TACC: Heather Dwyer

I'm so excited to start my second year with the TAC program. This cycle I will be sharing the role of TAC Coordinator with Jamiella Brooks. The TAC program has been such a rewarding experience and I'm looking forward to continuing working with the graduate student teaching community at UC Davis.

Since starting at UC Davis as a graduate student in ecology, my interest in teaching has grown stronger and stronger. I love interacting with undergraduates and am constantly looking for ways to enrich their learning experience. My goal is to have a lasting impact on students, whether that occurs at the level of truly understanding material, developing enthusiasm for the subject matter, or strengthening critical thinking skills. In the past year, working with other TAC consultants has taught me much about diversifying my approach to teaching. In the future I hope to teach undergraduates full-time at a community college or other teaching- focused institution.

My graduate research interests lie in speciation and hybridization of butterflies. When I'm not in the classroom or chasing little yellow butterflies around, I love to read, knit, explore San Francisco, and go wine-tasting.

Today is the first day of the new TAC cycle

The quarter has begun! We at the TAC are just getting to know each other here. So stay tuned for TAC profiles. 

A New TAC cycle has begun

Happy Spring Davis! Although the weather may be confused, we at the TAC are not. A few years ago we switched the start of the a TAC tenure from Fall quarter to Spring quarter. We did this for a few reasons;

Reflections: Workshop 6: Parenting, pampering, or policing? Classroom management and interacting with your students

Last week we wrapped up the workshop series with a session about classroom management. Many graduate students are concerned about how to strike a balance between authority and approachability in their classrooms, so we felt it would be worthwhile to devote a workshop to issues in this topic.

Reflections on Winter Workshop 5: The Red Pen is Mightier than the Sword

One of the comments that constantly comes up in the TAO evaluations is “I wish we’d covered more on grading.” Almost every instructor has to do it, and it can be challenging, so Matt, Ann, and I devoted our fifth workshop to grading, evaluating, and giving feedback.

Laboratory, Meet a Seminar Classroom. Seminar Classroom, Meet Laboratory. A Story of Love (Not at First Sight)

Think you can tell the difference between a traditional, seminar-style liberal arts classroom, and a laboratory learning space? Think again! In workshop #4, graduate student and post-doc participants re-imagined their lessons to include learning methods from radically different fields.

TACs have a new look!

When the TAC program started they had a logo. Unfortunately that logo was never digitalized and over the years wasn't used and then lost. But what a great idea to have a simple image that helps others to identify us as a group.

So the TACs recently, had a designing contest amongst themselves and came up with this logo. Be sure to look for it on your consultations and certificates in the future!

Workshop 6 - "Parenting, Pampering, or Policing" this Friday!

We're excited to present the last workshop of our winter workshop series this Friday. 

Workshop 6 - Parenting, Pampering or Policing? 

Classroom management and interacting with your students

Date: Friday, Feb 24 Time: 10:00am - Noon
Place: 242 Asmundson Hall (The Big Jack Hanna Room)

Description: In the classroom instructors must strike a balance between approachability and authority. Do we mentor, coddle or discipline our students? In this workshop we will discuss and share practical techniques for setting and communicating expectations. We will also analyze different ways of addressing challenging situations in classroom management. Participants will gain skills to shape their classroom dynamics, maximize student learning, and establish a positive and productive classroom environment.

Workshop 5 on Grading this Friday!

The Teaching Assistant Consulting Program is having the 5th of a 6-workshop series this Friday on how to create your own course. Scroll down for descriptions of that workshop and our final workshop! 

Workshop 5 - Grading:The red pen is mightier than the sword 

Date: Friday, Feb 17 
Time: 10:00am - Noon
Place: 242 Asmundson Hall (The Big Jack Hanna Room) 


Description: 
In most students’ and instructors’ minds, grades loom large. In this workshop, we will ask how grades influence learning. Come to this workshop to discuss practical techniques for grading and specific methods for evaluating written work. Learn tips on how to grade quickly, give useful feedback, and elicit critical thinking when you return assignments to students. 

Workshop 6 - Parenting, Pampering or Policing? Classroom management and interacting with your students 

Date: Friday, Feb 24 
Time: 10:00am - Noon 
Place: 242 Asmundson Hall (The Big Jack Hanna Room) 


Description: 
In the classroom instructors must strike a balance between approachability and authority. Do we mentor, coddle or discipline our students? In this workshop we will discuss and share practical techniques for setting and communicating expectations. We will also analyze different ways of addressing challenging situations in classroom management. Participants will gain skills to shape their classroom dynamics, maximize student learning, and establish a positive and productive classroom environment.

Reflections: Workshop 3--The Benefits of Problems: Using Problem-Based Learning and Problem Solving to Promote Critical Thinking

Since I first joined the TA consultants last spring, I have been hoping to have the opportunity to delve more deeply into non-traditional pedagogies. When my fellow TAC Jeff Anderson proposed developing workshop on problem-solving, I jumped at the chance. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to learn more about problem-solving and Problem-Based Learning (PBL).

Reflections on Workshop 2, Going Critical: Creating Activities that Promote Critical Thinking

Our goal for this workshop was to start thinking about critical thinking and to help participants develop some strategies for incorporating critical thinking into their assignments, exams, quizzes, and other course activities. Like the previous workshop group, we were lucky enough to have lively and dedicated participants. We got to hear from TAs and Instructors from all across the university.

Become a TAC! Ann Chang's Testimonial

The call is out for new TACs!


The Teaching Assistant Consulting Program is looking for it's next cohort of TACs. It's a year long position starting in Spring Quarter and going till Winter Quarter. Having been a TAC for two years (the max you can do) I wanted to share with the UCD community my reason for loving the TAC.