Reflecting on TA efficiency and Reflecting on TA efficiency and effectiveness: Complementary or effectiveness: Complementary or competing goals? competing goals? Maggie Stevenson, TA Mentor, Maggie Stevenson, TA Mentor, Sprott School of Business School of Business Sprott Katrina Rogers Katrina Rogers- -Stewart, TA Mentor, Stewart, TA Mentor, Math and Statistics Math and Statistics Roxanne Ross, TA Coordinator, Roxanne Ross, TA Coordinator, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research Thanks to workshop participants for your contributions Thanks to workshop participants for your contributions during the discussion activity— —your input your input during the discussion activity has been included in the final has been included in the final version of these slides for your reference version of these slides for your reference
Agenda Agenda Being an effective TA Being an effective TA � Creating an effective learning environment Creating an effective learning environment � � Small group discussion Small group discussion � Bringing it all together: Addressing efficiency and and Bringing it all together: Addressing efficiency effectiveness effectiveness Goal setting Goal setting � So what? What does this mean for me? So what? What does this mean for me? �
The Role of Teaching Assistants Assist student learning Supporting faculty in their teaching role How do we best assist student learning? What does an effective learning environment consist of?
Practice / Feedback Experience Creating an effective learning environment Knowledge Motivation Reflection
Group discussion Group discussion Each group will be given one aspect of the learning Each group will be given one aspect of the learning environment to discuss environment to discuss In your groups create a list of strategies or ideas on how In your groups create a list of strategies or ideas on how TAs can enhance this particular aspect of the learning TAs can enhance this particular aspect of the learning environment for students environment for students � Feel free to use specific examples from your own TA context Feel free to use specific examples from your own TA context � Your group will be asked to share your ideas with Your group will be asked to share your ideas with everyone everyone
Practice / Feedback Experience Creating an effective learning environment Motivation Knowledge Reflection
Knowledge Knowledge Preparing the content ahead Preparing the content ahead � Consider how you can Consider how you can ‘ ‘add value add value’ ’ to the students to the students’ ’ � experience in the course experience in the course � Anticipate problems, key information and think Anticipate problems, key information and think � through alternative explanations, real- -life examples life examples through alternative explanations, real � Consider different approaches to engage all learners Consider different approaches to engage all learners � � Work closely with the professor Work closely with the professor �
Knowledge Group one’s contributions � Goes beyond understanding of the content to include the presentation of that content � Structuring how the material is presented to students is important � Preparing examples of ‘lived experience’ helpful in engaging students with the content
Practice / Feedback Experience Creating an effective learning environment Knowledge Motivation Reflection
Practice / Experience Practice / Experience Creating opportunities for students to Creating opportunities for students to actively engage with material and use actively engage with material and use skills skills � Opportunities to practice skills more than Opportunities to practice skills more than � once once � Facilitating learning rather than Facilitating learning rather than ‘ ‘answering the answering the � question’ ’ question
Practice / Experience Practice / Experience Group 2’ ’s contributions s contributions Group 2 � Create opportunities for students to talk through their experien Create opportunities for students to talk through their experience ce � with the writing process and/ or learning process as they with the writing process and/ or learning process as they complete assignments by breaking up the process into smaller complete assignments by breaking up the process into smaller components, i.e. submit an outline of the essay components, i.e. submit an outline of the essay � Create opportunities for students to peer review the work of Create opportunities for students to peer review the work of � others to gain experience in critiquing work constructively as well ell others to gain experience in critiquing work constructively as w as exposure to alternative approaches to the assignment as exposure to alternative approaches to the assignment � Help students set goals related to the course and / or Help students set goals related to the course and / or � assignments assignments � Create interactive activities around the content of the course Create interactive activities around the content of the course �
Practice / Feedback Experience Creating an effective learning environment Knowledge Motivation Reflection
Providing feedback on assignments Providing feedback on assignments and written work and written work Moving beyond just identification Moving beyond just identification Thinking about your audience Thinking about your audience � Focused feedback Focused feedback � � Tone of commentary Tone of commentary �
Feedback in the classroom Feedback in the classroom Engaging with student responses Engaging with student responses � Taking time to formulate good questions Taking time to formulate good questions � � Providing appropriate wait time after Providing appropriate wait time after � questions and responses questions and responses � Repeating student responses for everyone to Repeating student responses for everyone to � hear hear � Thanking students for their contributions Thanking students for their contributions � � Asking others to build on incomplete Asking others to build on incomplete � responses responses � Treating responses equally Treating responses equally �
Feedback Group 3’s contributions � Feedback should always be honest and constructive in order to help students know where they need to improve � WebCT can be an effective tool for providing feedback to students who do not come to office hours (students not coming to office hours or engaging with written feedback was raised as a challenge in the feedback process)
Practice / Feedback Experience Creating an effective learning environment Knowledge Motivation Reflection
Motivation Motivation Sharing your enthusiasm for the subject, Sharing your enthusiasm for the subject, learning and student success learning and student success Relating to student experience Relating to student experience Keeping different learning styles in mind Keeping different learning styles in mind Stating goals and ‘ ‘big picture big picture’ ’ relationships relationships Stating goals and
Motivation Group four’s contributions � Set high expectations but support students along the way � Increase ‘value’ of the material by connecting it to ‘real life’ � Offer frequent, positive and constructive feedback � Offer students choices
Practice / Feedback Experience Creating an effective learning environment Knowledge Motivation Reflection
Reflection Reflection Build activities into tutorials or labs which allow Build activities into tutorials or labs which allow students to reflect students to reflect � ‘ ‘Think / Pair / Share Think / Pair / Share’ ’ � � Study sessions Study sessions— —developing study plans developing study plans � Invite students to meet with you to discuss Invite students to meet with you to discuss feedback on assignments feedback on assignments Engage students in discussions which connect Engage students in discussions which connect new knowledge to their previous knowledge new knowledge to their previous knowledge
Reflection Group five’s contributions � Create informal writing opportunities for students to summarize a lecture, relate information to a personal experience or previous knowledge or track content that they are not sure about � Have students generate questions about the content � Distribute a survey on study strategies for students to complete and then share strategies with each other
Bringing it all together: Addressing Bringing it all together: Addressing efficiency and and effectiveness effectiveness efficiency Collaborate with others Collaborate with others Let the students get involved Let the students get involved Multi- -task task Multi Get organized Get organized Set guidelines Set guidelines
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