandprofessionalschoolsatRutgers,areeligibleforthisfreeandconfiden8alservice.

MaFersinvolvingcounselingarekeptstrictlyconfiden8al.Noinforma8onaboutastudentis

releasedwithoutthestudent'spermission,noteventhefactthatheorsheconsulteda

counselor.NorecordofhisorhervisittotheCounselingCenterisretainedonpermanent

universityrecords,soitcannotappearonatranscriptoranyofficialrecord.

OurCommonPurposesMostofusrecognizetheneedtoexhibitsensi8vitytoourstudentsandcolleaguesonvery

delicatesubjects.WewouldnotmakejokesinclassaboutseriousmaFerslikereligionordeath;

neitherwouldwemakepersonalremarksaboutsomeone'sphysicalappearance.Ingeneral,we

trytotreatothersasweourselveswouldliketobetreated,withsensi8vityandrespect.

SincemanyTAsares8lltakingcourses,theyareabletoempathizewiththeirstudentsas

students,tounderstandwhatitfeelsliketobeontheothersideofthedesk.Buttrea8ng

studentsasyouwouldliketobetreateddoesnotnecessarilymeanthatyoushouldassumethat

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theyareallexactlylikeyou.Infact,itisvitalthatyourecognize,acknowledge,andrespecteach

student'sindividuality.Athoughtlessjokeoracarelesswordcancausediscomfort,evenpain,to

someoneinyourclass.Beawareofthepoweryouhavetowoundothersandguardagainst

doingso.

Studentsmustalsobeheldtothesamestandardofbehavior,andoneoftheresponsibili8es

oftheTAistohelpstudentsunderstandthis––itisanecessarypartoftheireduca8on.Alarge

numberofRutgersstudentsarefromNewJerseyandhaveliFleexperiencewithpeopleoutside

oftheirculturalbackground.Othershavecomefromplaceswhereculturala`tudesare

radicallydifferent.Lackofexperience,however,doesnotexcuseintolerance.AsTAswemust

addressproblemswhentheyarise,tohelpourstudentslearntounderstandandacceptpeople

whoaredifferent.Educa8onshouldbeaprocesswhichopensthestudentsuptoawiderrange

ofexperiencesandpossibili8es,notonewhichnarrowsorhardensolda`tudesandprejudices.

PerhapsthemostimportantpointisthattheTAshouldalwaystreatthestudentswith

respectandtrytobesensi8vetotheirindividualneeds.Placingastudentinanuncomfortable

posi8oneitherthroughwordsorac8onsisunnecessaryandcruel.Understandthatthe

rela8onshipbetweenastudentandateacherisaprofessionalone;respectthatbondand

refusetoexploitit.

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