TA Resources
TA and Faculty Guidelines
Background
RSMAS PhD students entering as of Academic Year 2010-2011 are expected to be a Teaching Assistant (TA) for two courses while pursuing their degree. This is a change from years past which presents an opportunity to improve the TA program and overall teaching quality at RSMAS. The mandatory TA program will include training of new TAs, evaluation of their performance, and recognition of excellence. The goal is to make the experience as valuable as possible for the TA, the faculty, and the students taking our courses. Below is a description of the program elements (training, evaluation, and recognition), and a set of requirements to be followed by both the TA and the faculty instructor. There are also some suggestions and resources provided in the appendices.
- TRAINING: Students are required by UM to complete an online TA training. To supplement this, and better prepare TAs for their new roles as teachers, a 3-day RSMAS training workshop has also been developed. Day 1 will provide an overview of the basics of teaching, including learning theories, classroom culture, assessment, and classroom management. Day 2 will focus on presentation skills and labs. Day 3 will provide TAs with a chance to practice their craft and obtain constructive feedback in breakout groups. It is recommended that the faculty instructors attend Day 3 of the workshop. For a tentative workshop schedule, see Appendix B.
- EVALUATION: An evaluation form has been developed specifically for TAs (see Appendix C). Hardcopies of this will be filled out by students at the end of the course. Also, a mid-semester evaluation is strongly recommended. Appendix D has a suggested procedure for this evaluation. The faculty member will also fill out an evaluation form at the end of the semester and discuss the content of the student evaluations, as well as their own evaluation, with the TA.
- RECOGNITION: Three ‘TA Excellence’ awards will be given at the end of the academic year. The three categories for these awards will be: undergraduate lab, undergraduate lecture, and graduate class. The faculty instructor will be asked to nominate students for the award, and the nominations will be evaluated by the RSMAS Graduate Academic Committee based on a letter from the faculty and the end-of-semester class evaluations. The three awardees will have the opportunity to run the TA training session the following school year.
REQUIREMENTS for the TA
- Complete online TA training (the graduate school will contact TAs by email before the start of the academic year)
- Foreign students must pass a ‘Speak test’ (the graduate school will contact TAs by email before the start of the academic year)
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Complete RSMAS TA training workshop
- Two sessions: Monday AND Tuesday (August 22-23, 2011)
- One breakout group with practice mini-lesson and feedback: Wednesday OR Thursday (August 24 or 25, 2011)
- Meet with faculty BEFORE the beginning of the semester to discuss duties/expectations (preferably before TA training)
- Attend first day of class to be introduced to students
- Set up and maintain consistent office hours. Add your name, contact information, and office hours (location/time) to the course syllabus.
- The student must have a minimum of 2 significant teaching opportunities during the semester. This could be a lecture, a discussion section, or a lab. (For more ideas, see Appendix A)
- Perform a mid-semester evaluation together with faculty instructor (See Appendix C for procedure).
- Perform an end-of-semester evaluation together with faculty instructor that will include a discussion of the course evaluations.
REQUIREMENTS for the Faculty instructor
- Provide GSO with a paragraph describing the duties and expectations of the TA for your course (in response to email request from GSO in August); this should include the expected time commitment (attends lectures, gives lecture, office hours, preparation of homeworks/tests, grading ...etc), and list the possible teaching opportunities that the students will have.
- Meet with TA BEFORE course to verify that (1) the TA has a good command of the course material, (2) that he/she understands the duties and expectations, (3) has any feedback on those responsibilities and/or the course.
- Introduce TA on the first day of class, and explain the role of the TA for the course (i.e. leading reviews, office hours, etc.). Make sure their name, contact information and office hours are on the syllabus.
- Provide the student with a minimum of 2 significant teaching opportunities during the semester. This could be a lecture, a discussion section, or a lab. (For more ideas, see Appendix A)
- Perform a mid-semester evaluation (see Appendix C for suggested procedure)
- Hand out TA evaluation forms at the end of the semester (GSO will provide)
- Perform an end-of-semester evaluation of the TA that will include a discussion of the course evaluations, and your own assessment.
- Nominate your TA for the ‘TA excellence’ award at the end of the year if appropriate.
SUGGESTION/ADVICE FOR TA AND FACULTY
(beyond the usual grading)
- Leading discussion/study groups
- Holding review sessions before exams (during class time or outside)
- Individual tutoring with students
- Developing homeworks /labs/class projects
- Assistance with homework questions, class projects
- Labs - set up, cleanup, running labs, grading lab reports
- Developing lab manuals
- Organizing and maintaining the class webpage/blackboard/blog/facebook page etc. (upload course documents, lead discussions, input grades, etc.)
- Develop grading rubrics for subjective assignments and be consistent
- Developing exam questions (revamping old exams)
- Exam proctoring
- Establishing a set of TA notes
- Developing a personal plan for the semester and each class (i.e. how will you handle your duties)
Suggested procedure for mid-semester review of TA
Mid-Semester TA Evaluations (from the Faculty Member)
Questions to ask the class (either have them individually fill these out, or hold a class discussion when the TA is not present). Compile the answers and meet with your TA for a review in the middle of the semester.
- Do you feel that the TA is available for help? In what ways?
- What are some things the TA does well?
- What are some things that that TA could improve on?
Other suggested topics to go over at review:
- Time commitment of TA/time management
- Understanding of course material
- Confidence in being an authority figure in the classroom (presenting, answering questions, etc)
- Grading
- Your own opinion of how the TA is doing
