Course Syllabus (subject to change)

Week Class Information
0
Date: 2002-01-22

Topic: Before you begin

Guest Speaker: None

Handouts: None

Homework:

  • Open a text editor and write down the result of brainstorming all of your expectactions and fears you can think of regarding teaching your first section.
    • (e.g., fear -- What if I get stage fright?)
    • (e.g., expectation -- ...that they are as enthusiastic about CSxx as me)
  • Please bring your list to Friday's class to share.
1
Date: 2002-01-25

Topic: Introduction: Fears and Expectations

Guest Speaker: None

Handouts:

  1. TA Essentials
  2. Fears Allayed
  3. Class Outline

Homework:

  • Read TA Essentials handout; 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"
  • Register online!
  • Journal:
    • First, feel free to address any remaining unresolved fears or concerns. Then, spend some time reflecting on what you need to do to best prepare for your next section, given what happened this first week.
2
Date: 2002-2-1

Topic: Mechanics of Running a Section

Guest Speakers: None

Handouts:

  1. Class Outline

Homework:

  • If you still have yet to register, do so soon!
  • Tools for Teaching
    • Chapter IX (secs 35-40) "Instructional Media and Technology"
    • Chapter XI (sec 44) "Holding Office Hours"
  • "Partial list of strategies for variety in the classroom" TOR (p.197)
  • "Classroom observation: The observer as collaborator" TOR (p.213)
  • Journal topic:
    • What are 5 key elements to being a great teacher?
3
Date: 2002-2-7

Topic: How To Be a Great TA

Guest Speakers: Todd Segal, Andy Begel

Handouts:

  1. "What Good Teachers Say About Teaching" essays
  2. Excerpt from Prof. Karp's thoughts on teaching
  3. Class Outline
  4. Class Roster
  5. 2002 Spring Future Outstanding TAs photo sheet

Homework:

  • Read "What Good Teachers Say About Teaching" essays
  • Excerpt from Prof. Karp's thoughts on teaching
  • Journal topic:
    1. How do you prepare for section?
    2. How do you know when you're done preparing?
4
Date: 2002-2-15

Topic: Testing, Grading, and Cheating

Guest Speakers: Kathy Yelick

Handouts:

  1. Class Outline

Homework:

  • Tools for Teaching
    • Chapter VIII (secs 28-34) "Testing and Grading"
  • How Children Fail by John Holt
    • Part I: Strategy. pp. 9-56.
    • Part II: Fear and Failure. pp. 57-128.
  • Conduct a TA evaluation with the students in your sections.
    • We've given you all a handout that you can use for your evaluation. Write down your class title at the top.
    • Think of one question that you'd like to add to the questionaire and add it in the space provided. If you want to add more questions, the MS Word source of the evaluation form is available.
    • This weekend, make copies of the form for each student in your section.
    • If you're giving a midterm this week, it will be better to get your evaluation before the midterm. However, if very few students come to section (much fewer than normal), consider repeating the evaluation in your next section.
    • About 15 minutes before the end of your section, give each student a form and ask them to fill it out.
    • Make sure to pick these forms up at the end of the section.
    • Summarize all of the comments and enter them in your journal for this week.
  • Journal topic:
    • Summarize the comments from your TA evaluation.
    • How do you know when your students' needs are being met?
    • How do you tell when your students are having difficulty, and what can you do about it?
5
Date: 2002-2-22

Topic: Time Management and Teaching Philosophy

Guest Speaker: Carlo Sequin

Handouts:

  1. Carlo's slides

Homework:

  • How Children Fail by John Holt
    • Part III: Real Learning. pp. 129-226
  • Journal topic:
    • Which three classes you've taken as a student have had the greatest impact on you and why?
    • As an instructor, what is your idea of an ideal class?
    • By the same token, what are some characteristics of a class you'd least like to teach?
    • Re: TA Evaluations: Analysis
      • Of the evaluations that your students gave to you, what problems are they having (with you or the class)?
      • What can/will you do to improve the situation?
      • Were some of the comments unfair? Why?
      • Were the positive comments helpful? How did they make you feel about your role as a teacher?
6
Date: 2002-3-1

