Teaching With a Professor*

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Teaching With a Professor

• Or tips to help you survive the worlds most
  confusing working relationship

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Why are YOU teaching?
Hint Almost any reason can be a good one
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How are you feeling about this?

• Are you excited?
• Are you scared?
• Are you so overwhelmed you cant even imagine
  getting to the end of the first day of class?
• All of the above?

This is all normal!
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Remember

• You were chosen for this assignment by people who
  know what it requires.
• You have many resources available to help you
  with troubles along the way.
• Each year, over 60 of teaching assistants
  survive their first semester.

JUST KIDDING!
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Clarify Expectations!

• Authority vs. Autonomy
• What does the professor expect of you?
• What does the professor not expect of you?
• What do you want and/or need to get out of this
  experience?

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Reviewing The Course Syllabi

• Make sure contact information is accurate
• Your name
• Campus e-mail, phone (optional)
• Dont be afraid to withhold personal information
• No Calls after 9pm etc is perfectly reasonable
• Look for key policy statements
• Disability
• Confidentiality
• Plagiarism
• Academic Conduct

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Possible TA Duties

• Grading
• Problem Sets
• Papers
• In-class work
• Tutoring
• Discussion/ Recitation
• Help Room
• Office Hours

• Instruction
• Cover professor absence
• Handle Special Topics
• Guest lecture
• Other
• Find demo materials
• Review/ help prepare lecture notes

Make sure to clearly and explicitly discuss
grading policies with the professor!!!!
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A Note on Grading Policies

• Pay special attention to the following
• Late work policies
• What is the penalty for late work (if any)?
• Is there a re-submission deadline?
• When is the cutoff date for overdue assignments?
• Collaboration
• Are students allowed to work together on
  homework?
• Do student turn in their own work, or a team
  copy?

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Tips for Successful Tutoring

• Dont spoil the surprise!!
• Students are not likely to value knowledge they
  do not gain for themselves.
• Try to encourage students to self-analyze
• Why do you think X?
• How have you accounted for Y?

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Tips for Successful Tutoring

• Be prepared for the fact that some students may
  not (initially) appreciate your dedication to
  their learning

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Setting Your Office Hours

• Choosing this time wisely will save you time in
  the end!
• Plan to be in your office for the entire session
• You can use office hours to grade, review notes
  on upcoming lectures, answer student e-mails, etc
  ...
• Is one hour before class realistic? (Probably
  not)

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Your Presence in the Classroom

• Be an example of ideal classroom behavior
• If there is a no laptop policy, you might need
  to forego Facebook
• Sit near the front, if the professor allows it
• At least pretend that youre interested

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Covering Classes

• If youre expected to cover a lecture, or serve
  as a guest and/or special topics lecturer
• Prepare as well as you can in advance!
• Review your own old course notes
• Revisit textbooks

Stay on top of the course material
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Covering Classes

• Still Be prepared for students to stump you!
• Try
• Ill have to verify that one for you
• Ill look that up and get back to you next time
• But then dont forget to follow up on it!

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Covering Classes

• Respect the intended content, but dont try to
  emulate the professors style exactly
• You are not your professor
• Teaching as yourself is difficult enough!

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The Other Duties

• Anything and everything related to course
  logistics
• For Example
• Exam Preparation
• Updating WebCT info
• Dont underestimate the amount of time these
  tasks may require!

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Using Your Resources
When you feel
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Top 3 Take-Home Tips

1. Clarify all expectations on or before Day 1!
2. Focus on the duties your professor says are most
   important.
3. If you get stuck, pass the buck.

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Dont Be Too Hard on Yourself!
Remember Clarify expectations at the outset, and
youll be fine.
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Thanks!
Good Luck!