Fall GTA Orientation
description
Transcript of Fall GTA Orientation
Fall GTA Orientation
Purpose
• To advise new graduate students on how to serve as a responsible and happy GTAs
• To describe the common responsibilities of GTAs
• Provide advice from experienced GTAs
Who is a Graduate Assistant?
• Research Assistant: A GRA is funded to assist a professor in research or to conduct her own research.
• Teaching Assistant: A GTA is funded to assist in the classroom or laboratory and may eventually be a “teacher of record” (TOR).
Who is a GTA?• GTAs have diverse responsibilities and
varied experiences.– Senior Learners*– Colleagues in Training*– Junior Colleagues*
• GTAs may have diverse relationships with their supervising professors – E.g.. Employer-employee, Trainer-Colleague
in training, Collaborating Peers
*Jody D. Nyquist and Donald H. Wulff, Working Effectively with Graduate Assistants, Thousand Oaks, Ca.: Sage Publications, 1996
Working with “The Professor”Starting out Right:• Introduce yourself
• Responsibilities
• Introduction to Students
• Clarification & Deadlines
• Office Hours
Working with “The Professor”
Know Your Environment:• Room & Technology
• Dress Code
• Printing
• When things don’t go well
• Intra-departmental politics
Campus Communication
• E-mail : Daily, Official correspondence
• Copy (Cc) the professor to all official correspondence
• Cell-phones
Common Responsibilities
• Attend Classes
• Read Textbook/assignments
• Maintain Seating chart
• Take attendance
• Take class notes
• Maintain office hours
Other Possibilities
• Editing work
• Proctor exams
• Prepare Mid-Semester Reports: Athletes
• Conduct Field Trips
• Research for Profs; Acquisition of materials …
Teaching Responsibilities
• Sub Lecturing
• Tutoring / Review Sessions
• Grading
Substitute Lecturing
• Clarify expectations w/ Prof • Balancing style • Structuring your lecture • Confidence • Technology issues • Access to room• Expect to submit lecture notes to
your Prof
Tutoring / Review Sessions
• Frequency
• Location
• Content
Grading
• Allot hours at the end of the semester - do your own papers early.
• Grade and enter grades quickly; ask about expectations.
• Providing Reports: to students and prof
• Familiarize yourself with the Scantron machine.
Research Tools• Library Webpage
– Two Libraries: Moody and Jones
• BearCat: http://www3.baylor.edu/Library/
• OsoFast: ILL at Baylor, https://illiad.baylor.edu/illiad/logon.html
• Electronic Resources: https://www1.baylor.edu/ERD/Search/AdvancedSearch.aspx
• BearSpace: Storing Information, https://bearspace.baylor.edu
Student Issues
• Ethical Behavior (honesty, plagiarism, cheating, doing homework)http://www.baylor.edu/honorcode/
• Special Services (OALA): http://www.baylor.edu/oala/
SET• Seminars for Excellence in Teaching
– Improves quality of undergrad education
– Assists departments in preparing teachers
– Documents SACS required training
SET• Requirements for TORs
– Prior to or during your first semester of teaching:•Core Workshop 1 (180 minutes)•Core Workshop 2 (120 minutes)
– Each subsequent semester you teach:•One elective workshop (60 minutes)
“Working as a GTA”Q&A with a Panel of Senior GTAs
• Lydia Cooper, English Ph.D. • Michelle Porter, Spanish M.A.• Alicia Myers, Religion Ph.D.• Bracy Hill, Religion Ph.D.