Teaching Assistant Guidelines

Responsibilities of Teaching Assistants and Apprentice Teachers

Classroom Teaching

  • Hold all scheduled class periods. In case of emergency, notify the team teacher and the course coordinator. You are responsible for finding a replacement for yourself.
  • Start and end your classes on time.
  • Keep a daily attendance record.
  • Record and keep lesson plans.
  • Team Teaching

Team Teaching

  • Communicate regularly and faithfully with your team teacher.
  • Support all rules on the syllabus concerning attendance, deadlines, make-ups, etc.
  • Attend all meetings called by the course coordinator.
  • Participate actively and contribute to course meeting discussions.
  • Submit all requested material for exams and quizzes on time.

Professional Relationships

  • Maintain a professional relationship with team teachers. (It is unprofessional to discuss your team teacher with your students.)
  • Maintain a professional relationship with your students.
  • Hold office hours on campus at regularly scheduled and posted hours and locations. (One hour per three hours taught, up to three hours overall of office hours, is required.) Do not schedule office hours during level meeting times or during times that you are working in the Media Center.
  • Be available for students by appointment in your office (i.e., over and above regular office hours).
  • Give help primarily to your own students; encourage other students to go to their own instructors for help.

Professional Development

  • Observe the teaching of a full-time faculty members at least one class period per semester.
  • Make an effort to employ various teaching strategies suggested through observations, discussions, and workshops.
  • Make every effort to improve your teaching skills throughout the course of your teaching assistantship or beginning teaching semesters.

Departmental Policies and Practices

  • The Professional Conduct and Responsibilities of Foreign Language Teachers located in the Addenda of the Departmental Policies and Practices Handbook apply to teaching assistants as well as to instructors.

Class Observer's Report Guide

Class Preparation

  • Lesson was organized
  • Course syllabus was followed
  • Several skills were covered
  • Transitions were smooth
  • There was variety of activities
  • Class time was used effectively

Instructor's Demeanor/Rapport

  • Instructor was friendly
  • Instructor was casual
  • Instructor displayed a sense of humor
  • Instructor displayed confidence
  • Instructor showed patience and empathy
  • Instructor maintained eye contact

Communication Skills

  • Instructor's use of target language (TL) was clear.
  • Instructor's command of the TL was adequate
  • Instructor used English only when absolutely necessary

Methods, Strategies and Techniques

  • Amount of teacher talk
  • Amount of student use of TL
  • Amount of individual work.
  • Amount of group work.
  • Instructor used a variety of activities congruent with stated objectives.
  • Modeling was adequate.
  • There was good balance between mechanical, meaningful and communicative activities.
  • Instructor took the initiative in locating appropriate media and resources that relate to lesson objectives.
  • Instructions for activities were clear.
  • Errors were appropriately corrected.
  • Instructor recognized and rewarded good performance.

Classroom Environment

  • Students were prepared.
  • Students were actively engaged in all activities.
  • Students appeared relaxed.
  • Students appeared interested

Schedule of T.A. Observations

New T.A.s:

New T. A.s who have never taught at UD before are usually observed twice during their first semester of teaching. The first observation is announced: the observer informs the T.A. of the date and the class s/he intends to observe one or two days ahead of time. This first observation normally takes place during the first half of the semester.
The second observation can be the class that is videotaped as part of the Methods course. This videotaping (or second observation) normally occurs during the second half of the semester. If for some reason there is no videotaped class, the second observation will be unannounced: the observer will not let the T.A. know the date and class ahead of time.
Observers, course coordinators, and/or the sequence supervisor may feel that more observations per semester are necessary. In this case, the sequence supervisor may approve further announced or unannounced observations.

Experienced T.A.s:

Experienced T.A.s are usually observed once. This observation is unannounced and normally takes place before December (Fall semester) or May (Spring semester). Observers, course coordinators, and/or the sequence supervisor may feel that more observations per semester are necessary. In this case, the sequence supervisor may approve further announced or unannounced observations.

