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发信人: haven (避风港), 信区: AdvancedEdu
标 题: How to be a good TA(4)
发信站: BBS 水木清华站 (Tue May 12 21:47:09 1998)
3 Preparing your first course meeting
The first section marks the beginning of a semester-long relationship
between you and your students. A successful first class can set a
positive tone for the rest of the semester, convincing your students
right away that your class is interesting and worth actively
participating in. A poorly-led first section may discourage interest in
the class and/or lead students to believe that they need not put forth
their best effort. To make a good first impression, you will want to
articulate clearly your expectations for yourself and your students,
and to set your goals for the semester. In addition to setting
pedagogical goals, you need to consider some basic issues. For
example, how important and/or necessary will it be for your class
that students complete assigned reading? Does class participation
count in your grading? How strict will you be about deadlines?
While the answer to each of these questions will depend on your
teaching style, the following suggestions-some of which you may
adopt, some of which you may disagree with-may help you
formulate your approach to teaching.
3.1 Setting pedagogical goals
It is a good idea to decide what your overall goals are for the
semester, for you can use them to decide what you want your
students to do each week. Some TAs solicit student input during the
first course meeting when setting their course goals. If you ask your
students what their goals are (verbally or in the form of a
questionnaire), you can better teach to their needs. If you have
taken a similar course in the past, reflecting on how you were taught
the material can give you insights into what are important and
realistic goals to set.
In any event, at some point you might want to ask yourself the
following sorts of questions as you prepare for the semester: What
are the three most important concepts I want my students to learn
this semester? What is the main idea I want them to take away each
week? What skills do I want my students to develop this semester?
These questions are almost more important, because more
fundamental, than questions about what readings to read, problems
to solve, and experiments to run. Presumably your instructor has
already made these latter decisions, but as a TA you still play an
important role in charting the day-to-day direction of the course.
3.2 Establishing policies
In addition to knowing your goals for the semester, your students
will appreciate knowing your policies regarding grading, attendance,
deadlines, special assignments, office hours, and how to contact
you. Another consideration is whether or not you will give out your
home phone number. (If you do so, let students know how early or
late they can call.) Formulating answers to these questions in
advance will allow you to articulate them clearly in the first class and
forestall confusion later in the semester.
Many TAs create their own handout detailing personal expectations,
listing office hours, setting policies on grading, deadlines, attendance
and so on. This is one of the best ways of ensuring clarity about
your expectations of the students, and of conveying this information
to them. If you don't have clear policies, or don't stick to the policies
laid out in the first session, the result will be confusion on the part of
the students, and perhaps some resentment.
3.3 Exchanging information
Aside from the mental prepration that teaching requires, material
preparation is also necessary. Having on hand at the first course
meeting (and for several weeks thereafter) all of the materials you
need will make things easier on you, and your students will
appreciate having this information.
Extra copies of course handouts. To keep your class moving
smoothly and avoid the impression of disorganization, it is
helpful to have on hand extra copies of the course syllabus
and other materials you and your lecturer have made
available since some students will invariably ask for them.
TA handout. See "Establishing Policies," above.
Student information. It is also helpful to make some record of
your students' biographical data-name, phone number, e-mail
address, college, class, and major-so that you can reach them
or their deans if necessary. Notecards are a time-honored
method for gathering this information, though a simple list on a
legal pad works equally well if it has room for all the
information. Some TAs use notecards during the semester to
keep track of other student data (attendance, grades,
participation).
3.4 Building a group dynamic
Part of the success of your class will depend on how comfortable
you feel with yourself and your students, and while you may not feel
truly at ease until the end of the semester, you can begin building a
good group dynamic in the first meeting. You will certainly want to
learn your students' names as quickly as possible, but you should
also know your students as people and let them know you. Students
will be curious about you, though their curiosity should not convince
you to reveal more about yourself than you are comfortable sharing.
Whatever you decide to say, and however you decide to start, the
first meeting is the time to begin establishing an environment that
inspires trust, thought, creativity and collaboration.
As in any first meeting, the first step is introductions: you will want to
introduce yourself to your students, discuss your connection to the
material, and have the students introduce themselves. If you are a
language TA, you should decide whether to speak the target
language at all times or begin with an introduction in English.
Everyone wants to be liked on the first day-we want our students to
like us, and we want to like them too. Even more important than
being well liked, however, is being well respected. Teaching is a
public performance, and you will need to decide what persona and
attitudes are most comfortable and effective for you in the
classroom.
Mood and atmosphere
Students are sensitive to their teachers' attitudes and easily discern
enthusiastic TAs from bored, scornful, or preoccupied ones. While
there is no law that says you must be cheerful when you teach, your
mood will make all the difference, and generating enthusiasm and
commitment may be one of your most difficult responsibilities as a
section leader. The dynamics of your section-who participates and
how often-will depend in large part on your expectations (whether
simply stated or put in writing), the methods you choose to remind
your students of those expectations, and your general body
language. Where you sit relative to the rest of the class, how much
eye contact you make, or how often your back is to your students
(if you are writing a lot on the board) will send clues to your
students about your attitude towards teaching.
Another part of your introductions that you should consider is how
your students will address you (first name, Mr., Ms., etc.). This will
contribute to a certain degree of formality or informality in the
classroom.
Student introductions can take many forms. Some TAs ask students
to pair up, talk for a minute, and then introduce each other to the
rest of the group.
3.5 Beginning to teach the material
Introducing yourselves will take some time, as will going over the
syllabus, passing out notecards, etc., but you should still have
enough time left over to lead a short discussion, present relevant
examples, etc. You may organize your introductions to leave time
for a full-fledged class.
If you foresee having only a short block of time to work with, you
might want to bring in a special example or topic that illustrates
some of the course themes. The first assignment on the syllabus
might actually offer such an example, in which case you will simpl
want to figure out how to frame your first question, and begin.
Chances are your students will be eager to start on the right foot.
Your job will be to frame the issues and phrase questions that spark
their interest. The following are some of the ways you may initiate
student involvement.
Personalize the material. Get your students to make a
personal connection to a topic studied in the course. For
example, if you are teaching a history course, ask them to talk
about the first historical event they remember and offer the
first one you remember.
Use an object. Bring a "visual aid" that in some way
embodies the themes of the course-an exemplary object,
reproduction of a work of art, an example of an economic
phenomenon from that day's newspaper, etc.
Work with an example. Bring a short literary passage,
historical example, or problem that students can read and
analyze in a short period of time.
Over the course of the semester, your ability to convey information,
elicit responses, and foster discussions will improve. Your ability to
give your students a feel for and excitement about the subject you
are teaching, rather than just a mastery of its rules and theories, may
be your greatest challenge.
--
世情推物理，人生贵适意，想人间造物搬兴废。吉藏凶，凶藏吉。
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