CompSci TA Training, Spring 2011

http://www.cs.duke.edu/forbes/tatrain/2011/

Material for this training is drawn from Owen Astrachan, Jack Bookman, Andrew Begel's GSI Workshop, University of Michigan's GSI Guidebook, and the experiences of many teachers and students.

Outline

  1. TA Basics & Guidelines
  2. Essential systems and tools
  3. Useful links
  4. Mock Office Hours
  5. TA Dilemmas

Starting off

Introduce yourselves

How to be good TA

Teaching assistants perform a vital role in teaching students in Computer Science at Duke University. Your performance will directly affect the quality of education that students receive. As a teaching assistant, you are in a particularly good position to:

In groups of 3, come up with a list of the 5 top characteristics of a good teacher. Think of your favorite teacher, what made him or her so effective or memorable. Are the characteristics you listed easily learned or measurable? 

Convey passion
Encourages questions
See blind spots of students
Point out important parts of course material
Asks for feedback from students
Clarity
Clarity in expectations
TA Responsibilities? List them: 
Maintain the website
Tell instructor about student performance
Follow the course material
Detect student holes in knowledge
Patience
Ask for feedback from professor
Course organization
Grading
Lead recitation
Office hours
Proctoring exams
Managing undergraduate TAs
Do assignments
Teach the course
Resolve complaints

Guidelines

  • Conflict of interest?
  • Academic Integrity
  • Excused absences

    Doing your job

    Useful Links

    Questions

    Dilemmas

    1. Scenario It's a week before the final exam, and you receive and email from George, a student in your class who has been struggling. Going into the final exam, George is averaging a D- for the course. The email is as follows:
      Hey -
      I'm totally freaking out about this final, and I'm completely unprepared. I've been studying the material, attending review sessions, and I haven't slept in 3 days. If I fail this class, my parents are going to make me drop out of Duke. I'm really freaking out! Is there anything you can do?!?! I'm afraid I'm going to do something crazy if I don't pass this class. I think I'll just die.
      -George
      Dilemma Do you respond? If so, how?

    2. Scenario You're at lecture, and the professor in the course has just made tw`o factual errors in the same lecture that directly contradict the material you presented yesterday in section. You look around, and it's clear that your students appear puzzled/confused, but no one asks the professor to clarify. It's now the section after that lecture (with the two errors), and you students start the discussion by asking "What the hell was that? Professor X sucks rocks!"
      Dilemma What do you do?

    3. Scenario You're grading problem sets, and you notice that Lila and Jane's are identical except for the name at the top of the paper.
      Dilemma What do you do when you next see Lila and Jane in section?

    4. Scenario One of your best students, Kwok, comes to your office hours and tells you, "Dude, section's boring."
      Dilemma What do you do?

    5. Scenario Pat is one of your best students: performs well on midterms, participates in discussions, and is likeable among classmates. Pat approaches you the week before the final, and asks you to write a letter of recommendation for graduate school.
      Dilemma What do you do? Why?

    6. Scenario It's the 4th week of class, and section has been interrupted (in your interpretation), again, by a student who keeps asking questions that are beyond the scope of the class. The student is clearly brilliant, but the questions are messing up your rhythm.
      Dilemma What do you do?

    7. Scenario After class, Susan asks to speak to you. She seems very nervous and won't speak above a whisper. She says that her lab partner has been sexually harassing her.
      Dilemma What do you do?

    8. Scenario It's Saturday night, and you're out with your friends at the bar. You see one of your more attractive students dancing. The student notices you, comes over, and starts not so subtlely hitting on you.
      Dilemma How do you behave?

    9. Scenario You've noticed for the past three discussion sections that Mike, one of your students, has been nodding off towards the end of class. Today, it's especially egregious, as Mike has fallen asleep within the first 10 minutes of class. It's now 15 minutes into the section, and students around Mike are clearly noticing.
      Dilemma What do you do?

    10. Scenario One of the groups in your section comes to you with a problem. Out of three people, one of them has disappeared. They received an email one day saying, "Gone to L.A. Be back later." The project is due in 3 days and the student who disappeared has not done his part.
      Dilemma What do you do?

    11. Scenario It's the middle of the discussion in the 2nd week, and one of your students asks you a question about a figure you just drew. You know the answer. The question is a good one, but requires a level of understanding and knowledge that goes beyond the scope of the course. You think, however, that if you tried to explain it, that student could understand the basic idea. The class is waiting for you to reply.
      Dilemma What do you do?

    12. Scenario A student comes to office hours and says "I don't undertsand anything," and appears to expect you to teach him the entire course again. It's the 9th week of the course and second midterm is next week.
      Dilemma What do you do?
    Jeffrey R.N. Forbes
    Last modified: Fri Jan 14 12:33:03 EST 2011