Post-observation Conferences:

Observers meet with T.A.s after each classroom observation and discuss strategies for improving teaching. Observers then write a report on each classroom observation, and provide the T.A. with a copy. Sequence supervisors will receive a copy of each report, which they will forward to the Chair of Graduate Studies at the end of each semester.

Mentoring System:

Please remember that these observations are not "exams." They are intended to serve as a support for beginning teachers. The role of the classroom observer is to help and to guide the T.A. Take advantage of this mentoring system to ask questions and to improve your teaching!

Student Registration

  • Do not allow students to sit in your class as informal listeners. In order to attend classes, students must officially register as listeners. Make no exceptions at all.
  • Do not allow students to come to a different section than the one they are registered for. Students must attend the same section on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays as on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Make no exceptions at all.
  • Never sign any slip permitting students to add your course. Always refer them to phone drop/add. Tell them to be persistent and patient.
  • If the problem is urgent, have them e-mail Dr. Jörg Busch: leipzig@udel.edu.
  • Make no exceptions to these rules!

Taking and Recording Attendance

  • Since students with an excessive number of absences will have points deducted from their class average, it is important to keep accurate records and to maintain a file of letters, doctor's notes, etc.
  • You must take attendance daily.
  • Record the date of the absence.
  • When a student provides you with an acceptable written explanation for an absence, (after the fourth absence) mark that day's absence as EXCUSED.
  • Knowing both the date and whether or not the absence was excused will be important when you and your team teacher get together to determine which absence was the foruth one, and when you enter attendance information in the computer grade book at the end of the semester.
  • The FLLT 100-level attendance policy is given below and is also provided in each course syllabus and/or in the web. Make sure that each student knows where to find the policy, and that you take time to explain it thoroughly. It is also a good idea to review the attendance policy once in a while during the course of the semester.

Successful completion of French/German/Spanish 10___ presupposes about 70 hours of direct contact with the French/German/Spanish/ language, in much the same way that a laboratory course or any skill-licensing course presupposes a predetermined number of contact hours.
Nevertheless the first four absences for whatever reason (e.g. illness, religious holidays, etc.) will not be held against you. Do not bring in a written excuse for these first four absences. (However, if the absence occurs on a day when a test, quiz, composition, or other evaluation is scheduled, you must bring written documentation such as a letter from your physician or from a Dean's office. No such excuses will be accepted one calendar week (seven days) beyond the day on which the absence occurred.)
After four absences for whatever reason (e.g. illness, religious holidays, etc.) your final percentage grade will be lowered by 1% for each additional absence. This excludes absences after the fifth which are due to religious holidays, illness, accidents or other exceptional circumstances. Such absences must be reported promptly and will require written documentation such as a letter from your physician or from a Dean's office. No such excuses will be accepted one calendar week (seven days) beyond the day on which the absence occurred.
There are no make-ups of any kind for work missed due to unexcused absences or late arrivals. Please note: If a student misses a final exam, no make-up will be given unless the student provides documentation that the exam was missed due to an emergency (e.g. severe illness, accident, death in the family).

Any student request for alternate dates for any graded assignment (including the final exam) due to a prior commitment must be made in writing before the end of the DROP/ADD period (check the registration booklet for this date). Any such written request must contain documentation and/or written proof to support it. These requests will be considered in a timely fashion on a per case basis by the sequence supervisor of each language, and any decision will be communicated to the student by the instructor.
The policy does not provide for keeping track of late arrivals. You should mark the days when a student arrives late. Taking attendance at the beginning of each class serves to discourage latecomers.
Your course coordinator may have a specific method of dealing with tardy students.
If lateness is a recurrent problem, speak to the student, and be sure to lower the participation grade accordingly.
Be sure to point out to latecomers that they cannot make up work missed due to a late arrival. This means that work they missed counts as a zero!

In other words...

