Teaching Assistants
copyright © 2004-2007 by Mary
Bucholtz, University of California, Santa Barbara
Ensuring a happy TA/professor relationship
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Meet with the professor
before the course and regularly throughout the quarter to find out what
her/his expectations are and what you should be doing in section. If
the professor doesn't seem to have strong feelings about what you do,
it's still a good idea to keep her/him informed.
Coordinate with the other TA(s),
if any. It's important that students get the same basic information, so
make sure you're covering more or less the same material in section.
Don't introduce new material (including new terminology). Neither the professor nor the students will appreciate it.
Show initiative.
Both students and the professor will greatly appreciate it if you
create review sheets before exams as well as handouts that help
students understand the course material. (It's recommended that you
share these with the professor first, to allow her/him input.)
Be organized.
The professor may not be, so it's up to you to maintain accurate grade
records, keep track of student papers, and make sure students have
handouts and other course materials.
Take advantage of opportunities to deepen your teaching experience.
Some professors will welcome your input in the creation of exam
questions, since you may have a clearer idea of what the students
should be tested on. You may also be invited to give a guest lecture on
your area of interest/expertise. Do so--it's not just something to put
on your CV, but a chance to experience being in front of a lecture
hall. (It may sound scary but it's also a lot of fun.)
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Enjoy your freedom. Most professors will give you guidelines but will allow you a lot of autonomy in section to do what your students need.
Problems and pitfalls for the beginning linguistics TA
- Students who hate linguistics.
Amazing as it may be to many of us, linguistics is completely alien to
the way most people have ever thought about language. Many of them will
be taking linguistics classes as requirements rather than for fun.
Anticipate this problem and prepare students for it. Here are some ways
to reassure them:
- Mass
hysteria in Introduction to Linguistics (this usually strikes when they
encounter phonology): "You may not like or be good at everything we do
in this course, but we'll cover many different topics, so stick around
and you'll end up enjoying some of them."
- Fear
of science/analytic thinking: Emphasize that you understand that from
their perspective this is a whole new way of looking at language;
reassure them that many students find it disorienting at first. Make
clear why this approach is useful; don't get so bogged down in the
details of problem-solving procedures that the students lose sight of
what benefits there are to doing linguistic analysis. Give them the big
picture first about why an analytic approach is exciting/useful, then
turn to the details of how to do it.
Politically sensitive issues. Courses that address sociocultural topics (including Introduction to
Linguistics) may make students uncomfortable. This is especially likely
when a student feels singled out by a language issue. For example, the
only African American in the class may feel targeted by a discussion of
African American English; the only man in a language and gender class
may be uncomfortable with discussions of sexism; discussions of
students from diverse cultural backgrounds may feel uneasy with
discussions of bilingualism, language shift, or cultural
difference--alternatively, monolingual students may feel left out when
these topics are addressed. Be prepared for students to react in
different ways--and never assume that your African American students
speak AAVE or your Latina/o students speak Spanish. In general, try not
to single out students for their linguistic or cultural background
unless you do so in a way that's equitable, sensitive, and
pedagogically useful. Also be sensitive to your choice of linguistics
examples; avoid violent or heterosexist examples ("John hit Mary,"
"John kissed Mary"). For more detailed guidelines, see the LSA's policy on nonsexist usage .
Many universities provide special training for TAs who teach sensitive
material; workshops may be offered through your institution's graduate
office or through individual departments such as women's studies or
ethnic studies. Spending too much time on teaching.
Time management is the hardest part of teaching. Expect to spend more
than your allotted hours a week your first semester/quarter, and every
time you teach a new class or TA for a different professor. Look for
ways to cut down the workload so you can focus on what really matters
to you:
- Negotiate
with professors about the length and difficulty of assignments and
exams. You may be able to grade only part of the homework problems, for
example, or exams can be designed for more efficient grading. (Avoid
elaborate grading schemes at all costs!) In some classes, students may
be able to do group projects or papers instead of individual ones. And
if the workload is extremely heavy, gently let the professor know. If
you're suffering, the students are as well. Invite
students to come to office hours in study groups or teams with focused
questions, so you don't end up answering the same question 50 times.
You may also want to cancel office hours the week of an exam in order
to run a study session and address students' questions all at once.
- Create a class listserve so students can help each other; you can monitor so they don't provide incorrect information.
Not knowing the material.
