DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
#1: The students are clustered around a round table, excitedly debating the finer points of Gauss' Law, which you have thrown out for discussion. You have quietly retreated into the background. From time to time, students run to the blackboard, trying to convince their colleagues of some point by solving one of the prearranged problems you have presented.
#2: Students are sitting in neat rows, in crowded classroom:
TA: "Any questions?Ó
Student in front row: "Yeah, problem 10.Ó
Long silence. 5 students sit with pens poised ready to copy down TA's words of wisdom. 25 look out of the window because they've already done number 10. TA launches into 15-minute explanation.
If you can accomplish scenario #1, great! Don't allow #2 to happen. For most, there's a middle ground that keeps the students interested and serves them well. Many of you will be natural teachers; but you will all have to work hard at it. You are a vital part of the students' learning experience. Students often don't have enough time to absorb the principles that the lecture introduces before the next topic comes along. The lectures usually don't cover any but the simplest problems, so the students are horrified when the homework seems hard, even though they've "understood" the lecture. You have to help by reassuring them that they're not stupid (they aren't; they just think they are). You have to help them distill this knowledge.
¥ Ask questions that force students to apply the principles they've learned.
¥ Work problems that illustrate the important principles ... ask more questions and work more problems!
¥ Encourage students to participate and to work independently. Group mode in recitation, if managed well, is preferable to lecturing all the time. Students must not be passive listeners. It can be inefficient, though and lecture mode is more appropriate to get summary information across.
¥ Encourage students to think logically and clearly. Teach them how to ask specific questions that identify their difficulties, not general questions like "How do I go about this?" (See the office hours handout)
¥ Motivate them! Persuade students to tackle extra problems that aren't assigned, and to ask questions about what they've learned. Ask them about everyday pheneonena and how their lessons apply. Many students have the feeling that if they show up, and do the homework, they'll get an A. They need to evaluate what they've learned, too.
In general, you shouldn't try to rederive formulae, or try to summarize what was learned in lecture, unless the students specifically request clarification. It's more beneficial to get some practice using the concepts. Pose conceptual questions that are not of the conventional "problem" type. For example, a conventional "problem" is to find the range of a projectile with initial velocity v angle q. To get students thinking, ask them to argue whether or not the range on the moon is different from the range on the earth given the same initial conditions. Some might want to obtain a formula and see how g enters; others might argue that the time to go up and down on the moon is longer because the acceleration is smaller, therefore the range is longer for the same horizontal velocity; yet others might just "feel" that it should be longer on the moon (maybe they've played golf at high altitude!). Your job is to pull out all these valid approaches and make sure that the students understand the physics.
Many texts divide their assignments into "problems" and "questions". Use both. Often you'll find a "question" that the students can discuss qualitatively relating to a numeric "problem".
How to encourage participation:
Your sections may be relatively large - 30 students, but this is at least smaller than the lecture.
¥ Divide the students into groups and assign each group a problem to work out. Have them tackle one of the other groups' problems they finish early. You could have a spokesperson from each group present the problem to the class, but this mostly takes too much time in a larger recitation. This whole approach can be less efficient, and has to be managed well. However, the rewards are great. Discuss this approach with the faculty or experienced TAs.
¥ Ask a student to start the problem on the board and have the others help while you stand at the back of the room saying as little as possible. If a student refuses, don't insist, you'll find a willing student eventually. Once they get the idea, they'll all join in.
¥ Be careful of the ultra-smart student who volunteers all the answers - the recitation could end up as a discussion between the two of you. But do allow that student to have a say, otherwise a potential ally is bored to tears.
How to keep it interesting:
¥ Always be well-prepared and well organized, and have enough material so that you can talk the whole time if you have to. Don't be rigid, though; let the students dictate a little.
¥ Keep the pace lively. Don't spend too long on very easy problems. It's not necessary to work ALL problems through to the end, but most students get very frustrated when you don't, so do work some all the way through. In scenario #2, above, it would be much better to ask the student what he or she has attempted, and find out how many in the class are also having trouble with #10. You can then judge how much time to spend, and you have induced the student to participate.
How to start to be an effective TA:
¥ Plan your session well. Make good notes, and have a plan for how much time is assigned to each problem or activity. Be flexible during the recitation, but a good plan will help you keep on track.
¥ Be professional at all times. This includes treating the subject and the students with respect. Dress well; lose the coffee cup. Your demeanor will be an example to the students.
¥ Be punctual and return student work in a timely fashion.
¥ Appear confident, but don't be bossy or patronizing.
¥ Admit mistakes quickly, and rectify them.
¥ Write legibly on the board and speak so that everyone can hear.
¥ Establish authority and guidelines right away.
¥ Take an interest in your students; learn their names, their major field, but don't be drawn into personal conflicts. You're the TA, not the nanny.
How are you doing?
Ask experienced TAs if you can sit in on a section or two just to see how it goes. We have some very good teachers among the grad students. Ask the professor to critique your section early on the quarter. He or she will do so later in the quarter, anyway. Some feedback early on will be useful.
Administration:
You have to evaluate the students' performances. This varies with the course and instructor. If you cannot objectively judge a student's performance, for whatever reason, please request that the student or you be reassigned.
The recitations in the PH211/2/3 sequence are graded P/N, and constitute a separate course. Attendance is usually the major criterion, along with two or three 5 to 10-minute quizzes during the term.
The recitations in the PH201/2/3 sequence are part of the course. Different instructors have different policies and you must know what they are. BE VERY SPECIFIC AT THE BEGINNING about what constitutes a passing grade, and stick to it.
Keep good records. It often happens that a student questions grades a term or so later. You will be given a class list - use it as a grade register. Your signature on student work is a good way of verifying later that it was actually done.