  • Students are expected to attend every class. However, we recognize that legitimate reasons for absences do occur. Therefore, there is no penalty for the first four absences.
  • If however, a student is absent for a quiz, test, composition, etc., written proof that the absence was legitimate must be provided, or the student will receive a zero for that work.
  • Work that was due to be turned in on the day a student was absent may be turned in immediately upon the student's return, provided that written proof that the absence was legitimate is provided.
  • For unexcused absences after the first four, one point will be deducted from the final average.
  • There is no penalty for excused absences, (those documented with a valid written excuse), after the first four.

Students sometimes find the policy confusing, specifically with regard to the first four absences. If one of those absences is for a reason which would be considered "excused," they sometimes conclude that it won't be counted as one of the first four. Make sure you point out that the policy specifies: "after four absences for whatever reason."

Computer Gradebooks / ilrn / Web CT

FLLT 100-level course instructors use either Tomson & Heinle's ilrn program, Web CT or the grade book program in Excel (or a combination of these systems). Please familiarize yourself with the appropriate program for your language during the first week of classes. Media Center attendants can help you.

All grades must be promptly entered - this means as soon as you've graded a test, workbook assignment, etc., you must enter the grade into the computer immediately;

Keep attendance records separately in a notebook, add them to your team teacher's at the end of the semester. Do not subtract any absences except for those beyond the first four for which you have received a written excuse.

It is wise to keep a printout of current grade books to avoid catastrophes.

For those using Excel grade books:

You may not make any changes to the program. If you notice a problem

  • do not attempt to fix it yourself;
  • do not ask anyone to fix it for you - not even Media Center attendants!
  • simply inform your grade book officer, describing the difficulty your are having. It will be taken care of promptly.

Dealing with Academic Dishonesty

It is much easier to prevent instances of academic dishonesty than to deal with it once it has occurred. Be sure to explain policies and expectations for homework, compositions, exams. Seat students appropriately during exams and quizzes. Circulate during exams, quizzes, and in-class compositions, and remind students whether or not dictionaries, notes, etc. are allowed.
If you notice instances of cheating, do not attempt to deal with this on your own. Before confronting a student, confer with your course coordinator. Academic dishonesty is discussed in the Student Guide to University Policies .

Audio-Visual Equipment

In order to show films in your classroom, you may need keys for closets or cupboards containing A/V equipment.
Check your classroom ahead of time to determine if you need keys.
Pick up keys at East Hall (corner of East Delaware Avenue and Academy Street; X3546) or in Kirkbride 105, or in Gore Hall 110.
For Ewing Hall you can call X 1221.
Please get any keys you need right away.

If you're experiencing problems with a/v equipment, including overhead projectors

  • for Ewing Hall call X 1221.
  • for Gore Hall: call X 0494.
  • For all other buildings: call X3546.

Films

Each 100-level course involves some videos and films. You must show the films on the syllabus on the day they are scheduled. You may not show a film that is not on the syllabus without first clearing it with your course coordinator.

For films located in the Media Center library (basement of Jastak-Burgess Hall):
Have a Media Center attendant check out the film. Return films to a Media Center attendant. Please return films promptly after you have finished using them for the course.

Copying Procedures

You must obtain permission from your course coordinator before distributing any materials that you have created yourselves to your students. Please cooperate.

If you need someone to show you how to use some of the copying equipment, please ask an experienced T.A. or an instructor. The secretaries are too busy to help each one of us individually.

  • Xeroxing:

    • --For big jobs, i.e. class sets of quizzes: Complete a work order and place item in the bin on the front desk in the Jastak-Burgess Hall mail room (main office). Allow at least 24 hours for completion.
    --For occasional small jobs or last-minute jobs: Each of you will be able to make 100 copies per semester on the copier on the second floor of Jastak-Burgess Hall. Please see Diane Parke for an access code.