Topic: The Other Side of the Fence

Guest Speakers: Clint Ryan, Allison Coates, Michael Downes

Handouts:

  1. Class Outline

Homework:

  • Tools for Teaching
    • Chapter VIII (sec 28-34) "Testing and Grading"
  • How Children Fail by John Holt
    • Part IV: How Schools Fail. pp. 227-268
    • Part V: To Summarize. pp. 269-298
  • Journal topics:
    • Do you believe in absolute or relative (i.e., curve) grading and why?
    • In a course with an absolute grading scale, do you think that students should be able to know their exact grade in the course at all times? Why or why not?
    • What if the grade were less specific (bigger buckets) (e.g. you're doing well, you're doing ok, you'd better improve)?
    • How do you think this knowledge might affect their stress level and/or their degree of "grade grubbing"?
    • Do you believe we should give grades at all? I.e., does the act of giving grades somehow mean that they're in school for the sole purpose of getting As instead of for the purity of acquiring knowledge?
  • Heads Up! Video Reflection
    • Between March 4 and March 31, we will video record one of your sections and go over it with you.
      • Look for things that you do well
      • Look for things you can improve
      • Look for things you should stop doing
      • Give you feedback in areas you are interested
        • (e.g. student participation, pacing, sequencing, chalkboard use, handling student questions, summarizing discussion, interactions amongst students, group work, etc.)
    • We will need you to sign up for several time slots online.
      1. A 15 minute pre-section meeting the day before your section
      2. The section time you want taped.
      3. A 2 hour block of time to go over the video tape within 2-3 days of that section.
7
Date: 2002-3-8
  • CLASS CANCELED- MOVED TO 4/5
  • 8
    Date: 2002-3-15

    Topic: Group Management

    Guest Speakers: Randy Katz

    Handouts:

    1. Class Outline
    2. Essential Elements: What Makes It Work

    Homework:

    • Tools for Teaching: Watching Yourself On Videotape (Section 42)
    • Journal topics:
      • On a big, final project would you, given the choice, rather work individually or in a group if the group were to be randomly assigned, such that you had no control over with whom you would be working?
      • What would you do if you were in a project group and one of the members wasn't pulling his weight? What should be done?
      • Come up with a creative solution to the accountability problem. That is, how would you balance a diverse group where some of the members have more talent or are harder working than others.
    9
    Date: 2002-3-22

    Topic: Group Learning

    Guest Speakers: Brian Harvey

    Handouts:

    1. Class Outline

    Homework:

    • Tools for Teaching
      • Chapter X (sec 41-43) "Evaluation to improve teaching"
    • Journal topics:
      • Re: How Children Fail
        • John Holt writes about 10-year-old children in his book. Do his findings and conclusions apply to undergraduate students in computer science? In what ways do they and in what ways do they not?
    10
    Date: 2002-4-5

    Topic: The Value of Wrong Answers

    Guest Speakers: Michael Clancy

    Handouts:

    1. Class Outline

    Homework:

    • Videotaping has begun! If you still haven't found a group, do so SOON, and e-mail Chris with the names of all group members!
    • Learner-Centered Education essays
    • Watching Yourself on Videotape (Section 42, Tools for Teaching)
    • Journal topics:
      • What kinds of actions do you take to acquire new information and skills when you are trying to learn something new?
        • e.g. Do you rewrite lecture notes by hand?
        • Do you teach the material to someone else?
        • Do you ask someone to read the information aloud to you (learn by hearing)?
        • Do you like to build a project to solidify the knowledge you learned?
        • Do you draw pictures and categorize what you learned?
      • What was your most rewarding learning experience?
    11
    Date: 2002-4-12

    Topic: Send-off & Evaluations

    Guest Speakers: none

    Handouts:

    1. Class Outline

    Homework:

    • Be the best TA that you can be!