Hi all,
At University of Illinois, we also do practice teaching. As preparation for that, we first have a session on "Basics of Teaching/Preparing a Lecture". Then there is a sample class, followed by a critique. The TA who presents the sample class tries to do some things well and some things rather poorly, so there will be plenty to discuss during the critique. There is also a session on "Running a Discussion Section" - we discuss what a TA can do to make the best use of that time.
The day after practice teaching, there are sessions on grading, on "UIUC Students and their Backgrounds," and on "Teaching Policies and Ethics in Teaching."
On the fourth day, TAs meet with the instructor of the class to which they have been assigned.
We also have a TA Peer Mentoring Program to provide additional support and guidance to new TAs throughout the semester.
I'd be very interested to hear what others do.
Karen Mortensen
Department of Mathematics
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
kmortens(a)illinois.edu
---- Original message ----
>Today's Topics:
>
> 1. TA Orientation Ideas? (Bruff, Derek O)
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Message: 1
>Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:55:23 -0500
>From: "Bruff, Derek O" <derek.bruff(a)Vanderbilt.Edu>
>Subject: [PSTUM-list] TA Orientation Ideas?
>To: Preparing and Supporting Teachers of Undergraduate Mathematics
> <pstum-list(a)lists.fas.harvard.edu>
>Message-ID:
> <EB8466F614CE0A44A0DB470E79114356128D0B5465(a)ITS-HCWNEM04.ds.Vanderbilt.edu>
>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
>Hi all,
>
>It's been a while since this listserv has seen any action, but now's a good a time as any to see what I can kick start!
>
>With the start of the fall semester right around the corner, here's a question for the list: What have you found effective in preparing your new graduate teaching assistants in math for their TA duties?
>
>I'll start! As part of our university-wide TA orientation, our new math TAs engage in what we call practice teaching. Each is given the chance to lead a mock class (usually calculus) for 5-7 minutes where the other new TAs and the facilitator of the group act as mock students. Following this, the TA is asked to reflect on the experience (what went well, what didn't) before the other TAs provide feedback.
>
>You might not think that 5-7 minutes is enough of a teaching demo to be useful, but the feedback portion is typically very productive! The new TAs walk away with a greater understanding of their strengths as a teacher and areas for improvement, as well as a little more confidence going into their first class as a TA.
>
>Okay, your turn. How do you help your new TAs get ready for the semester?
>
>Derek
>
>--
>Derek Bruff, Ph.D.
>Assistant Director, Center for Teaching
>Senior Lecturer, Department of Mathematics
>Vanderbilt University
>www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/<http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/>
>www.derekbruff.com/teachingwithcrs/<http://www.derekbruff.com/teachingwithcrs/>
>twitter.com/derekbruff<http://twitter.com/derekbruff>
>
>
Hi all,
It's been a while since this listserv has seen any action, but now's a good a time as any to see what I can kick start!
With the start of the fall semester right around the corner, here's a question for the list: What have you found effective in preparing your new graduate teaching assistants in math for their TA duties?
I'll start! As part of our university-wide TA orientation, our new math TAs engage in what we call practice teaching. Each is given the chance to lead a mock class (usually calculus) for 5-7 minutes where the other new TAs and the facilitator of the group act as mock students. Following this, the TA is asked to reflect on the experience (what went well, what didn't) before the other TAs provide feedback.
You might not think that 5-7 minutes is enough of a teaching demo to be useful, but the feedback portion is typically very productive! The new TAs walk away with a greater understanding of their strengths as a teacher and areas for improvement, as well as a little more confidence going into their first class as a TA.
Okay, your turn. How do you help your new TAs get ready for the semester?
Derek
--
Derek Bruff, Ph.D.
Assistant Director, Center for Teaching
Senior Lecturer, Department of Mathematics
Vanderbilt University
www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/<http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/>
www.derekbruff.com/teachingwithcrs/<http://www.derekbruff.com/teachingwithcrs/>
twitter.com/derekbruff<http://twitter.com/derekbruff>
I'm excited the list might be back in action!
I also use Krantz's "How to Teach Mathematics" and students like his
descriptions of sectioning off the boards. I have a couple of faculty
members in our dept. who's boardwork I think is fabulous, and I have
my GTAs observe other instructors twice each quarter. If someone is
really struggling with their boardwork, I steer them towards those
faculty members' classes.
