Department of Biological Sciences

Graduate Student Teaching Guidelines

Requirements

Admission to the Ph.D. program in Biology carries with it a commitment of full financial support for six years subject only to the condition that the student is making satisfactory progress toward the doctoral degree. This position carries a fixed stipend (the same for all students) for twelve months plus tuition and fees. In fulfillment of the requirements for the M.Phil. degree, all students must gain teaching experience as part of their graduate training. "Teach" means to lead a laboratory section or assist in teaching a lecture course. Students are expected to start teaching in their second year and generally complete their teaching by the end of their 3^rd year. A few students start later or delay some of their teaching, either to gain more experience and confidence, or to have the opportunity to help teach a course in their specialty. Students with suffciient experience and maturity are allowed to start teaching in the second term of the first year.

Responsibilities

The duties of the Teaching Fellow vary, depending on the course. They generally include grading (exam papers, homework or lab reports), running discussion sections, holding office hrs (in person or by email), preparing course materials and (for laboratory leaders) supervising laboratory sections. Each graduate student is required to teach the equivalent of 12 units (= 2 to 3 semesters). Ordinary assignments count for 4 units. Project labs, which involve heavier time commitment, count for 8 units; teaching the introductory lecture course, which involves a greater than average workload, counts for 6 units. Therefore the average graduate student teaches for 2 to 3 semesters. Students who enter with a master's degree (who have generally taught in their previous institution) are required to earn 8 units instead of 12.

Training

1. A seminar is held every semester at the beginning of the term for all students who are doing their first teaching assignment. The department's Teaching Manual (available from Mowshowitz's home page) is distributed and many of the issues covered are raised. The major purpose of this session is to provide departmental support and encouragement to the student TA's. At the session itself we discuss various aspects of graduate student teaching and suggest some ways to improve teaching and learning (both for the benefit of the Teaching Fellows and the benefit of their undergraduate students). We also try to provide Teaching Fellows with resources for solving problems that may arise in the future (the manual, GSAS web site, whom to contact, etc.)

2. There are no other department wide sessions, but Teaching Fellows for the introductory lecture and lab classes (and most of the other classes that have required sessions led by Teaching Fellows) meet weekly with their instructors to discuss the material and ways to present it.

3. Teaching Fellows must demonstrate oral and written proficiency in English or pass the International Teaching Fellows Course offered by the American Language Program.

Evaluation

Course evaluations are given out in every course at the end of every semester. They include an extensive section for evaluating the Teaching Fellows of the course. Some instructors conduct additional surveys and/or discussion sessions with their Teaching Fellows to obtain more information. The results of all surveys and/or evaluations are given to the Teaching Fellows.

At the moment there is no formal system for observation of Teaching Fellows. We have found that it is very difficult for the instructor or other faculty member to observe the discussion sessions without upsetting the dynamic of the classroom. We are considering the possibility of setting up a video camera so that we can make videotapes that can be reviewed with the Teaching Fellows. For now we rely on student surveys and Teaching Fellows’ self-assessments to evaluate teaching.

A questionnaire is filled out by each faculty member evaluating the Teaching Fellows at the end of the semester. This information becomes part of the students' file.

Grievance Procedure

Each student teaches the equivalent of 12 points. In the event that a Teaching Fellow believes that he or she is being treated unfairly, he or she should bring the grievance to the attention of the Director of Graduate Studies or the Chair. Should the grievance not be resolved at this level, it may be brought to the Assistant Dean for Graduate Teaching at GSAS.