Section 8.4 Assigning a new faculty a teaching assistant who is familiar with the course, active engagement strategies, and the curriculum
Provide continuity by assigning an experienced teaching assistant to a new faculty member teaching a course for the first time, particularly a new faculty member with little prior teaching experience. Structure the TA assignment to include meeting before class, participating in class, debriefing after class, helping with design of materials, and participating in assessing and documenting aspects of student learning. Actively participating in these ways also contributes to the students' access to help as well as to the TA's preparation as a future faculty member skilled in pedagogical and curricular reform practices.
Structuring a TA's assignment to include meeting before class to discuss issues about which the TA can alert the new faculty member.
Explain to the TA and the new faculty member that the TA assignment includes meeting with the new faculty member before class. The role of the TA is to alert the new faculty member to whatever needs prompting. This may involve summarizing conceptual difficulties that earlier students have encountered with the day's topics, explaining puzzling aspects of the activities, helping the new faculty member understand how the day's topics build on previous courses and prepare for later courses as well as setting up and checking equipment for possible troubles.
Expecting a TA to come to class and to participate in instructional roles such as assisting with small group activities.
Explain to the TA and the new faculty member that the TA assignment includes coming to class and participating actively while there. Caution the TA against just watching. Emphasize that the TA assignment includes modeling and coaching active engagement strategies for the new faculty member, particularly one accustomed to teaching by lecturing. Note that students also appreciate the additional access to help and to the variety of perspectives expressed by multiple instructors.
Expecting a new faculty member to include the TA in designing handouts, activities, and quizzes.
Explain to the TA and the new faculty member that the TA assignment includes contributing to the design of materials, activities, and quizzes. An experienced TA can offer insights about the likely level of student understanding, catch mistakes, suggest alternatives, enhance clarity, and help the new faculty member reflect on the purpose and likely outcomes of newly constructed materials and activities.
Asking a TA to keep track of time required for activities to facilitate planning when teaching course again.
Predicting timing is problematic as is monitoring timing during instruction. Explain to the TA and the new faculty member that the TA assignment includes helping with both, thereby improving the likelihood of realistic planning in the future.
Structuring a TA's assignment to include meeting after class to reflect upon what happened and to plan what needs to be prepared for next class session.
Explain to the TA and the new faculty member that the TA assignment includes meeting immediately after class. This provides a context within which the new faculty member and the TA can reflect together upon what happened, what went well and why, what did not go well and why, what changes might be made for the next version of this session... Also important is planning for the next session, what implications does what happened today have for what happens next, what are the next main ideas to be developed, what equipment and materials will be needed, who will do what in getting those ready...
Encouraging a TA to document and discuss interesting aspects of student learning noticed while talking with students and grading assignments.
Explain to the TA and the new faculty member that the TA assignment includes noticing and documenting aspects of student learning. Serving as a teaching assistant is an ideal way to deepen one's own understanding of topics as one probes and fosters students' understanding of these topics. Participating in formally documenting student learning also contributes to the community interested in good teaching within the department and discipline.