Welcome to CS301 Class #1 Spring 2004
January 23, 2004

Introduction, Fears and Expectations

Instructors: Dan Garcia <ddgarcia@cs>
Clint Ryan <ryanc@cs>

Class outline

• Spectrum
  • Teaching Experience: Lots/None
  • Teaching: Enthusiastic / Dread
  • Career: Teaching / Research
  • Importance of money: Ascetic / Gordon Gecko
  • Computer: Mac / Windows / Unix
  • Any questions people want to ask of your colleagues?
• Our intro
• Name whip
  1. Name
  2. Class you're teaching
  3. Grad/Undergrad
  4. Stupid Human Tricks
• HowDidItGo(tm)
• Break, photos, sign-in sheet
  • Fears Allayed
  • Class helps allay any remaining anxieties
  • Everyone contributes when they feel like it, like a popcorn popper
• The Tao of TALC
• More about us, why we're doing this
• Our goals for the course
  1. Learn about teaching and education -- what works? what doesn't?
  2. Encourage TA community
  3. Provide support for any issues that arise
  4. Motivation (the Jerry Maguire effect)
  5. Provide resources to TA - Who needs 2004T&O book?
• How to pass
  • Attend at least eight classes and do a presentation on the weekly reading or an outside CS education paper
  • Attend at least seven classes and do two presentations on the weekly reading or an outside CS education paper
• Reading assignments
• Buddy TAing
• Journal/Discussion
  • We have a community on LiveJournal
  • We encourage you to participate, but in general we won't force you to
• Videotaping
• Homework
  • Read TA Essentials; be prepared to discuss it next week
  • Find another TA (need not be from the same class) with whom you could buddy
  • Tools for Teaching
    • Chapter III (secs 8-11) "Discussion Strategies"
    • Chapter VI (sec 21-23) "Enhancing students' learning and motivation"
  • If you haven't yet, make sure you register online
  • Finally, if you don't already have an account, visit LiveJournal and create an account.
    • Join UCB_CS301_Sp04, join the community, and add it to your friends list
    • IMPORTANT: We just learned that some versions of IE have trouble joining the community. If your browser keeps telling you that you need to be logged in, even though you just logged in, try Netscape or something else (thanks, Jane!)
    • Make a post in UCB_CS301_Sp04: describe your TA experiences from this week.
    • In general, anyone can see what we say. To keep things private, make them "Friends Only."