GUIDING GRADUATE STUDENTS THROUGH THE
TRANSITION FROM STUDENT TO TEACHER +
Susan R. McKay
Many graduate students encounter their first experiences teaching
a physics laboratory or class when they become teaching assistants
(TAs), often in a new setting where they know no one well enough to
feel comfortable discussing this new role. Frequently this transition
from student to teacher occurs with very little guidance or instruction.
In particular, the new TA may receive some directions about the content
of the teaching assignment, but general considerations and expectations
for them as teachers are often left unaddressed.
The training program begun last fall in the University of Maine's
Physics and Astronomy Department is designed to provide TAs with information
on general issues related to teaching, as well as give them the opportunity
to meet other teachers in the department and get to know them early
in the semester. This training can smooth the transition for new TAs
and give them more confidence as they begin their duties. The program
also focuses attention on teaching and its importance at a time when
new graduate students might otherwise be too busy with moving, registering
for courses, and finding their way around campus to give their teaching
much thought.
The Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Maine
has sixteen TAs, each of whom teaches introductory classes, workshops
or laboratories and grades their students' homework and lab reports.
For many undergraduates, the TA is their first and most extensive personal
contact within the department; thus, the way the TA treats each student
can be crucial in establishing that student's view of physics and astronomy
at the University. A well-prepared, approachable, professional TA who
communicates effectively with students can really enhance their learning,
while a bad TA sends students scrambling to transfer to another course
or section.
An important aspect of this training program is its timing; reaching
TAs before they actually begin their duties enables the department
to explain the expectations and standards required of TAs. From the
beginning, the TA is aware of how duties should be conducted and who
to contact with questions or concerns. The training began with four
sessions during the first week of classes and continued with several
lunch-time meetings throughout the semester. Before these TAs met their
students for the first time, they had heard introductory remarks on
the department and its expectations of TAs by the department chair,
participated in a panel discussion on teaching strategies for a diverse
student body, attended a presentation and discussion on sexual harassment,
and met in small groups to discuss course-specific strategies for effective
teaching and fair grading. Also included in the first week's program
were a pizza dinner and a couple of other refreshment breaks so that
TAs had a chance to talk informally with other TAs and faculty.
The department chair's remarks set the tone for the semester, emphasizing
the importance of the TAs' duties and the expectation that they would
work hard to do their best as teachers. He provided a brief overview
of the introductory courses and the students who take them, particularly
warning TAs that they may find students with very weak math backgrounds
in their classes. He also described the kind of professional conduct
that is expected of every TA, stressing such practices as beginning
classes and labs on time, being well prepared, holding office hours
as scheduled, treating all students with respect, reporting missing
or troubled students, watching for and reporting instances of cheating,
and establishing a fair and consistent grading system. His remarks
probably surprised no one in the room, but they established a common
framework for future discussions.
Next, teaching assistants attended a presentation and discussion
of sexual harassment run by the campus Office of Equal Opportunity
and oriented toward new situations that might arise now that the graduate
students are staff members. They were instructed, for example, how
to handle a situation in which a student reports a possible instance
of sexual harassment by another student to them and told that their
dating students in the classes and labs that they teach is not acceptable.
The third meeting, a panel discussion of teaching strategies for
a diverse student body, included as panelists some of the best teaching
assistants from the department and a couple of faculty from other departments
specializing in communication strategies. These faculty participants
provided handouts that listed specific suggestions for establishing
positive patterns of communication between students and the teacher
in a classroom or laboratory. Items from the handouts that were highlighted
in the discussions included ways to encourage women and minority students
in science both inside and outside the classroom and communication
styles that favored participation by a large number of students rather
than dominance of classroom discussion by only a few students. Strategies
for handling a disruptive or rude student, identifying students' areas
of difficulty (Is it math, physics, lack of communication skills, etc.?),
getting students to participate and be active learners in class and
lab, and intervening to help lab groups with interpersonal difficulties
were also discussed. This panel gave new TAs an awareness of some of
the issues that can arise in teaching and, perhaps more importantly,
provided the opportunity for them to become better acquainted with
experienced TAs and faculty who could help them with situations in
their own classes and labs.
The fourth session consisted of separate meetings of TAs with faculty
members coordinating their particular course and the other teaching
assistants within their course. One objective of this session was to
establish more uniform grading standards for homework and lab reports,
so that students in different sections would be graded comparably.
The faculty member also provided guidelines for what should be emphasized
in both teaching and grading and the procedures that needed to be followed
to keep the course running smoothly and on schedule. This meeting gave
the TA information about how classes, workshops, and labs fit into
the general structure of the course.
Once the semester was underway, training continued using two types
of meetings: informal discussions of how things were going and improvements
that could be implemented in the introductory courses, and meetings
with outside speakers discussing topics related to research in physics
education. These sessions were designed to build a sense of teaching
community within the department and retain the focus on teaching which
had been established during the first week.
How did all of this work? The consensus among faculty and TAs is
that providing some type of training at the beginning of the semester
is definitely a good idea. Familiarity with the topics covered in last
fall's program is essential for new TAs and can help them start teaching
better, minimizing major mid-semester corrections. Also, having teachers
get together at the beginning of the semester and become acquainted
was valued by both TAs and faculty. This early training stresses the
importance of quality teaching within the department. Some TAs felt
that more meetings should be held during the semester as a follow-up,
to encourage TAs to remain focused on improving their teaching. Others
suggested that course credit should be given to TAs attending and participating
in this series of training sessions. These ideas and modifications
are still being considered for next year's program, but the strategy
of providing general training to make the transition from student to
teacher a positive one for new TAs has definitely proved worth continuing.
+ This training program was supported by a grant
from the Women in the Curriculum Program at the University of Maine.
Susan McKay is Associate Professor of Physics at the University of
Maine in Orono. Her research focuses on theoretical study of magnetic
systems, including spin glasses.
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