Outline for Spring TA Orientation
12-1 PM, Friday Jan 23, 2004
200C Schermerhorn Hall
I. Introductions
II. How to get things done in the department
III. Your work as a TA
IV. Your responsibilities as a TA
V. Specific Sticky Issues
VI. Classrooms
VII. Using the web, email, and CourseWorks
in your teaching
VIII. Special Privileges
IX. Misc issues re your TAing
I. Introductions. Who we are, what
our positions in the dept. are, what course you're TAing
for and have TA'd for in the past.
II. How to get things done in the department
- See Winnie McClarin to reserve and check out A/v equipment
(transparency, film, video, and slide projectors, laser pointer, cart, etc.).
Special procedures may be required for early or late classes. Talk to Winnie
about this.
- Obtaining course supplies: send list to Winnie McClarin
winnie@paradox
- Copying handouts, exams, and transparencies
- do-it-yourself jobs (quantities, card, key, paper,
etc.)
- 406 copies (when, why, how)
- CopyQuick copies -- all large jobs except exams
- leaving student handouts in 406; collecting student papers
in 406
- posting class notices and grades on bulletin board
III. Your work as a TA (see Pica; download
the Stanford
TA manual)
Most of you have a genuine interest in teaching. You're
a TA not only because it's a requirement of the program and a critical part
of your training for the Ph.D., but also because you have an enthusiasm for
teaching.
You will need to take the initiative to be sure you get
the most out of your TAships
- you will be intermediary between prof and students, so
you need to know both well and meet with both frequently. A TA meeting with
prof once a week is ideal
- you will need both mastery of the material and good communication
skills
- make a well-organized presentation (in review sessions,
disc or lab sections)
- be able to interact well with student; asking and answering
questions
- work effectively with students one-on-one
- office hours should be liberal, flexible, inviting
- find a way to get students to come
- be welcoming of students before and after class.
Don't rush out! Don't avoid eye contact. Try to get to know their names.
- help students learn to help themselves,
- create a learning environment
- through your own leadership, flexibility, energy, humor
- anticipate difficulties students will have
- talk to prof/previous TAs
- prepare to help students with these topics (e.g. signal
detection theory)
- course planning
- be involved, from beginning to end
- preparation for each class
- do it carefully, whether a lecture, section, or review
session
- steps to improve your teaching
- participate in the workshops
and conferences of the GSAS
Teaching Program
- participate in our own Teaching
Practicum, offered in alternate years
- take advantage of opportunities
to lecture or lead discussions
- assemble a teaching
portfolio
- self-evalution; student evaluation
IV. Your responsibilities as a TA (see
Teaching Guidelines)
- Being available for the entire semester, as well as
for planning meetings prior to the semester
- Attending all lectures and doing all assigned readings
- (free desk copies of books; see publisher's web site;
see B & N website)
- Meeting with professor, weekly
- Setting up electronic classrooms and laboratories
- Preparation of instructional aids and web pages
- Preparation of exams
- Grading exams and papers
- Holding office hours for students: 2 scheduled hours
per week
- Conducting review sections
- not all students are able to fit these into their
schedule
- not fair to reveal what will, or won't, be on exam
- good to ask for questions in advance, so you can
prepare
- you need to know the material
- Leading discussion or lab sections (4 pt courses)
- Offering guest lectures
- special occasions matching your expertise with needs
of a particular course
- How much time will all of this
take?
On average, graduate teaching fellows should expect
to spend 12-15 hours per week on a regular TAship, although some weeks will
be lighter and some heavier. Time you put in during course planning and
preparation before the term begins will be counted in the hours expected
of you. Fulltime Undergraduate TAs are paid for 180 hours per term, which
works out to 12 hours per week if spread evenly over 15 weeks.
V. Specific Sticky Issues
A. Testing, grading, and cheating
- preventing plagiarism and cheating
- be aware of methods of cheating, and create environment
to discourage it
- multiple copies of exams, scrambled questions (or
alternatives)
- careful proctoring, spaced seating, no advance exams,
don't store exams on computers to which students have access.
- grading fairly
- blind grading, esp if an undergrad TA is assigned
to course
- for essays or papers, have prof and other TAs review
your grading on both high and low papers
- posting grades
- can no longer use even a portion of soc sec number.
