John K. Garland University of Missouri Columbia, Missouri 65201
Training for Teaching Assistants Trial classes and TV taping
Because chemistry departments in universities use large numbers of graduate teaching assistants, they are regularly faced with the problem of preparing and using large numbers of novice teachers. The program described here represents an effort, using limited time and staff, to prepare new assistants before classes began. Discussion classes, which have been our greatest source of difficulty, were emphasized, and selfcriticism based on TV tape recordings played an important and very effective role in our program. The objectives adopted for the program were (1) To acquaint the assistants with the organization, aims, and methods of presenting key subject areas used in our General Chemistry courses. (2) To provide practical experience in planning and leading discussion classes. (3) To provide practical laboratory experience with the experiments their students would perform. (4) To set up lines of communication between staff and assistants.
I n the resultant, very crowded, program, the new assistants were deliberately subjected to pressures on preparing and presenting material to a group. They had a chance to face any problems before their first real class, and the shorter presentations, constructive criticism from others facing the same problems, and planned spacing between the presentations partially relieved, but did not remove, the tension. The pattern used was quite successful in maintaining a feeling of progressing together instead of just enduring an ordeal. The Program
The first day (Monday) was devoted entirely to background information about the courses, students, and responsibilities of assistants. The assistants also worked out old quizzes and examinations and were given a set of discussion guides including lecture topics, typical lecture problem assignments, other suggested problems and references, and an outline of suggested discussion topics and activities. These were used at staff meetings during the year as the starting points from which lecturers could describe their variations. On Tuesday four experienced assistants conducted discussion classes as examples, with the rest of the group serving as the "class." I n their preparation for these presentations, the experienced assistants arranged to have certain common questions asked by members of the audience. These questions plus unplanned questions, which were brought up freely, contributed to the naturalness of the class setting. This active participation of the "class" was carried over to all the later trial discussions by the new assistants. The remaining time was used to discuss planning and organization for such
classes and to assign topics for the new assistants to prepare. On Wednesday each new assistant gave a 15-min trial discussion followed by brief suggestions from the group. The need for the assistants to look for and discuss each others' faults served as a tool to make them conscious of their own needs, and an atmosphere of constructive cooperation prevailed. After the trial discussions were completed, a session was held on gathering, using, and communicating to lecturers the feedback from students. Aids available to students were also discussed and a brief tour taken including the library and locations of reserve books and supplements. On Thursday the assistants were divided into two groups where each gave a 30-min trial discussion followed by group comments. After this 'Lperformance" each assistant then had 5 days to think and plan before the final TV taping date. The intervening time was spent on placement exams, registration, and doing the laboratory experiments they would later supervise. On Tuesday of the second week each new assistant conducted a 30-min discussion which was recorded on TV tape. These were conducted in the University of Missouri instructional television studios with two cameras, a director, and access to special effects such as split screen. A small audience consisting of half the group a t a time was very satisfactory and very good quality tapes were obtained. These tapings were a source of considerable pressure on the assistants, even though they were very interested in seeing the results, and the sequential build up in preparation and knowledge of the relative privacy of the planned evaluation were both important to the success of the effort. On Wednesday (the last day before the start of classes) the tapes were made available for viewing by the assistants, one a t a time. The portable recorder was then left set up with the tapes available to anyone who wanted to come in during the next week. In addition, each assistant was scheduled to view the tape with the author on one of the two following Saturdays. At that time they were to bring a list of their own comments about themselves to be discussed. The existence of that assignment effectively completed the program by forcing them to make critical self-evaluations of their teaching strengths and weaknesses. The author was able to devote the private viewing conferences to encouragement and assurances that their problems would not be as obvious to students and were subject to improvement. This helped close the program on a positive note and contributed to a sense of accomplishment and improved morale among the new teachers. Complaints about teaching assistants were noticeably reduced from the level encountered prior to adoption of the program. Volume 46, Number 9, September 1969
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