Guidelines for GTAs in Calculus Labs

Go to the Math Office to get a copy of the textbook, which is Calculus, by Strauss, Bradley and Smith (3rd or 4th editions – they are very similar) and a copy of the instructor's solution manual. The latter should be kept hidden; do NOT take it to class, and do NOT tell the students that you have it! The assignment sheet should be in your mailbox; if not, ask the math office for it.

You will be present in the lab each time it meets. Your instructor will be present with you at least 50% of the time, generally on problem-solving days (see #1 below). Keep in mind: your most important job is to be a graduate student; that workshould come first. However, your duties as a GTA are important, too, so you need to be a good time manager. Discuss any conflicts that you have in your two jobs with your instructor or with the course coordinator (Dr. Vancliff) or with the Associate Chair (Dr. Hawkins). In particular, if you are a GTA or grader for other instructors, make sure all your instructors know all your responsibilities so that they can assign your workload accordingly.

Your duties in Calculus lab will consist of 6 components:

  1. assisting the instructor with problem-solving activities, either in the classroom or in the PC lab
  2. answering students' questions in non-problem-solving labs
  3. giving quizzes
  4. grading quizzes, worksheets, computer-lab assignments, homework (but not the midterms nor the final exam)
  5. office hours (2 hours per week) in your office
  6. attending class lectures (at the discretion of your instructor).

Below is more detail on the above components.

  1. Problem-solving activities

The course instructor will provide you with these problems. It would be helpful if you could look over each lab a day or so before it is given. For classroom activities, students will work in groups, usually of 2-4. You and the instructor will move around the room to deal with questions the students might have. However, our goal is NOT TO ANSWER the questions, but to help the students think in the right way. The best way to deal with a question is to answer it with a question. Here are some examples.

Q: "What are we supposed to do?"

A: "Have you read the question and discussed it with your group?"

or

Q: "I've got this far; what do I do from here?"

A: "Have you read this paragraph? If not, then it gives you a hint." or

Q: "I've read the question, but what do I do?"

A: "Have you drawn a picture?"

Try to avoid telling the students how to do these questions. The goal is to get the students willing to work and not rely on teachers for help. If the students have genuinely made decent progress and have become stuck, then you can discuss the mathematics with them, but they need to have earned your willingness to do this by having done decent work first.

In PC lab, your main job will be fending off computer problems or printer problems. Sometimes you will have to work on getting the students to read and interpret the instructions on their own. Students will typically not work in groups in the PC lab, although they may discuss the pc-lab assignments.

  1. Answering students' questions in non-problem-solving labs

During the non-problem-solving labs, you may answer students' questions at the board. Questions may come from the department assignment sheet, from your instructor, or from tests, quizzes or other assignments that have been returned; you may answer these questions in detail. Students may also ask questions about pending assignments; in this case, your answers should be restricted to clarification of the assignments or hints to get them started.

Some instructors may want you to have students present solutions to the class; if this is the case, your instructor will discuss this in more detail with you.

Some classes will be hesitant about asking questions, especially at the beginning of the semester. Never dismiss class early. Always have a back-up plan: prepare the solutions to some of the problems from the assignment sheet. Word problems or problems found toward the end of each section tend to be more challenging. Discuss these problems if the students do not pose any questions.

  1. Giving quizzes

Your instructor will write the quizzes; you will give it, proctor it, collect it and grade it. Each student does the quiz on his/her own (not in a group!).

  1. Grading quizzes, worksheets, computer-lab assignments, homework

You will generally grade quizzes, the frequency of which depends on your instructor. Most weeks there will be either a worksheet from a classroom problem for you to grade or a computer-lab assignment to grade (not both). The computer labs should be done individually (not in a group) even if we are short on computers. If the worksheet or lab is long, your instructor may select some questions from them for you to grade. You will collect the to-be-graded material from, and return it to, the students. Your instructor may choose to take up homework; if that is the case, he/she will give you further instructions. Your instructor will give you details on the recording of grades. You will not be grading any midterm or final exam in this class – if you are asked to do so by your instructor, consult with the course coordinator first.

  1. Office hours (2 hours per week)

These are times when you are promising the students that you will be in your office for them to come by to ask you questions. You should answer the questions in a similar fashion to the comments in #2 above.

  1. Attending class lectures

Your instructor will tell you whether or not he/she wishes you to attend lectures. If you are not required to attend lectures, you should be sure to read the textbook and review the assigned problems so that you may stay current with the class.

The Calculus Coordinator might visit your lab unannounced one or more times during the semester. Please do not be nervous about these visits. The goal is to make our labs the best they can be.

IMPORTANT!!

You are NOT to grade the midterms nor the final exam. If an instructor asks you to do so, you should tell the coordinator or the Associate Chair; you may do so anonymously or you can ask another GTA to report this for you.

You must safeguard your students’ privacy -- it is the LAW. Do not announce grade scores in class. If you discuss errors made on graded assignments, do not identify any particular student as having made that error. If you prefer to hand back papers by passing them around the class, have students fold their papers and write their names on the outside so that the inside grades will not be seen. Otherwise, hand the paper back directly to the student whose name is on the paper.

You should be courteous and approachable to your students, but you should always maintain a proper student-teacher relationship and also be seen to maintain a proper student-teacher relationship. It is not acceptable for you to have a relationship outside of class – either romantic or platonic - with a student in one of your labs (or in any class you teach). When meeting with students in your office, keep the door open.

Discipline is not usually a problem in our calculus classes. But should any discipline problems arise, discuss the situation immediately with your instructor, the coordinator, or the Associate Chair (preferably, with all three).

GTA GuidelinesPage 1 of 3

Revised Jan 2007