TEACHING ASSISTANT ORIENTATION Department of Anthropology Fall 2019

TEACHING ASSISTANT ORIENTATION Department of Anthropology Fall 2019

Department Head: Brenda Farnell Administrative Staff WHO SHOULD YOU KNOW? • Karla Harmon - Office Administrator, Assistant to the Head • Joyce Dowell – Graduate Program Coordinator • Zach Langheim and Anna Morris– Department Accountants Director of Graduate Studies: Laura Shackelford • Davenport 209 J/L

THE BASICS • As TA, full-time course load is 8 hours • Work starts August 16

• Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CITL) • Teaching strategies and resources: https: //citl. illinois. edu/citl 101/teaching-learning/resources BEING A TA: SERVICES • Certificates: https: //citl. illinois. edu/citl 101/teaching-learning/teachingcertificates • Instructor and Course Evaluation System (ICES) • Research Data Services: https: //www. library. illinois. edu/rd s/

Respect your Instructor, fellow TAs, and students! Instructor/course specific expectations Time commitment BEING A TA: RESPONSIBILITIE S • • 50 percent = 20 hours/wk 25 percent = 10 hours/wk Averages: weeks vary Please log your hours! Mandatory trainings • Haven Plus – understanding sexual assault training • Illinois mandatory ethics training

BEING A TA: RESPONSIBILITIES • HOURS INCLUDE: • Attending lectures • Teaching sections • Class preparation • On-line/web work (Moodle, Compass) • Meetings with instructor • Putting materials on reserve • Grading • Making photocopies • Writing quizzes, exam questions • Preparing “smart classrooms” • Office hours • Emails, communication with students/TAs/Instructor

Office assignments from Joyce OFFICE HOURS 2 hrs/week (for 50% position) or 1 hr/week (for 25% position) and by appointment Accommodations for students with disabilities Provide students with contact info (office hours, room number, email)

A TANGENT… New space! Room 319 – Grad student break room Room 282 – Grad student common area

KEEP TRACK OF YOUR HOURS https: //www. library. illinois. edu/rds/

• Expectations and standards • Communicate with your professor! GRADING EXPECTATIONS • If necessary, ask for grading rubric or scale • Amount of time you take to grade is IMPORTANT – conscientiousness vs. number of hours worked

Giving lectures to main course BEING A T A: NOT Y OUR RE SPONSIB ILIT Y Last minute fillin for an instructor Any teaching or TA duties for 400 or 500 level course Being main or sole proctor for exams Work for another class that your instructor teaches Non-course work for your instructor (errands, baby sitting, etc. )

• Textbooks • Missing class • Semester calendar – especially end of semester/exam dates OTHER CONCERNS • Reading day: Th. 12/12 • Exams begin Fr. 12/13 • Exams end Th. 12/20 • Spring semester begins Tuesday 1/21

• Respect for differences • Students with special needs TEACHING ISSUES • Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) • Letters of Accommodation (first week) • Emergency Dean – on call 24 hours

• You do not have to lecture (though you may want the opportunity) PROFESSOR / INSTRUCTO R OVERREACH • If you substitute for a professor, you should be compensated • Exam monitoring should be shared responsibility • Other kinds of exploitation • DGS, Graduate College, GEO can help with conflicts

ANOTHER TANGENT… • Updated Grad Handbook • Funding • Guidelines for teaching classes • Grad College Changes • Minimum semester GPA of 2. 75; minimum cumulative GPA of 3. 0 • Academic probation for exceeding time limit; 10/7 years • Grad Calendar • IL Anthropology