Believe it or not, this doesn't matter as much as you might think at
the introductory level. You have a lot more tools for putting the
information into its broader context, so as long as you stay ahead of
the students, you'll be able to teach them effectively. (You might even
be more effective because you know firsthand what concepts students
might find confusing.) If you're really lost, talk to the professor
immediately; if you're confused, your students will be as well.
- Overidentifying with students.
As a student yourself, you may see things differently from the
professor. As a result, you may find yourself advocating on behalf of
students in ways that may be counterproductive (e.g., you may feel that
the professor's exam was unfair). While you should be an advocate for
your students, your first responsibility is to the professor in charge.
Don't get into an adversarial relationship with the professor, and
don't let disagreements on policies or procedures get in the way-- the
professor also has the students' best interests at heart. And bear in
mind that professors take academic freedom very seriously; even if you
feel that the professor isn't being as pedagogically effective as you'd
like, it's inappropriate for you to step in and say so. If you feel
there's been an egregious act of misconduct on the part of the
professor, however, such as harassment or discrimination, you should
approach her/him--or if you feel uncomfortable doing so, talk to the
department chair, a designated faculty advisor for TAs (if your
department has one), or someone in the TA training program at your
university.
Ways to be an effective teacher
- Get to know your students.
Learn their names quickly, and they'll love you for it. Spend time
reviewing the class list, invite (or require, if you can afford the
time) students to come to office hours in the first few weeks of class,
start a class listserve so you can get to know students' personalities
and concerns. Give students space to explore new ideas. Encourage students to take intellectual risks, even if they're wrong:
- Get
students involved in their own education. Try to frame material as a
series of questions rather than stating an idea directly; this way,
students will discover the answer for themselves rather than memorizing
the answer you provided. It will also make a lot more sense to them. Ask
WH-questions, not yes-no questions. Hitting the right level of question
takes a lot of skill and practice; if you're unsure if you're asking
good questions pay attention to the question-asking strategies of
professors in your own courses whose teaching you find effective. Don't immediately evaluate a wrong answer--help students find the right answer through gentle questioning. When
you ask a question, give a long enough pause so students can pull
together their thoughts. You might also wait until all or most students
indicate they know the answer (by raising their hands) before calling
on anyone. If one
student tends to dominate, you might call her or him aside and ask for
help in giving others who are less quick a chance to get to the answer.
This will make the strong/talkative student feel that you recognize
her/his contributions while making it likely that she/he will hold back
more in class.
- Let
students learn hands-on, through problem-solving in small groups, peer
teaching, lots of practice problems, data sets, etc. Use audio and
visual aids whenever possible. Send them to websites, show video clips,
record something and play it for them.
Keep working to improve your teaching. This means:
- reading
books on teaching. One book I highly recommend for its relevance and
comprehensiveness is Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis
(Jossey-Bass, 1993), which focuses on university teaching and offers
detailed practical suggestions for specific issues. attending workshops, regularly offered on campus. The LSA also often has teaching-related forums. talking about teaching with others, especially other TAs and faculty. inviting
others to observe and evaluate your teaching. In many departments this
is required, but if it isn't, ask a faculty member whose own teaching
you admire to sit in on one of your classes and then give you feedback.
Most faculty members will be happy to do so, and they can then write
recommendation letters about your teaching. This is crucial when you
hit the job market; many jobs specifically require letter writers to
discuss your teaching abilities. inviting
student feedback and responding to it (e.g., in a midterm evaluation, a
suggestion box, or a request for feedback via email). If you do this,
it's important that you address any negative feedback in a nondefensive
way, and let students know either why you can't change what you're
doing or what you'll do differently for the rest of the term. Students
greatly appreciate being taken seriously and listened to, even if you
don't change your teaching practices.
- seeking
minigrants through the university for materials, resources, field
trips, guest speakers, and anything else you think will enhance your
students' learning. Again, there's a practical benefit beyond your
teaching--applying for such grants demonstrates a commitment to
teaching that will serve you well on the job market.
- Have fun.
Linguistics is inherently fun--you can tap into students' playfulness
and teach them at the same time. Use games, toys, props, humor--not to
entertain but to link linguistics to students' everyday experience. You
can also demonstrate the real-world relevance of linguistics through
examples of linguistic phenomena and debates (e.g., from the media--the
New York Times regularly runs language-related articles, and many
comics have language themes or jokes).
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