In serving as teaching assistants (TAs) for these Genetics classes, our graduate students will further their knowledge in the fundamentals of Genetics. They will need to do class readings and problem sets so that they have the skills to be competent TAs. Students will gain experience in holding help sessions and office hours, and helping to create, administer, and grade exams, with the faculty in charge serving as mentors. This should provide students with some of the tools they may need later in their careers for teaching undergraduate courses. Students can expect to spend up to 17 hours/week* (4/9 time) on TA'ing for this curriculum requirement. Duties will vary depending on which faculty members are teaching GENE 3000 and 3200. TAs may be asked to perform reasonable tasks in line with the instructional goals of the courses, even if not listed below. Students may be expected to do some of the following: Attend class Hold office hours Grade homework problems Write and grade short quizzes Prepare some or all homework or exam questions Trouble shoot/take exams for practice to judge for clarity of questions and length of exams Help grade exams & record grades with faculty members Grade exams Teach discussion sections, do reading for such sessions Give one or more lectures in the course Make photocopies/transparencies *Note: the workload will likely be unbalanced during the semester, with peaks at the beginning and exam times. Faculty are reminded of the following: When possible, they should have the office student workers do the course photocopying. They should allow time for TAs to perform tasks. Faculty should give sufficient advance notice when tasks are anticipated. Faculty should clearly communicate their expectations and upcoming tasks. Faculty should actively serve as mentors for the TAs.