I had a thought about collecting images of peoples' boardwork to use
for discussion, so I just googled "boardwork images". These three
exhibit different pros and cons of boardwork, and might be good for
discussion (they are all chalkboard, though, not whiteboard).
http://www.maths.abdn.ac.uk/~spark/2006Boardwork%20005.jpghttp://www.math.byu.edu/~peterson/Boardwork%201.jpghttp://lh4.ggpht.com/_1AiAsLI6PeI/Rwm4YgSk0gI/AAAAAAAABGU/ivmw0obi1D4/P1010…
When I observe GTAs teaching, I tend to pay attention to two aspects
of boardwork, depending on when I drop into their classes.
If I get there at the start, I like to make myself a little grid and
mark where they move across the board. For some students, my notes
look like
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
For other students, my notes might look like
1 2
5 3 4
When I show them my notes, we can have a discussion about efficient
use of boardspace, and organization. Organization and clarity of
writing usually boil down to slowing down, so sometimes I just have to
help give GTAs permission to go over 5 examples each class instead of
8!
If I get to a class in the middle of class, I check to see whether I
can figure out what is going on based on the snapshot of the board
when I enter the room. So I will copy down everything I see and start
observing from there. If a student comes in late, or can't look away
from the board without losing track of what's happening, there's
probably a problem with the organization of the lecture and the
organization of the board.
I also encourage GTAs to walk to the back of the room while their
boardwork is up (either at break, or at the end of class before they
erase everything), and give themselves the same "snapshot check". How
do things look? Do they follow what went on?
Best,
Christine
On Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 9:00 AM,
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Resources on Chalkboard Technique? (Bruff, Derek O)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:28:55 -0600
> From: "Bruff, Derek O" <derek.bruff(a)Vanderbilt.Edu>
> Subject: [PSTUM-list] Resources on Chalkboard Technique?
> To: "pstum-list(a)lists.fas.harvard.edu"
> <pstum-list(a)lists.fas.harvard.edu>
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>
> Yes, the Preparing and Supporting Teachers of Undergraduate Mathematics (PSTUM) listserv is still operational! I have a question that, I think, is perfect for this listserv.
>
> Do you know of any good resources on good chalkboard / whiteboard techniques? Ones worth sharing with grad students just learning good boardwork? Steven Krantz has a good section on this subject in his book, How to Teach Mathematics, but it doesn't include any visual examples. Know of any good resources along these lines?
>
> Thanks,
> Derek
>
> --
> Derek Bruff, Ph.D.
> Assistant Director, Center for Teaching
> Senior Lecturer, Department of Mathematics
> Vanderbilt University
> www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/<http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/>
> www.derekbruff.com/teachingwithcrs/<http://www.derekbruff.com/teachingwithcrs/>
> twitter.com/derekbruff<http://twitter.com/derekbruff>
>
>
Yes, the Preparing and Supporting Teachers of Undergraduate Mathematics (PSTUM) listserv is still operational! I have a question that, I think, is perfect for this listserv.
Do you know of any good resources on good chalkboard / whiteboard techniques? Ones worth sharing with grad students just learning good boardwork? Steven Krantz has a good section on this subject in his book, How to Teach Mathematics, but it doesn't include any visual examples. Know of any good resources along these lines?
Thanks,
Derek
--
Derek Bruff, Ph.D.
Assistant Director, Center for Teaching
Senior Lecturer, Department of Mathematics
Vanderbilt University
www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/<http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/>
www.derekbruff.com/teachingwithcrs/<http://www.derekbruff.com/teachingwithcrs/>
twitter.com/derekbruff<http://twitter.com/derekbruff>
If you are interested in participating in this working group (meeting
just prior to the start of the 2010 RUME conference), please let us
know soon. Requests to present received by Feb. 1st will receive
priority. You do NOT need to have data or a project to participate--
you can just be there to take part in the discussions.
Natasha and TJ
Working Group for Research About Novice Teachers of College Mathematics
Organizers: Natasha Speer, University of Maine (speer(a)math.umaine,edu)
and Teri Jo Murphy, Northern Kentucky University (murphytj1(a)nku.edu)
The professional development of graduate students and beginning
faculty as teachers has become an increasingly visible topic in the
mathematics community over the past two decades. This group provides
opportunities for people who conduct research in this area to discuss
their work, receive constructive feedback on their ideas, and network
with other researchers.
We would like to extend an invitation to anyone interested in these
issues to join us when the group convenes on Thursday, February 25th,
10am-5pm, prior to the start of the 2010 RUME conference in Raleigh,
North Carolina. See http://rume.org/crume2010/ for information about
the conference.
