Call for 2013-2014 TA Consultants

Are you considering a career in college teaching?

Do you want to share your enthusiasm for teaching with others?

Enhance your qualifications by participating in the TA Consultant Program!

TA Consultants work as coaches and consultants to their fellow Teaching Assistants on campus. TA Consultants:

• Participate in regular training and professional development sessions;
• Learn more about teaching and learning in the college classroom;
• Plan and deliver workshops and special programs on teaching and learning topics of interest; and
• Provide individualized consultations on teaching and teaching improvement.

Requirements

Successful applicants:

• Have at least three quarters of TA experience;
• Are able to participate throughout Spring Quarter 2013, September 2013 (note: only September, not the rest of the summer break), Fall Quarter 2013, and Winter Quarter 2014;
• Are able to invest approximately six to seven hours per week in the program, including from 3-5 pm each Wednesday throughout the fellowship period;
• Are regularly enrolled as a graduate student (master’s or doctoral level) all three quarters of the fellowship (Spring 2013, Fall 2013, and Winter 2014).

Fellowship Award

TA Consultants receive a TA Training Graduate Fellowship of $1000 per quarter during Spring 2013, Fall 2013, and Winter 2014.

The TAC fellowship does not affect TA eligibility, so it is possible to hold either a TAship or GSRship during these quarters.

Contacts

Questions about the TAC Program? Contact Jamiella Brooks and Heather Dwyer, TA Consultant Coordinators, hedwyer@ucdavis.edu.

Questions about submitting your application? Contact Danielle McAlister, CETL Receptionist, dmcalister@ucdavis.edu.

Applications

To apply:

1. Download TAC Application (requires Microsoft Word).
2. Submit all completed materials via email to Danielle McAlister (cetl@ucdavis.edu) with the subject “TAC application – applicant last name."  Letters of recommendation (2) should be emailed directly from the recommender to the same email address with the subject “TAC letter of recommendation – applicant last name."

Completed applications should be received no later than January 14th, 2013 by 5:00pm. 

Fall 2012 Workshop 3: SoTP II

On November 8, 2012, the Teaching Assistant Consultants Kelly Neil, Miki Mori, and Philip Matern ran a second Statement of Teaching Philosophy workshop. Approximately 15 graduate students and postdocs from a wide variety of disciplines such as engineering, psychology, history, chemistry, geography, and physics attended and spent two hours together brainstorming, discussing, and collaborating on what makes a strong Statement. We started our workshop with a discussion about the purpose of the Statement and some of the nuts and bolts about this genre of writing. Next, participants worked through a step-by-step worksheet that invited them to reflect on their goals and beliefs about teaching as well as how they assess learning. We also took time to read through sample statements and sample introductions, reflecting on issues of content, organization, audience, and style. Finally, we situated the Statement in a broader conversation about teaching portfolios and job applications.

Even though some participants were not really sure what a Statement consisted of and others had polished drafts, the open dialogue and interaction between everyone proved to be stimulating and productive. As a group we talked through some challenging questions: how do we know if the search committee wants to see technical language in our Statements? How discipline-specific will your audience be? If you begin your Statement with an anecdote about a teaching experience you’ve had, does that spark readers’ interest or does that get in the way of the Statement’s ultimate purpose? What are the benefits and drawbacks of electronic teaching portfolios? Though these questions don’t have easy answers, we had a great time laughing, grimacing, and thinking our way through this puzzling part of the academic job application. In the end, even if the job application process remains a daunting task, participants, and the facilitators, left with a clearer of just what makes our individual Statements of Teaching Philosophy represent who we are as instructors.

Fall 2012 workshop 2: Exploring the Diversity Statement

On November 2, TA Consultants Leilani Serafin, Robert Lynch, and Heather Dwyer conducted a workshop on diversity statements. We began the workshop by clarifying the prevalence of diversity statements as part of the teaching job application. Currently, some, but not all institutions require one, and the types of institutions that do range from community colleges to Research I universities. We then had a discussion about the presence and importance of diversity in our own fields of study, followed by a group brainstorm of the types of diversity that exist in the classroom. After defining "diversity statement" and its purpose, participants started working on foundations for diversity statements of their own by answering the following questions:

1. What are your past experiences with diversity?
2. How would/do you create an environment inclusive of diversity in your classroom?
3. What are the benefits of your aforementioned actions?

