CS TA Orientation

Fall 2014New Faces!

Introductions

FacultyDr. Brent Seales, Department ChairDr. Mirek Truszczynski, Director Graduate

StudiesDr. Jurek Jaromczyk, Director Undergraduate

StudiesStaff

Jennifer Doerge, graduate recordsDee Fuhs, payroll / financesPaul Linton, systems manager

help@cs.uky.edu

TA Supervisors

Dr. Debby Keen, CS 101Dr. Debby Keen, CS 115Dr. Yi Pike, CS 215Mr. Yi Pike, CS 216Mr. Paul Piwowarski, CS 221Dr. Manivannan, 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!

CS 115 will have 6 sections “flipped” TA office hours may be in Multilab as well as

RGAN 102

Changes this semester

Class / Section assignments

Rules 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!

Every full-time TA goes to two during the semester

Make SURE you sign attendance sheet

Go to MORE if you like! They’re free!

Grad School Workshops

Peer Observations

Done in 115, 101 Experienced 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

feedbackCommunicate to your supervisor that the

observations were done

Useful Information

TA page www.cs.uky.edu/~keen/tas/tas.html

PLEASE do not give this URL to anyone!!

More Useful Information

TA mailboxes are in 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

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

days!) See Dee Fuhs, Marksbury 102D, as soon as

possible to get on payroll!! They need a new I-9 form

I-9 forms for Payroll

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!

Mark your calendars now! Last day of the semester – Monday December

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

don’t make plans until after 12/22/14 Start of next Spring Semester

January 14, 2015 Wednesday is the first day of class

January 9, 2015 Friday will be CS TA orientation

Last Day of the Semester

If you have to miss…

If you know that you are going to miss a TA meeting Class meeting Office hours 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!

PLEASE 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!

Food / Drink policies

Enrollments are up in several classes 18 sections of 115, 100% full 8 sections of 215, 2 seats left 10 sections of 221, 5 seats left

Busy this semester!

TA common goal: the students’ learning The TAs who work in the same class should

be a community – “we know more together than we do individually”

Experienced TAs, please reach out to the new TAs – tips for grading, for dealing with students, anything can be useful when you’re new to the job!

Community

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

themTry to get names of people who come to office

hoursPeople who miss classes, miss assignment

deadlinesGive them a short note to ask what is wrong

Pay attention to the poor performer!

Biggest part in terms of time taken Very important part! Feedback is where

learning happens! 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

Grading

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 Alert!!

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

YOUR OFFICE HOURSYOUR Office Hours - BE there!They will be in RGAN 102 lab or , scheduled in

the next week or two by Dr. KeenStudents 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 your classEven if more than one TA is scheduled for a

time, it is your job to be there

How do you get your students to be responsible for their own learning?(see separate set of slides)(this is from 20-minute Mentor Commons, access code UKY253)

What’s next?101 TA meeting Monday 1 pm – my

office115 TA meeting Monday 10 am – RGAN

103221 TA meeting Friday 1pm – RGAN 102215 TA meeting – FPAT 257 after

orientationTAs assigned to other classes – contact

your supervisors for instructions

Supplies – pens, folders, textbooks

Name tags – wear them first day

Night TAs – laptops, syllabus

Ending Activities

If you have time, the Kentucky State Fair is still going on until Sunday

In Louisville $10 per person admission See ALL of Kentucky in one place!

Relax!