We will use our meeting time as an opportunity for participants in the
group to present their research and discuss it with other
participants. You do not need to present anything in order to
participate – anyone who wishes to take part in the discussions is
welcome to attend. If you do wish to share your research, it can be at
any stage of development. Here are some examples:
a. You have some preliminary ideas for a project and would like an
opportunity to talk about your thoughts and receive suggestions about
relevant research literature.
b. You have a research question and you would like to brainstorm ideas
for data collection methods.
c. You have written some interview questions (or have other data
collection instruments) and would like to talk about them to help
ensure that they are well-connected with your research questions.
d. You have gathered your data and you would like some feedback on the
preliminary analysis you have conducted.
e. You have completed a project and would like to discuss possible
audiences and venues for publication.
If you are interested in participating in the discussions or would
like to be considered for a slot of time during the meeting to share
your work, send an email to both of the organizers. Proposals that are
received by Feb. 1st will get priority. For people who are interested
in presenting during the meeting, please include the following in your
message:
1. Topic (or title) of your research project.
2. A short description of the project, including information about
what “stage” the project is in (planning, data collection, data
analysis, reporting).
3. A short description of how you would like to spend your slot of
time during the meeting.
4. A short discussion of what you would like to get out of the
meeting. The amount of time each person will have for the discussion
of their work will be determined once we have received all the
requests but we expect it to be about 30 minutes.
==================================
Natasha M. Speer
234 Neville Hall
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
University of Maine
Orono, Maine 04469
(207)581-3937
speer(a)math.umaine.edu
Harvard PSTUM subscribers may or may not be interested in a recent
post "Re: pre-to-post tests as measures of learning/teaching #2"
[Hake (2008)]. The abstract reads:
******************************************
ABSTRACT: Among the thoughtful responses to my post "Re: pre-to-post
tests as measures of learning/teaching" were those of POD's Ed Nuhfer
and Chemed-L's Logan McCarty. Nuhfer implied that there are people
who proclaim multiple choice tests to be the standard for determining
quality of education, but I know of no one outside politics who's
stupid enough to make such an absurd proclamation. McCarty argued
that: (1) the highest form of learning that we achieve in
introductory courses is *skills* not facts or concepts; (2) pre/post
testing inevitably promotes "teaching to the test"; (3) he (Logan)
could employ traditional non-interactive teaching methods in such a
way that his students would do well on tests such the Force Concept
Inventory (FCI); (4) the FCI is "incredibly narrowly focused"; (5)
Newtonian concepts hinder students' understanding in non-Newtonian
areas; (6) "concepts" are at a lower level of Bloom's taxonomy than
"skills"; and (7) writing ability can't be tested with multiple
choice tests. I argue that McCarty is wrong on all 7 counts and has
therefore flunked his pretest ;-).
******************************************
To access the entire 24 kB post please click on <http://tinyurl.com/3cmgou>
Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
<rrhake(a)earthlink.net>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi>
REFERENCES
Hake, R.R. 2008. "Re: pre-to-post tests as measures of
learning/teaching #2," AERA-L post of 31 Jan 2008 16:21:15-0800,
online on the OPEN AERA-L archives at <http://tinyurl.com/3cmgou>.
This is a slightly improved version of the post with the same title
transmitted to Chemed-L, PhysLrnR, and POD on 30 January 2008.
Eric,
Here are a references looking at the impact of TA training that I've
found.
As you can see, there are no (a) fairly recent literature reviews or (b)
research studies specific to mathematics. I would be interested in
hearing about either of those, if anyone on the list knows of any.
I hope these are helpful to your colleague!
Best,
Derek
1) Carroll, J., "Effects of Training Programs for University Teaching
Assistants: A Review of Empirical Research," Journal of Higher
Education, 51 (2), 167-183, 1980.
This article reviews the research literature on TA training as of 1980,
focusing on research on both TA and student variables.
2) Levinson-Rose, J., and Menges, R., "Improving College Teaching: A
Critical Review of Research," Review of Educational Research, 51 (3),
403-434, 1981.
This article reviews the research literature on interventions designed
to improve college teaching. It is not limited to the teaching done by
TAs, but includes faculty and other instructors, as well.
3) Abbott, R., Wulff, D., and Szego, C., "Review of Research on TA
Training," in Teaching Assistant Training in the 1990s, New Directions
for Teaching and Learning No. 39, Fall 1989.
This article reviews the research literature on TA training from 1980 to
1988, noting positive effects of consultations about student ratings,
having TAs watch videotapes of their own teaching, and
discipline-specific training programs.
