SFU Surrey campus (photo: Cedric Chan, The Peak newspaper, SFU Student Ass'n)
A graduate student obtains an appointment as a TA (teaching assistant) or as a sessional instructor for an undergrad class. This is the first step toward that academic career she hopes she’ll obtain, even though she knows the current reality is that if she’s fortunate she’ll get part-time work with no guarantees, at a commensurately lower rate of pay. Her university may offer, as mine does, a “TA/TM Day” on the first day of each semester, in which instructors, staff, current and former teaching assistants, offer workshops on such topics as
• academic honesty and integrity
• improving students’ writing skills
• reflective practice in teaching
• facilitating effective discussions
• helping students in distress
• using technology in teaching
• active learning in labs and tutorials
• surviving your first tutorial
• conflict resolution in teaching
• evaluating student work fairly and efficiently
• setting the right tone in your classes
• creating an inclusive classroom
• helping students think critically & work cooperatively(SFU website)
But its still nerve-wracking, that first class–that first semester! I made a number of mistakes in my first teaching job, the most egregious being to side with “my” students when they complained about the way essays were to be marked–ignoring the fact that I had been chosen to work with (and for) “my” professor. We ironed it out over beers after a few weeks, but it was one of those embarrassing and potentially devastating mistakes which could have affected my future employment prospects as a TA. It did not, and I have taught another two semesters to date, and an online course last summer… Read the full post »
