THE TEACHING ASSISTANT'S HANDBOOK The Graduate School Twenty-Fourth Edition August 2022 Editors: Scott G. Delcourt Associate Dean of the Graduate School Taylor Houdlette and Dylan Morin Orientation Co-Coordinators Printed with pride by University of Maine Printing Services ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This handbook was made possible through the efforts of past and present faculty and staff on the campus of the University of Maine. Brad Beauregard, Public Relations Manager, Fogler Library James Berg, Former Director, Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) Phyllis Brazee, Associate Professor Emerita, Education; Former Director, Peace Studies Program Patricia Burnes, Associate Professor Emerita, English; Coordinator, First Year Writing Program Ryan J. Dippre, Associate Professor, English; Director, Composition Dudley Doane, Former Associate Director, Intensive English Institute Suzanne Estler, Associate Professor Emerita, Higher Education Sam Garwood, Assistant University Librarian Emeritus, Fogler Library Brian Green, Professor, Chemistry Sara Henry, Director, Student Accessibility Services Victoria Justus, Former Director, Environmental Health and Safety Eloise Kleban, Former Coordinator, Project Enterprise Training Team, UNET Technology Services Chris Mares, Director, Intensive English Institute Ann Maxim, Director, Academic Support Services for Student-Athletes Virginia Nees-Hatlen, Associate Professor Emerita, English; Former Director, CTE Ali Ozluk, Professor, Mathematics and Statistics Laurie Pinkert, Former Orientation Coordinator, Graduate School Joyce Rumery, Dean of Libraries, Fogler Library Rebecca Salsbury, Former Instructional Coordinator, IT Michael Scott, Director of ASAP; Lecturer, New Media Ann Schonberger, Professor Emerita; Former Director, Women in the Curriculum & Women’s Studies The Editors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of those individuals and institutions who have granted permission for the inclusion of materials in The Teaching Assistant’s Handbook.
Marva Barnett, Former Director, Center for Teaching Excellence, University of Virginia, Charlottesville Winifred Cooke, Director, OIR Teaching Center, University of Florida Ingrid Walsoe-Engel, Associate Dean, Director Teaching Fellow Program, Yale University Nyquist / Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, San Francisco, California Graduate Assembly's TA Training Project, University of California, Berkeley Ruth Stein, Director, Center for Instructional Development, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY The University of Maine at Orono is an EEO/AA employer and does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information or veteran’s status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Director of Equal Opportunity, 101 North Stevens Hall, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5754, 207. Editorial Policy for The Teaching Assistant's Handbook: The University of Maine Graduate School reserves the right to revise, amend, or change items set forth in this Handbook from time to time. Accordingly, readers of the Handbook should inquire as to whether any such revisions, amendments or changes have been made since the date of publication.
2022-2023 ACADEMIC YEAR CALENDAR Fall Semester 2022 Classes begin Monday, August 29 Last day to add classes Sunday, September 4 No class Labor Day Monday, September 5 Last day to drop classes for a refund Monday, September 12 Classes dropped on or before this date will not appear on transcript Saturday, October 1 Application for graduation filing deadline Dec. Friday, October 1 Fall break begins Monday, October 10 Classes resume Wednesday, October 12 Enrollment for Spring 2023 begins (tentative) Monday, October 24 No classes Veteran’s Day Thursday, November 11 Last day to withdraw from classes and receive W grade (withdrawn Thursday, November 10th at 4:30 pm classes after this date will receive failing grade) Thanksgiving break begins Wednesday, November 23 Classes resume Monday, November 28 Classes end Friday, December 9 Final exams Monday, December 12 - Friday, December 16 Spring Semester 2023 Classes begin Tuesday, January 17 Last day to add classes Monday, January 23 Last day to drop classes for a refund Monday, January 30 Application for graduating filing deadline (May) Wednesday, February 1 Classes dropped on or before this date will not appear on transcript Saturday, February 18 No classes Presidents’ Day Monday, February 20 Spring break begins Monday, March 13 Classes resume Monday, March 20 Enrollment for Fall 2023 begins (tentative) Monday, March 27 Last day to withdraw from a class and receive ‘W’ grade (Withdrawn Monday, April 10, 4:30 p. classes after this date will receive failing grade.) Maine Day (tentative) Wednesday, April 26 Classes end Friday, April 28 Final exams begin Monday, May 1 Final exams end Friday, May 5 Graduate: Friday, May 5 Commencement UndergrSaturday, May 6 Final grades due Friday, May 12 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1: THE ROLE OF THE TEACHING ASSISTANT 2 A. THE TA AS STUDENT 2 B.
THE TA AS TEACHER 2 C. THE TA AS MENTOR OR ADVISOR 3 D. THE TA IN RELATIONSHIP TO FACULTY, STAFF, AND STUDENTS 4 E. THE INTERNATIONAL TA 4 CHAPTER 2: TEACHING STRATEGIES 6 A.
ACTIVE LEARNING: D ISCUSSION, QUESTIONING, AND LECTURING 9 C. TEACHING LABORATORY COURSES 13 D. MULTIMEDIA TEACHING: TECHNIQUES & TOOLS 16 F. GRADING AND EXAMINATIONS 17 G.
UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES 20 CHAPTER 3: INTRODUCING STUDENTS TO WRITING IN YOUR DISCIPLINE 23 CHAPTER 4: ETHICS 28 A. CONFIDENTIALITY OF STUDENT RECORDS 28 C. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ISSUES 29 D. LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION 38 APPENDIX I: POLICY STATEMENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE 39 APPENDIX II: TEACHING RESOURCES ON CAMPUS 42 APPENDIX III: TELEPHONE DIRECTORY OF HELPFUL NUMBERS ON CAMPUS 49 APPENDIX IV: TEACHING RESOURCE LIST 53 REFERENCES CITED 56 EVALUATION FORM 58 INTRODUCTION This manual has been prepared to aid you, the Teaching Assistant at the University of Maine, as you undertake the many roles that are part of a graduate student's life.
The importance of your contribution to the University community, in general, and to undergraduate instruction, in particular, is invaluable. Whether you elect an academic career or not, your experiences as a Teaching Assistant will be of value to you. If you do pursue an academic career, this teaching experience and the interaction with undergraduates is an opportunity experienced by less than 25% of our graduate students. You are among the fortunate few.
Much of graduate education focuses on training and preparing graduate students to be researchers: research brings funding and recognition; research leads to promotion and tenure. Many students complete graduate school with no teaching experience or with limited experience at best. Yet these same students are future faculty members who, with no knowledge of designing a syllabus, selecting a text, or organizing lecture material, will be interviewing for tenure-track positions. Many will take positions at small liberal arts colleges where the emphasis is on teaching rather than research.
Ironically, while a number of graduate students have published papers or have helped to write grants, many are unprepared for the first day of class. The University of Maine’s commitment to quality teaching is manifested in several ways: Academic Affairs has established the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning for faculty and graduate students; the University and the Alumni Association each select one faculty member every year for an outstanding teaching award; many departments have extensive teaching assistant training programs; and the Graduate School leads an annual, university-wide New TA Orientation. As a teaching assistant, you play a significant role in ensuring quality education at the university. We hope this manual will be helpful to you, and that you will refer to it throughout the year.
There is a good mix of theoretical and practical information to answer your questions as you face various teaching challenges and situations. While everything about teaching could not possibly be included, you can find specific information on laboratory sections, writing across the curriculum, learning styles, and ethics, as well as information about campus offices, resources, and services available to you and your students. Please complete the included evaluation form at any time of the year and send it to Scott Delcourt in the Graduate School. Your comments are important and will contribute toward future revisions.
We wish you much success in your teaching. Please accept our best wishes for a productive, enjoyable year. Delcourt Associate Dean of the Graduate School Taylor Houdlette and Dylan Morin Orientation Co-Coordinators August 2022 CHAPTER 1 THE ROLE OF THE TEACHING ASSISTANT The role of the Teaching Assistant is varied. You are a graduate student, a teacher, a mentor, and an advisor.
Being a TA is a challenging and exciting opportunity, and it brings great opportunity by providing first-hand teaching experience. The importance of this experience cannot be stressed enough since many future faculty receive little in the way of formal teacher preparation. TA responsibilities complement the Graduate School experience and foster a close working relationship with faculty advisors and with other faculty in your department. Having an assistantship also helps finance your graduate education.
Being a TA and having a number of demands on your time will inevitably help you learn to establish priorities. In short, being a TA is a great responsibility and will help you grow as a person. THE TA AS STUDENT You are first and foremost a student, and you should not lose sight of this fact. Your graduate school career must remain a priority.
This can be more difficult than it sounds as class preparations, meeting with students, grading, and simply leading your classes several times each week all occur with unfailing regularity. You must learn to budget your time between teaching obligations and your own work. You may have periods during the semester when sleeping, eating, personal relationships, and your own work all seem impossible to fit into one day. There may be scheduling conflicts between your teaching times and the time scheduled for a course you want to take for your graduate program.
Proper planning and budgeting of time can alleviate all these problems; for extra help, get to know older TAs in your department and ask them for advice on how to prioritize tasks and time. Many TAs have a tendency to become overly serious about their teaching and devote too much time to the process. Often, because it is enjoyable, it becomes easier to devote time and energy to teaching than to the demands of a thesis or dissertation. Establish a "time-log" with deadlines for the week, month, and semester.
Being able to keep ahead of deadlines and plan your time both for your own graduate student work as well as your teaching, is the first step toward success and peace of mind. Don't procrastinate and let work pile up; don't get yourself into an either/or situation (do I grade these 40 compositions or finish my own paper for tomorrow?). THE TA AS TEACHER TAs at the University of Maine have varied duties: some are responsible for entire sections of courses; some lead review sessions; others direct laboratories, grade papers, or assist faculty with coursework. Whatever their specific role, TAs will encounter numerous factors that will affect their teaching situation.
These might include various student learning styles, diversity issues, wide ranges in student ages, or varying levels of student maturity and academic ability. In order to teach effectively in an environment where these differences exist, there are five key elements needed by each TA: 1. Good command of the subject. TAs need breadth and depth of their subject areas.
An in-depth understanding is a must, as is staying current with the subject area. Take time to review the subject if it's an area you have not studied recently, and review it not only before the semester 2 begins, but on a weekly basis so that you remain ahead of particularly bright students. Be prepared for and try to anticipate questions so that you will have answers. However, remember that you cannot know everything and be sure to offer to find out the answer to student questions if you do not know them when asked.
(Then be sure to bring those answers to the next class.) Good command and understanding of the subject matter allows you to explain it on various levels. (See Chapter 2, Section D - “Learning Styles. Proper Organization of the Material. You will need to learn exactly how much information and how many activities fill up your allotted class time.