- what now?
- have student give you a code that you will use.
- use PID from SSOL
class roster
- use CourseWorks
to post grades
B. Dealing with difficult situations
- students will come with dire stories; some will be
true, some fiction
- only the prof has authority to grant exceptions, make-ups,
etc.
- prof should require Dean or Dr's note
- see prof immediately about any disturbed/distraught
student
- if prof not available, see me or another Program
Advisor (Miozzo, Hood)
- if we're not available, contact
- Avoiding dual relationships
- treat all students equally; don't do for one what
you wouldn't do for all
- romantic relationships: they do happen, but wait
till term is over.
- paid tutoring: not for students in the course you're
TAing for.
VI. Classrooms
- Electronic
classroom training (501, 614, 558)
- please support the
prof by taking reponsibility for the smooth functioning of all equipment
- arrange for a training session before first class
- practice outside of class hours
- get to class at least 10-15 min early
- set up and test everything
- always bring a fresh battery for the mic.
- if something isn't working, report it ASAP (see below)
- Reporting classroom problems
- Electronic Classroom Problems: call special number
posted by phone outside classroom
- Routine maintenance problems should be reported to
classrooms@columbia.edu
- 200bc problems should be reported to Phredd
Groves and to the lab TA or lab assistant on duty
- 200b and 200c use, training, and access
- all should have swipe access; test your cards on both
doors today. If don't get solid green light, report to Winnie
McClarin .
- see lab
schedule; to reserve room for a review session or office hour, use online
reservation.
- Phredd is introducing a
new reservation calendar this semester
- please make your request
at least one week in advance
- please don't request the only available room if
it is being used for Open Lab Hours.
- for small groups, you can reserve 405 through Winnie
McClarin
- for larger groups, you can reserve
an electronic classroom (allow 2 weeks notice).
- top priority for our own Instructional Lab Rooms is
the smooth functioning of scheduled classes/lab meetings
- therefore, we all need to know what we're doing and
to follow the Lab
Guidelines
- before using the epodium or video projector, arrange
for training with Phredd or one
of the lab TAs.
- video projector lamps are fragile; don't turn on
and off needlessly
- Lab Asst and lab TAs will have regular hours to help
with lab training, course web pages, etc.
- Computers in 200B and C
- applications include:
- Office 2000 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
- Word 98 (use this to "save as html")
- Dreamweaver, Fireworks (a few computers)
- Adobe Acrobat full version (a few computers)
- SPSS
- PsyScope
- Netscape, IE, Telnet, Fetch
- guidelines
- training before you use podium equipment; contact
Phredd or lab manager tba
- personal and course files
- software installation
- shutting down computers: Don't
- reporting problems (log book, phone and email to
Phredd and lab manager)
- sharing files and folders
- food and beverages: never at computer stations; remove
garbage
- clean whiteboards after use
- admitting and ejecting undergrads before you leave
- other equipment: scanner, scantron,
large-format printer (Phredd)
VII. Using the web, email, and CourseWorks
in your teaching
- email distribution lists:
- use SSOL
to set up a list for your classes
- do not make the list public; use "BCC"
field for addresses
- use CourseWorks
- using CourseWorks
discussion boards
- the web
- get help from CCNMTL,
Lois, Johannes, your peers
- Dreamweaver installed here (show)
- how syllabi are linked to Dir of Classes and dept
curric materials:
- ask Lois
to correct links, PLEASE
- Psychweb
membership
- will allow you to publish web pages within the cu/psychology/
directory
- read the Psychweb
Guidelines
- practice in your own cunix directory
- once you're a competent web author, ask Phredd
for Psychweb membership
VIII. Special
Privileges
•Library: extended loan period and no fines
•Computing
and email: more memory; printing allowance
•Desk copies of any books used in course
•Free photocopies of other course material
•Keys to electronic podiums
IX. Misc issues re your TAing
•How's it going? What problems? Confusions? Concerns?
Questions?
•email, web, and phone mail issues
•office hours in 200b/c or TA Office (355)?
•Psych web pages and the
InfoPack
•Reminder: Grad Teaching Fellows must register for
G6500 (Supervised Teaching)
•Do you need Scantron training?
last modified by lep on January 22, 2004