CS TA Orientation

CS TA OrientationSpring 2013New Faces!

Introductions Faculty

Dr. Ken Calvert, Chair Dr. Raphael Finkel, DGS Dr. Jurek Jaromczyk, DUS

Staff Jennifer Doerge, graduate records Dee Fuhs, payroll / finances Paul Linton, systems manager

help@cs.uky.edu

TA SupervisorsDr. Debby Keen, CS 101Dr. Debby Keen, CS 115Dr. Neil Moore, CS 215Mr. David Brown, CS 216Mr. Paul Piwowarski, CS 221Dr. Wasilkowski, CS 275

Try to keep your balance! You have a teaching job, classes, research and

a LIFE! How do you balance it? TALK to your supervisor AND your advisor if

you are getting overloaded Schedules can be adjusted with some notice!

Class / Section assignmentsRules for changing assignments are onlineTell your supervisor what you want to change

TO, not just what you want to change FROMWrite down what sections are changing and

who else is involvedBoth people sign the requestMUST be done before first day class meets

Observations / Evaluations

Every TA is observed by a faculty member every semester (usually their supervisor)

Every TA is evaluated by their supervisor at the end of every semester

The TA gets a copy of each form and a chance to respond to it

Copies are kept by TA, Dr. Keen, DGS and Graduate School

PLEASE help us by making sure your form is filled out and signed by the end of the semester!

Grad School WorkshopsEvery full-time TA goes to two

during the semesterMake SURE you sign attendance

sheetGo to MORE if you like! They’re free!Last semester they didn’t happen?

Peer ObservationsExperienced TA paired with new TANew TA observes experienced TA before their

first class/labLater in the semester experienced TA observes

new TAAfter each observation, TAs meet to give

feedbackFinal report to your supervisor

Useful InformationXerox machine in 773 FPAT – every TA

has a code – for ABET copies - TA page

www.cs.uky.edu/~keen/tas/tas.htmlPLEASE do not give this URL to anyone!!

More Useful Information TA mailboxes are in 773 Anderson Hall Dr. Keen’s cell phone number is 859 576 5949 All TAs should KEEP ALL emails sent to them

by students and all emails sent to students, at least until final grades are done

Make sure your University account is set up and that your supervisor has an email address for you

I-9 forms If you are a new TA or if you have been off the payroll (even a few

days!) See Dee Fuhs as soon as possible to get back

on payroll!! They need a new I-9 form

Your Class Schedule If you are a returning student, you

should have already registered for classes – if not, then do it NOW!

If you are registered, please do not make changes unless absolutely necessary

If you make a change or have made one in the last few days, TELL Dr. Keen NOW!

Last Day of the SemesterMark your calendars NOW! Last day of the semester – Monday May 6 –

AFTER Finals Week! We hope we’re finished sooner than that, but

don’t make plans until after 5/6/13 Start of next Fall Semester

August 28, 2013 Wednesday is the first day of class

August 23 Friday will be CS TA orientation

If you have to miss… If you know that you are going to miss a

TA meeting Class meeting Exam proctoring Exam grading

Let your supervisor KNOW about it! Even if you have it covered, they need to know! In advance if possible but even after the fact!

Food / Drink policiesPLEASE enforce in the labs!Keep everything below desk

level and in their packs unless they are actually using it

Don’t have bottles, even capped, sitting next to a keyboard!

Busy this semester! Enrollments are up in several classes

Last spring 115 had 149 at start, 123 at end

All sections of 215 are full All sections of 221 are?

Dress Code? Several people asked, so… General rule “don’t be distracting” The students should be paying attention to

what you are saying, not how you look Not suit and /or tie – don’t need barriers

Pay attention to the poor performer!

Caring about the students and SHOWING them that you care! Documenting how you are communicating with

them Try to get names of people who come to office hours

People who miss classes, miss assignment deadlines Give them a short note to ask what is wrong

Grading Biggest part in terms of time taken Very important part! Rubrics should be provided by supervisor

If not, make your own and show to supervisor Follow them as closely as possible If you disagree with one, take it up with

your supervisor Keep the grading consistent across all

sections

Academic Alert!! Program to alert students and advisors to

'risky' behavior of students Missed Classes (at least 2-3 in the first weeks) Habitually Late (more than 10 minutes on a

regular basis) Homework assignments not completed or of

inconsistent quality Poor performance on tests or quizzes Disruptive Behavior in class Other

Academic Alerts 101 and 115 will do this this semester

The alerts are sent through the IRIS system - it automatically mails the student!

I ask the student to see their TA and to see me Give them your personal attention!

In classes besides 101 and 115, ask your supervisor

Help Students Stay at UK www.cs.uky.edu/~keen/tas/tips-to-help-stu

dents.html

Say hello when you see students on campus

Positive feedback when a student improves or does well

Timely feedback - IMPORTANT! You know you want it in your classes – your students deserve it too!

YOUR OFFICE HOURSYOUR Office Hours - BE there!They will be in the Multilab or in the RGAN lab,

scheduled in the next week or twoStudents can show up at any time! Not just the

start of the hourTry to help every student who asks, even if they

are not in your section or even classEven if more than one TA is scheduled for a time,

it is your job to be there

What makes a great teacher? Two short videos that may be useful

What’s next?101 TA meeting Tuesday 3pm - FPAT 773C115 TA meeting Tuesday 1 pm – FPAT 773C221 TA meeting Monday 1pm – RGAN 102215 TA meeting Monday 3pm – RGAN 103TAs assigned to other classes – contact your

supervisors for instructionsGraders – wait a few days for decisions of

assignments

Ending ActivitiesTake Pictures –Joshua, Weihua, Sifei, Daniel, Pengpeng

Supplies – pens, folders, textbooks

Name tags – wear them first dayNight TAs – laptops, syllabus