Finally, participants had an opportunity to read sample prompts and statements before revisiting their own diversity statement foundations.

In conducting the workshop, there were a many interesting things that came up in regard to diversity statements. One was that we (the workshop leaders) were under the impression that diversity statements are primarily a part of a teaching job application package, which is untrue: a few participants said they were required to submit similar statements for certain fellowship or grant applications. Another unexpected issue arose during our discussion of WHY institutions might ask for a diversity statement. A few participants expressed some level of anxiety or self-admitted cynicism over this topic, guessing that some institutions might require a diversity statement as a method of weeding or even discrimination. However, it seems that most institutions use diversity statements to ensure that applicants will address their educational missions, which often include their own diversity statements. Also, on a practical level, diversity statements give applicants another page or two in which to “sell themselves.” 

If you're interested in the workshop materials or the lists and notes we generated during this workshop, please feel free to visit the Diversity Statement Wiki we created:  http://tacdiversitystatement.wikispaces.com/ 

Fall 2012 Workshop 1: The ABCs of SoTPs

On Tuesday, October 23rd, Jamiella Brooks and Nicholas Hall presented the first of a series of Fall Workshops on writing a Statement of Teaching Philosophy (SoTP). About 20 people from various disciplines across the humanities and sciences attended, bringing a variety of experiences—some having already written their statements, others just getting started. One interesting facet came up when we learned that some attendees were in fact writing a statement for a fellowship application, opening up another reason why a Statement of Teaching Philosophy is such an essential document to have.

Nicholas designed and modified a table called “Organizing a Statement of Teaching Philosophy” that participants found very useful in hammering out ideas for their statement. Throughout the workshop, participants filled this table to the brim with ideas for their statements. Whether you are just getting started on your SoTP or have already written one, this is a good document to fill out to make sure all your bases are covered.

Some of the questions attendees asked:
“How can we talk about our shortcomings as instructors without being too negative?”
“How can we sell ourselves as teachers if we only just started getting interested in teaching?”
“Should we talk about ‘pedagogy’? To what extent?”
“Should we talk about our research in our statement? If so, how?”

If you are interested in these questions, we encourage you to attend our next SoTP workshop in Winter 2013--be on the lookout for advertisements as to when and where. 

A Summer of Teaching: Lessons Learned

This Summer I taught in two different environments that broadened my perspective on teaching.  I spent the early summer working with fourteen middle-schoolers, aged ten to twelve for about seven hours a day five days a week for three weeks.  It was both amazing and exhausting to work with some many energetic students for such an intensive period. The late summer I spent teaching physics in Vietnam to two sections of twenty five students cramming a ten week quarter into just over three weeks of instruction.

Docendo Discimus: Teach in order to learn

Teaching Newsletter!

This summer two of our summer session teaching consultants, Cutcha Risling-Baldy and Jamiella Brooks, are working hard at creating a teaching newsletter for your reading pleasure. Download the newsletter in PDF format by going to their webpage (click the image below).

The newsletter features articles about teaching-related subjects, links to useful teaching resources, and games that you could use in your classroom.

TAC Member: Leilani Serafin

 Hello!  I'm a new TA Consultant, and am very excited to continue my teaching education.  I'm a third-year Ph.D student in the English department, and have started work on my dissertation prospectus, which will focus on theatrical adaptations of sensation novels.  For the rest of this year, I will be teaching UWP 1: Expository Writing, before moving on to teaching English 3 next year.  Before coming to UC Davis, I taught various levels of introductory writing at Cal State Los Angeles, where I also worked in a Writing Center.  While I was there, I loved interacting with students from a wide variety of academic disciplines, and I look forward to continuing that exchange now, as a TA Consultant!

As a teacher, I'm currently interested in student motivation, and in designing assignments that will help students learn critical thinking skills while also inspiring them to think more deeply about their own interests.  My students have taught me a lot interesting things so far, so I'm looking forward to another fun and educational year!

