Department of Physics and Astronomy TA/TF-Instructor Guidebook Digest

The latest revision version is from November 2017. This summarizes the main ideas in the Physics Department TA/TF Guidebook with added advice from other graduate students on what is truly important and what is not. The organization of the original document is a bit confusing, so the sections here may be summarized in a slightly different format. 

1. Types of TA Positions in the Department

This section gives a somewhat extended overview of each possible TA position and their responsibilities relative to what is in the document.

• Recitation: Recitation TAs will host two-four (depending on your assignment) 1-hour recitations as well as at least 2 hours of office hours per week for their assigned course. This typically includes writing recitation problems and grading homework and/or exams. The responsibilities of this position vary wildly with the professor you are working with. If you are concerned about the amount or type of work you are doing, reach out to your fellow TAs, mentors or the DGS for help.

• Lab: Lab TAs will facilitate one or two 3-hour introductory physics labs each week and some may be asked to host office hours as well, but it is less common. This role includes grading lab reports and pre-labs.

• Grader: You may be assigned to grade homework and/or exams for a course. This is a fairly uncommon appointment, especially for newer TAs.

• Mixed: This is an uncommon appointment type in which you may be split between the three positions listed above. Your duties would be reduced in each role to maintain the 20 hour/week cap on your TA assignment.

There are two other positions listed, but they are really just additional tasks that most TAs will do as a part of their recitation, lab or grader assignment.

• Resource Room: Almost all TAs will be required to sign up for resource room hours as a part of their assignment. This can be anywhere from 1-5 hours per week, which will be listed in your appointment letter. The resource room is located in Thaw 312 and is meant to be a drop-in tutoring space for undergraduates in the introductory physics courses, in which you will be a tutor.

• Proctoring Exams: Most recitation TAs are expected to help proctor exams for their class. You will want to discuss this with your assigned professor early on in the course. Proctoring requires you to be in the classroom during an exam to facilitate the process, which can include passing out exams and answering students' questions.

2. Instructor Responsibilities

This section describes the responsibilities of the instructor (NOT the TA) in a shorter summary than the original document. Some information in the document isn't totally accurate, so this section will describe the reality of these responsibilities.

These are the points that are bolded in the document:

• Instructors bear the ultimate responsibility for all aspects of the course they teach. This includes setting and implementing guidelines, all aspects of lecture, and creating a productive learning environment. Some professors are not good at following through with some of their responsibilities and may try to shift them on to you or simply not do them at all.

• Instructors must meet with all of their TAs prior to the first class meeting each semester. Meeting before the term is the best way to discuss the structure of the class and get an idea of what the professor expects of you, such as the structure of recitation, grading policy, etc. If you are working with a disorganized professor, this is a good time to lay out your expectations from them as well, such as providing solutions or reasonable grading timelines.

• Instructors must set a standing weekly meeting with TAs. This is less likely to happen than the initial meeting, but some professors require weekly meetings. Some professors tend only want to meet once a month or the week before an exam. It is good to discuss your meeting preferences with the professor during the initial meeting.

• Instructors that require TAs to attend lecture must notify the Graduate Administrator. I have never heard of a graduate student attending lecture, so this seems to be an old policy or a rare exception to the norm.  Note, however, that if an instructor does require a TA to attend lecture, then your time attending lecture counts toward your 20 hour per week workload.

These are some of the unbolded points in the document that I think are worth highlighting and commenting on:

• The Instructor may request that the TA help prepare exams and solutions to exams. I have never heard of a TA helping to write an exam, but most are expected to proofread them before being administered. Some may be asked to write solutions for exams, though this should be split amongst multiple people to avoid mistakes.

• Instructors must ensure that exams are appropriately supervised. All instructors should be present for exams except for extenuating circumstances, and most TAs are expected to help proctor alongside them. The professor's expectations for proctoring should be discussed with you early on.

• Instructors must evaluate TA recitations at least twice during the course of a semester. This is simply not true. Most professor will attend one recitation per TA per semester in order to fill out their evaluation, but I've never seen it done twice. This is meant as a check up and usually is inconsequential, as long as you are doing your job in recitation. 

• Instructors must carry out the end-of-semester TA evaluation by undergraduates during lecture in a timely manner. I don't think this is true either. Each semester, the students in each course fill out OMET surveys evaluating the professor and TAs. This is usually left to the students to do on their own time, which leads to low rates of completion, in my experience.

• Instructors should actively monitor the time the TA spends per week to ensure the average TA workload does not exceed 20 hours per week. Unfortunately, some professors not only ignore this rule, but will actively try to overwork their TAs. This shifts the responsibility onto the TA to monitor their workload and speak up if it violates these expectations.

3. TA Responsibilities

This section has plenty of overlap with the last section, and thus has been summarized and commented on in a similar, but shorter fashion.

• TA workloads must not exceed 20 hours per week and may not fluctuate excessively. This is a very important point worth repeating, as some professors may try to bend this rule in their favor. If you have an issue with your assignment or the instructor, you should ask the instructor first about adjustments that can be made.  If your instructor continues to violate these expectations, you can contact the Director of Graduate Studies (as of 2023: Dr. Ayres Freitas) or the Graduate Administrator (as of 2024: Emily McGurgan).

• Lateness will not be tolerated. Do your best to be on time to all of your scheduled responsibilities, but if there is an issue with your schedule which makes this difficult, discuss it with your instructor.  Also try to be on time for your resource room hours, and let the other assigned TA's know if you will be late. 

• TAs must be prepared to lead their recitations and/or lab courses. This consists of whatever preparation the professor has discussed with you, which usually includes preparing problems to walk through on the board as well as a worksheet used an some sort of assessment.

• TAs are expected to maintain a positive learning environment and a prompt timeline for completion of necessary materials.  Do your best to engage with your students, assist them however possible, and complete all tasks within reasonable deadlines (which should be established beforehand with the instructor).

• Remember that you can ask for help!  You can always ask for assistance or guidance with your TA responsibilities from your instructor or (more likely) from other graduate students who may have experience with the same or similar classes. 

Center for Teaching and Learning

Part of the university wide teaching orientation will acquaint you with the center for teaching and learning. The center is great for helping with teaching resources and hosts workshops several times a semester ranging from designing equitable classrooms, to the logistics of using Canvas, to preparing for job applications. Check out the website here.