4) Shannon, D., Twale, D., and Moore, M., "TA Teaching Effectiveness:
The Impact of Training and Teaching Experiences," The Journal of Higher
Education, 69 (4), 440-466, 1998.
In this study, student ratings of TAs and TAs' self-ratings were used to
analyze the impact on teaching effectiveness of different kinds of TA
training as well as of the TAs' prior training and teaching experience.
5) Park, C., "The Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA): Lesson from North
American Experience," Teaching in Higher Education, 9 (3), 349-361,
2004.
This article reviews the literature on TA training programs in North
America. The emphasis isn't on research on the effectiveness of such
training programs, but there is some attention to such research. The
article also has an extensive, recent bibliography.
--
Derek Bruff, Ph.D.
Assistant Director, Vanderbilt Center for Teaching
Senior Lecturer, Vanderbilt Department of Mathematics
116 Calhoun Hall
Box 351537, Station B
Nashville, TN 37235
615-322-7290
www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pstum-list-bounces(a)lists.fas.harvard.edu
> [mailto:pstum-list-bounces@lists.fas.harvard.edu] On Behalf
> Of Eric Hsu
> Sent: Sunday, November 26, 2006 9:02 PM
> To: pstum-list(a)lists.fas.harvard.edu
> Subject: [PSTUM-list] refs on TA training effectiveness?
>
> This may sound like an obvious question, so I am hoping there
> are some obvious answers.
>
> A colleague of mine is helping NSF with a "What's Known From
> Research" report and realized she had no research citations
> to support the idea that graduate teaching assistants teach
> better and their students learn better if the TAs receive
> some kind of training or support. I think everyone believes
> it. I've seen a couple of theses about this issue discussed
> on the list.
>
> Can people who've done the literature review give me what you
> consider the best references addressing this specific question?
> Preferably with a sentence or two commentary on each...
>
> best wishes, Eric
> --
> Eric Hsu, Associate Professor of Mathematics San Francisco
> State University http://math.sfsu.edu/hsu erichsu(a)math.sfsu.edu
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> PSTUM-list mailing list
> PSTUM-list(a)lists.fas.harvard.edu
> http://lists.fas.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/pstum-list
>
Eric,
I have a stack of resources on TA training sitting on my desk that I've
need to look through for another project. Are you still interested in
some references on this topic? I might have some time next week to get
to that stack, and I'm confident it will produce something useful for
your colleague.
Derek
--
Derek Bruff, Ph.D.
Assistant Director, Vanderbilt Center for Teaching
Senior Lecturer, Vanderbilt Department of Mathematics
116 Calhoun Hall
Box 351537, Station B
Nashville, TN 37235
615-322-7290
www.vanderbilt.edu/cft/
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pstum-list-bounces(a)lists.fas.harvard.edu
> [mailto:pstum-list-bounces@lists.fas.harvard.edu] On Behalf
> Of Eric Hsu
> Sent: Sunday, November 26, 2006 9:02 PM
> To: pstum-list(a)lists.fas.harvard.edu
> Subject: [PSTUM-list] refs on TA training effectiveness?
>
> This may sound like an obvious question, so I am hoping there
> are some obvious answers.
>
> A colleague of mine is helping NSF with a "What's Known From
> Research" report and realized she had no research citations
> to support the idea that graduate teaching assistants teach
> better and their students learn better if the TAs receive
> some kind of training or support. I think everyone believes
> it. I've seen a couple of theses about this issue discussed
> on the list.
>
> Can people who've done the literature review give me what you
> consider the best references addressing this specific question?
> Preferably with a sentence or two commentary on each...
>
> best wishes, Eric
> --
> Eric Hsu, Associate Professor of Mathematics San Francisco
> State University http://math.sfsu.edu/hsu erichsu(a)math.sfsu.edu
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> PSTUM-list mailing list
> PSTUM-list(a)lists.fas.harvard.edu
> http://lists.fas.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/pstum-list
>
This may sound like an obvious question, so I am hoping there are
some obvious answers.
A colleague of mine is helping NSF with a "What's Known From
Research" report and realized she had no research citations to
support the idea that graduate teaching assistants teach better and
their students learn better if the TAs receive some kind of training
or support. I think everyone believes it. I've seen a couple of
theses about this issue discussed on the list.
Can people who've done the literature review give me what you
consider the best references addressing this specific question?
Preferably with a sentence or two commentary on each...
best wishes, Eric
--
Eric Hsu, Associate Professor of Mathematics
San Francisco State University
http://math.sfsu.edu/hsu
erichsu(a)math.sfsu.edu
