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1. How do I start? What’s the first thing I should say? What are some good icebreakers? |
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1.How do I start? What's the first thing I should say? What are some good icebreakers? Answer from Dr. Kumar "First Day of Class: First day of class is extremely important since it sets the tone for the entire semester. Introduce yourself and tell something about your background and experience. Take attendance. In a small class size, have students introduce themselves so that students can learn about the background of one another. Show your enthusiasm about the course. Create a relaxed environment and make students feel that you are there to help them in learning the course objectives. Talk about the importance of the course and create curiosity about the course material. Discuss the course syllabus and your expectations from the students. Subsequent Classes: Take attendance at the beginning of the class. This will help you remember the name of students. Start with some time for questions, e.g., “Does anyone have any question from the topics we covered during the last class?”. Address students’ questions/concerns and then take a few minutes to summarize what was discussed during the last class period and what are the objectives of the current class period. Write the main objectives of the current class on the board and show a big picture on how you will be accomplishing these objectives today. These five minutes at the beginning of the class sets the tone of the class period. It is highly recommended to avoid ‘cold start’. Make sure to go to the class at least five minutes early and engage students in informal conversation, e.g. by discussing a recent news event, discussing weather, discussing an article published in the student newspaper, campus activities, etc." Answer from Dr. Harris "A well-prepared syllabus can deal with many of the questions asked in this Q. One key to a successful semester is a well-written syllabus that covers not only topics, exams, quizzes, homework, grading scale, etc. but teaching objectives, student conduct, absenteeism, and cheating. " TOP 2.How to introduce myself as a TA and have students introduce themselves? Answer from Dr. Kumar "Tell your name and write it on the board. Explain how the name is pronounced, particularly if your name is uncommon. If you prefer students to call you with a different name or with a short version of your name, share that with the students. Tell something about your background and experience related to the course, e.g., what you are studying, what is the topic of your research, who is your advisor, when you are expecting to complete your studies, etc. For a smaller class/lab (say 15 students or less), you may ask students to introduce themselves by going around the table so that students can learn about each others background. This would also help in establishing open and relaxed classroom environment encouraging student to participate. However, student introduction may not be practical for larger class sizes." Answer from Dr. Harris "I first ask students to fill out an informational questionnaire (the first day of class) that provides me with information about the make-up of the class and any previous exposure to the topics covered in the course. The following class period a class profile is presented to the class based on their responses to the informational questionnaire. After presenting the class profile I give them a short biographical sketch about me. " TOP 3.How should I ask students to address me? Answer from Dr. Kumar "In academia, it is a common practice that students address faculty members as Dr. or Professor ______ (the last name of the faculty member). However, students prefer calling the TAs with their first name, primarily because TAs are also students, i.e., their colleagues. If you prefer to be called by a certain name, it is perfectly fine to inform the class at the beginning of the semester. Some names are particularly difficult to pronounce. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you inform your students how to pronounce your name. " TOP 4.About dressing for teaching. Is there a minimum dress code -- formal or informal for TAs? Is it alright to be informal? Answer from Dr. Dollinger "Dress more formally the first few times. Then relax a bit if it feels right." Answer from Dr. Kumar "I would recommend wearing business casual during teaching and avoiding shorts. It is important to wear comfortable clothes so that your concentration is not compromised due to clothes." TOP 5.What if I get a question that I can't answer in class? Answer from Dr. Kumar "Nobody is perfect and knows the answer to every single question that may arise. Even after obtaining years of academic training and experience, every faculty member faces a situation where he/she is not able to explain a question raised by a student. So, if you are not able to answer a question in the class, don’t think that you have lost your credibility. Tell the student that the question he/she has raised is an excellent question which needs more thinking. Therefore, you will provide the answer in the next class. It is very important that you find the answer to the question after the class, discuss the same question in the next class, and provide a satisfactory answer.