  • Making transparencies

    • --black & white: set the dial on the Thermofax machine to 4 or 5. Take a transparency from the desk, place it on top of your xeroxed or laser-printed original, and send it through the machine; it will come out at the bottom. If you take the last transparency, please tell someone in the office promptly.
    --color: bring a color transparency that you have purchased yourself to the Media Center for use with the color printer.

Please note:

Transparencies lend themselves very well for instructions and core vocabulary lists for partner activities. You can re-use the same one in all classes, and from semester to semester. However: transparencies are also expensive. Therefore:

  • please use the less expensive "write-on" transparencies whenever you just want to write on them.
  • be sure that you use either a laser-printed or xerox copy of pages you use in the Thermofax machine. This avoids wasted transparencies.

Any materials that you create for distribution to your students should be checked for spelling and grammar by an instructor before copying. Please cooperate.

If you need someone to show you how to use some of the copying equipment, ask an experienced T.A. or an instructor. The secretaries are too busy to help each one of us individually.

Level Meetings

Your course coordinator will inform you of times and locations of your course level meeting(s). Find out when these meetings will take place before you choose office hours. Your office hour can't be during level meetings.
Attendance and participation at level meetings are mandatory.

Communication Procedures

All new T.A.s and any T.A. sharing a course with another T.A. must communicate with team teacher(s) daily. Tell briefly who was absent and what was covered in class. You can do this vie e-mail, voice mail, written notes, phone calls at home or personal meetings.
All other instructors must communicate regularly and faithfully, according to the needs of your courses.

  • Please read your e-mail daily. Respond to e-mails immediately.
  • Listen to your voice mail regulary as well. (Remember that there may be saved messages for you that are not signaled by the stutter tone.)

Emergency Substitute Procedures

In case of unavoidable absence from classes, faculty members should make arrangements for a colleague to take over for them. At the same time, the Course Coordinator, Sequence Supervisor, and the Department Chair are to be informed. A class should not be canceled without the permission of the Department Chair.

Every effort must be made to secure a peer substitute for the 4-hour 100-level courses, that is, a MW instructor for MW section and a TR instructor for a TR section. If a cross-over substitution is unavoidable, the instructor should be provided with a complete lesson plan. Instructors who are obliged to request the services of substitutes are expected to reciprocate.
Please do not ask secretaries to call substitutes.

If your absence backs up to a holiday or a long weekend, you are required to provide documentation as to the necessity of your absence.

For any absence that you know about ahead of time, e-mail a request for permission to miss class to Richard Zipser, cc to your sequence supervisor and course coordinator.

Please read Sections II.19 & II. 20 of thePolicies and Practices of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures "Absences from Class; Cancellation of Classes," as well as Section III. 3 "Absence from Assigned Duties."

Final Exam Proctoring

  • Arrive 10 minutes before the exam is scheduled to begin.
  • Seat students as they come in. Write on the board how you want students to sit: every other desk, fill in front seats first.
  • Pass out test promptly when exam time begins. One proctor starts from the front, the other from the back.
  • Take attendance. If there are students missing, one proctor should try to phone them. Do this during the first 30 minutes of the exam.
  • Circulate during the test.
  • If there are two proctors, it's O.K. for one of you to leave before the end of the exam if there are fewer than 10 or so students left.
  • Ensure proper test-taking conditions. Do not allow noise, whispering, or other distractions.
  • Usher late-comers to their seats. If possible, seat them away from students already working. Late-comers must hand in their test at the end of the scheduled exam time.

Announce to all students before the end of classes that they must come on time for the final, and that they may not stay longer than the 2 hours allotted for the exam, even if they come late.
Clarify which kinds of questions you'll answer/not answer: i.e. will not provide any vocabulary words/ will explain instructions, etc.

Remember that these final exams typically count for 15% or 20% of the total grade. Students must take them seriously. Proctors can help by setting a calm and encouraging tone.

Center for Teaching Effectiveness: T.A. Training and Development
Teaching Reading: Strategies for 100-level Courses
Teaching and Grading Guidelines for T.A.s in German