TAC Member: Philip Matern

I am very excited for the opportunity to assist the graduate teaching community in evaluating and improving teaching techniques.  As a TA consultant, I hope to share the insights and strategies I’ve developed through my teaching experiences while continuing to learn and develop new teaching approaches across a variety of disciplines.  I'm a proponent of incorporating active learning strategies in the classroom to get students engaged in constructing knowledge, and look forward to improving my understanding and use of active learning techniques throughout my time with the TAC program.

I'm a Ph.D. student in the Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology (MCIP) department currently studying the regulation of skeletal and cardiac muscle mass and the role specific E3 ligases play in atrophy and hypertrophy.

Outside of work I love playing with my daughter and enjoying family time.  I also love growing a beard and being barefoot.  I'm a big fan of barefoot shoes and you should be too.  We aren't meant to walk on thick wedges.  Free your feet!

TAC Member: Kelly Neil

Hello! I'm thrilled to begin work as a TA Consultant this year, and I look forward to collaborating with you in UCD's vibrant and innovative teaching community! I am a doctoral candidate in the English Department working on a dissertation that focuses on law, gender, and identity in sixteenth and seventeenth century drama. I am currently teaching Enl 3: Survey of English Literature, and before coming to UCD 5 years ago, I taught composition at a community college in North Carolina.

In the early modern period that I study, English men and women were deeply concerned about how to articulate and define the concept of self-hood, particularly in regards to how one defined him or herself in relation to others. This drive to analyze the "self," in all its various forms, is something I find useful and productive when thinking about how students can produce their own learning, how instructors facilitate that learning by appreciating and encouraging diversity, and how to navigate the often complex but rewarding relationship between students and instructors in the classroom. I'm excited to work with fellow grad students to think through these and other questions about teaching effectively.

When I'm not reading early modern plays or teaching, I'm usually spending time with my dog, Lucy, who is a Huskie/Greyhound/Border Collie mix, experimenting with a new recipe in the kitchen, or exploring the amazing hikes, trails, and wineries that Northern California offers.

TAC Member: Nicholas Hall

Hello everyone.  I'm a new TA Consultant this year.  I'm very excited to be a part of the program and especially for the opportunities I will have to interact with graduate students and postdoctoral scholars across many different disciplines.  I look forward to working with you to grow in our understanding of how to teach effectively and to help improve our teaching in the many different classroom environments on campus.  

I'm a fifth year Ph.D. student in the Physics Department.  I do cosmology research (not to be confused with cosmetology research, though I'm sure that's an exciting field as well) and physics education research.  My physics education research has thus far focused on how the student experience (e.g., confidence, interest, anxiety, etc.) depends on how in tune the instructor is with what the students are experiencing.  I love teaching and I enjoy having opportunities to teach in a variety of settings.

I really like to try new things.  My hobbies include classical guitar, wake boarding, surfing, soccer, hiking and cooking.  I would say that my favorite thing to do is travel, especially in East Asia over the last couple years.

TAC Member: Robert Lynch

       Aloha!  My name's Robert and I'm a TAC.  I am honored and enthused to be part of this community.  I am a 4th year Physics Education Research [PER] Ph.D. student. I began my graduate work in pure physics before deciding that I was more interested in how to teach and learn physics.  To that end I transferred from UC San Diego up to Davis. I have found a supportive research home here in UC Davis Physics Education Research Group, creatively names I know. In PER my interests are broad, including the effects of gender in the classroom, though I am currently studying the effects of taking physics in the first year of college over later.
       This is my first year as a TAC, though I have participated in other CETL activities.  Currently I am co-coordinating the Graduate Teaching Community, where we are offering a certificate series on teaching and technology.

TAC Member: Henry Yeung

Hi Everyone,

It's great to be back and working with the previous and new TA consultants!
Over spring break, I got trained to be a rescue swimmer and a white water rafting guide with the UC Davis Recreation Department - Outdoor adventures. I've learned a great deal about team work, when to be authoritative, and my own physical and mental limits. The educational frame work and method of learning and teaching swift water rescue and white water guiding will be one of my many new contributions to share with the other TA consultants in this up coming year.