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U N I V E R S I T Y O F P I T T S B U R G H |
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Volume XI, No. 3 |
March 2006 |
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U N I V E R S I T Y O F P I T T S B U R G H |
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Volume XI, No. 3 |
March 2006 |
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Preparing To Teach Your Own Summer Class for the First Time
By Yadviga Semikolenova, CIDDE TA Services Although the initial responsibility of teaching assistants is to assist faculty, many graduate student teachers at the University of Pittsburgh subsequently have an opportunity to teach courses independently for the first time in the summer. We at CIDDE’s TA Services are available to assist with this process. In addition, helpful information is available from the Developing and Teaching a Course section of CIDDE’s Web site and from CIDDE’s TA Handbook. In this article I share general suggestions on how to plan a successful summer course, with an emphasis on how to develop a course from scratch. This first-time teaching usually involves one of three types of situations for a TA:
Obviously, planning a course takes time, and "condensing a course into six weeks during the summer presents unique challenges; therefore, begin your preparations as soon as possible." In my experience, it is useful to think about the following stages in developing a successful course:
Obviously, when you are assigned to teach a course for which you have led recitations or labs, you are already familiar with the purpose and structure of the course, the learning materials, and the typical or average student who takes the course. On the other hand, when you are assigned to teach an unfamiliar course, identifying course objectives and the targeted audience is more challenging. If it is one of the basic classes offered each semester, you should discuss the goals and structure with professors and/or other graduate student instructors who have already taught the class. Ask to look at others’ syllabi and class materials, discuss the academic backgrounds of typical students, consider possible challenges, and ask for textbook suggestions. In developing a course from scratch, your first challenge is to identify the course objectives and the prior knowledge and skills of the students. To identify the objectives, or outcomes, of the class, first, think of what you want the students to be able to do, in terms of knowledge and skills, by the end of the course. If this class has been offered before, read its description, usually available through the department. Note prerequisites—this will help you to get an idea of the background of the students you will teach. Again, try to discuss your ideas with professors and fellow graduate students. In addition, a Web search may provide ideas on how this class is taught in other schools and textbooks others have found to be useful. A word of caution: Do not pick the first textbook colleagues suggest! Shop around to get a comprehensive perspective of the options, keeping the level of the students in mind. Most publishers will ship a desk copy free of charge when you fill in a request form on their Web sites. Once you have identified the objectives, the targeted audience, and the textbook, the next step is to develop the course structure. There are many possible organizational structures, and your decision will be determined by the discipline, subject matter, and learning objectives. Remember, summer courses are intense; therefore, it is important to break the course content into sequential concepts. Using the textbook and the course learning outcomes, list the topics you want to cover, aligning them with the course objectives. You may choose to closely follow the textbook, or supplement the course with additional readings if you think that some of the topics are not adequately covered in the textbook. Then, again based on learning objectives, think about how you are going to teach, or follow, that structure. Because of the intensity of summer courses—a regular 15-week course is often taught in only six weeks—it is important to vary activities and provide ample time for practice and feedback. For example, you might employ class discussions, role plays, demonstrations, and group work. Once the structure is mapped, develop a tentative timeline for the class, using the academic calendar of the University available at www.pitt.edu/calendars.html. Keeping this calendar in mind, list the topics that will be covered in each class or week and identify in-class activities and readings for each topic. A timeline will help you to stay organized and on target for learning outcomes. An important consideration is how you will assess and evaluate the students’ progress based on the course learning objectives. Plan the number and frequency of homework assignments, quizzes, and exams and how each will be evaluated. Once you are satisfied with your structure, you may choose to make it available to your students as a part of the syllabus. Besides the tentative structure, your syllabus should contain a course description along with the objectives you have identified and how you plan to reach them; course prerequisites; textbook information; assignments and deadlines; exams; grading rubric; attendance and other policies (e.g., on plagiarism); as well as your office hours; location of your office; and your e-mail. Finally, remember the necessary administrative tasks that must be completed: You will need to order the textbook (ask your department secretary how to do it online, and try to do it early) as well as put materials on reserve in the library if you use supplementary readings. If you decide to use media (e.g., laptop or VCR) in the classroom, make arrangements with CIDDE’s Media Services at www.education.pitt.edu/technology/mediaservices.
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A newsletter devoted to the support of teaching and learning at the University of Pittsburgh |
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