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Show page 6 lessons, fail 2001 "I used to do half of the grading, but the workload got to be so great I had to delegate it all to my TAs. I couldnH get along without them." TAs begin their training at the University's Center for Teaching & Learning Excellence (CTLE), which provides a campus-wide TA orientation every fall. With workshops covering every topic from dynamic lecturing to composing a syllabus, it's a good way for teaching assistants to get their feet wet before the semester starts and they're thrown in headfirst. Individual departments also provide additional training. Several of them, including mathematics, the business school and the writing program, have their own fall training sessions that all new TAs are required to attend. These sessions focus on specific teaching and learning issues related to the department, and involve micro-teaching practice sessions and some instructional theory. Other departments, including modern dance and political science, provide ongoing teach- _________________ ing seminars to their TAs throughout the fall semester. TAs in larger lecture classes, though, essentially learn to be intermediaries. One link is with the instructor. Brett Moyer, a biology teaching assistant, realizes that "teachers would be swamped with grading and student questions without the support of TAs." Ken Golden, a math professor, agrees. "They're indispensable. I couldn't do what I do without them," he says. Benedict offers a more specific example. "I used to do half of the grading, but the workload got to be so great I had to delegate it all to my TAs. I couldn't get along without them," he says. Their other link is with the students. When the student's relationship with the professor gets difficult, that's when TAs can be a lifeline. "Teaching assistants are a resource that should be used by students," says junior Jake Packard. "For example, I asked the TA a bunch of questions on the last quiz we took in class. He took some of the workload off the teacher." Freshman Jared Stradley agrees. "They help us understand more on-on-one the concepts of the lectures," he says. And even if they don't understand it, they can contact the teacher for you. "Some student schedules don't work with mine," explains English professor Gillian Brown. "For them, my teaching assistant provides a second connection to me. It promotes access between teachers and students." For many students, it's much less scary to get that access through the teaching assistant instead of going straight to the professor. Junior Cynthia Lively gives one possible reason for this. "A lot of students relate to the teaching assistants better than the instructors," she says. "They're less intimidated and more apt to share their opinions." "The students see you as a good guy," says Renzo Cavalieri, who was a teaching assistant for Math 1210 last year. "They could always come to me. Students would call me by name and stop to chat." Many students value this relationship. For freshmen especially, it's doing a world of good. A discussion group is a blessing that makes the shock of college easier. "It's a high school kind of setting," says Stradley. "It's nice to have a smaller class where you can ask individual questions. It helps you adapt to college." Many students with more college experience, however, feel the blessing is somewhat mixed. "I think it's okay if they're in moderation," says Packard. "I'd rather listen to someone with more experience." From what Professor Brown has been told, other students agree. "I had a big discussion in my 3702 class a few semesters ago, when the department voted to have TAs. My students were very vocal about what they wanted. It was okay to have them as graders, but no discussion sections." Brown said students gave two basic reasons for this. ____________ One, they wanted the professor's opinion-that's what the students paid for. Two, previous experience had shown that discussion sections were just a forum for people to air their views, unguided by the TA. "It was a waste of their time," she said. It seems the answers to the question of whether the relationships created by the TA program are doing any good for the students (at least in this specific area) are somewhat mixed. But is the development of these relationships doing any good for the teaching assistants themselves? The TAs seems to think so, in that the experience prepares them for the relationships they'll need to create with both students and co-workers in their future careers. The English department graduate students get a nice mix of total autonomy (teaching a writing course completely on one's own) and guidance (helping to teach or manage a class, typically a literature course, under the tutelage of a more experienced teacher), says Pickavance. Of course, the money doesn't hurt, either. "The TA program provides some teaching experience and a way for students to support themselves financially," says Moyer. "I'm learning how to communicate concepts more clearly." How are both sides made happy? The answer seems to be balance - being there for the student without stepping on the toes of the teacher. "I ask TAs to spend 20 minutes in each class doing review -open to whatever questions that students have," says Golden. "They used to run classes, but I'd get selfish and want to teach." Respect is an important factor. "Rossi, the professor I assisted, was very relaxing to work with," says Cavalieri. "He'd never throw all the grading work on my shoulders-we'd sit down together." Affection plays a part as well. "My teaching assistant always paid me plenty of attention," says Jones. "I liked it a lot. Sometimes, I think it was the only way I passed the class." Of course, there also have to be boundaries. "If you establish expectations early, there are fewer problems," says Benedict. But then, isn't that true of any relationship? |