TOP 6.How to gain respect and establish authority on the first day, especially if I look young or if I am a young female TA? Answer from Dr. Kumar "You establish authority based on how you present yourself and the course material. I would recommend that be prepared, organized, and talk with confidence. Remember, you know a lot more than your students because of your education and training. Students will respect you when 'you know the material'." TOP 7.How can I handle a student that doesn’t respect my authority because of my age? Answer from Dr. Kumar "Your knowledge is your authority. As a course instructor, you have the same authority as any other faculty member. Age does not play a major role. Students will respect you when they know that you are competent in the subject matter, you care about their learning, and follow the rules." TOP 8.How "friendly" should I be? How do I remain authoritative but friendly as well? Answer from Dr. Dollinger "Discuss respect as an academic value in the first lecture. Then refer to that and the other values as needed. " Answer from Dr. Kumar "There is a difference between friendship and being friendly. It is important to be friendly with students so that they feel comfortable participating in class discussions and asking you questions. Being friendly does not mean that you lose your authority and respect. Always maintain order and decent learning environment in the class. Remember, the professional authority and respect come when you know your material and you perform your duties fairly and exercise high ethical standards. " TOP 9.What amount of freedom do I have to teach how and what I wish? Answer from Dr. Kumar "Each course has a syllabus and a list of topics that need to be covered. Discuss the syllabus with your supervisor. You have the freedom to use your teaching style. However, particularly for teaching labs, your supervisor may want to teach the topics in a certain order to match with the topics he/she is teaching in the accompanying class. This is also true for classes/labs where multiple TAs teach the same course/lab. If you are independently teaching a regular course, you can teach the material in whatever order you feel would be best for the students’ learning as long as you cover the course syllabus. " TOP 10.How do I know if I am doing a good job or not? Answer from Dr. Dollinger "This probably depends on one's initial discomfort but should be a little better with each lecture and each repetition of the course." Answer from Dr. Kumar "Facial expressions of students tell a lot about how a class period is going. A more experienced teacher can make this judgment more easily than a new TA. If you notice that students appear disengaged, things are not going well. This does not mean you are doing a bad job but the way you are presenting that topic needs modifications. Change the subject a little, discuss some practical application of the topic, and generate some discussion to bring students’ attention back into the classroom. I also suggest doing anonymous surveys one or two times during a semester to get feedback from students. Since joining academia, I have always done this and students really appreciate it." Answer from Dr. Harris "Ask the students. I do this through 4 week, 8 week, and 12 week mini course evaluations. I ask the students the same three questions every time: TOP 11.How am I evaluated as a TA? Answer from Dr. Dollinger "EXCELLENT: Meets all responsibilities listed; does assignments on time; exhibits cooperation with menial tasks and enthusiasm for active participation on more substantive tasks. Anticipates instructor's needs, looks for things that need to be done and suggests new ideas. GOOD: Meets all responsibilities listed but with marginal performance on one of the assigned tasks (e.g., misses class more than 3 times, fails to post grades by agreed upon date). Exhibit cooperation. SATISFACTORY: Meets all responsibilities but with marginal or poor performance in several areas and with less cooperative attitude on some tasks (e.g., needs repeated reminders). A few minor errors noted (e.g., in recording student scores). MARGINAL / PERFUNCTORY: Most responsibilities completed but one quite a few minor or one serious error noted (e.g., affecting grading of multiple students or leading to student complaints); most responsibilities completed but with attitude of indifference to the training assignment. UNSATISFACTORY: Several responsibilities not fulfilled; or combination of several kinds of marginal performance. " Answer from Dr. Kumar "Each department may have different procedures of evaluating TAs. Some are more formal and some are informal. Formal process is similar to the ways faculty member's performance in each class is evaluated by the students, i.e., instructor and course evaluation (ICE). Informal process is where your supervisor may get feedback from the students and/or evaluate you based on your interactions with him. Believe me, when you do your duties with interest, ownership, and to the best of your abilities, it will be clear without any formal or informal evaluation." TOP |
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