The first day of class went relatively smooth. Professor Gurung had everything very organized. He had the introductions, intro to the class, and the syllabus description done in a nice and orderly fashion. He kept the attention of mostly all of the students, by being creative, honest, and of good spirits (humorous). The techniques he used worked well with the class. Related to the reading, he broke the ice, by immediately going into class participation. He did this by asking students for examples (e.g., what are some reasons why women would be better judges of cuteness), and also with the ASCH conformity experiment. Doing this opened the door for trust and ease in approaching or talking to the prof./TA’s. Also, he was not laid back in his demands for what he wanted from the students in this course. He exemplified high expectations for and belief in his students.
In the case of things that went wrong or should be done differently, I found very few exceptions. One thing that went was was the ASCH experiment. At the beginning of class, Prof. Gurung approached the first student who arrived, and asked her to answer wrong to the ASCH test, and hand out a paper advising the next five students who arrive to do the same. For one reason or another, only she answered wrong (maybe others were afraid of looking “dumb” or something). But in response, Prof. Gurung continued the lecture, and did not let it spoil anything. The projector had a purple hue to it, but I think that will be fixed. Also, some students were on their cell phones (hiding them well from the front of the room only!), and students arriving late sat behind the back rows on the floor. With these issues, the TA’s can just find seats for the people who are seated on the floor, and find out the names of what student(s) are on cell phones during class.
The students responded to the first class with enthusiasm, but still need a little time to become more confortable and expressive. Otherwise, they appeared attentive and interested. The idea of having all quizes and exams online seems appealing to the students. From previous classes that I had with online quizes/exams, I found it useful, because then I had more time to prepare myself and take the exam, in relation to my busy schedule.
One thing that did not work for me was coming to class early and staying after for a while to chat. I have a class beforehand that ends at 10:50AM and another class after that starts at 12:30PM. I really do not want to miss important information that the TA’s and professor need to discuss, but I also do not want to miss my other courses. Plus, no one ever knows how many students are going to want to talk with the Prof. after class.
From the first day, I learned that running and teaching such a big class of students is harder than it looks. I give props to the Prof. for doing such a good opening class. In the upcoming classes, I want to learn how to work with the students face-to-face (which we will be doing in Thursday’s class), and also observe Prof. Gurung’s teaching methods so I can improve my own teaching skills.
In relation to our reading “McKeachie’s Teaching Tips,” Prof. Gurung focused part of the lecture on learning outside of class, where the majority of learning actually takes place at. He addressed D2L, CONNECT, and LEARNSMART. Also relating to the reading, Prof. Gurung was very explicit and detailed about what he expects and wants from the students. This will help eliminate uncertainty, over studying, and confusion. Finally, from the reading, on page 10 (FIGURE 2.1), there is a circle graph about Course Preparation Components that affect student learning. The seven different components are goals, textbooks, the syllabus, lesson plans, technology, student activities, and the teaching method. All of these components affect each other, the students, TA’s, professor, and how, what, and to what extent the students learn. These components have been set, but can definetly change, be modified, utilized, and observed.
So far, I feel comfortable as a TA, feel that the team of TA’s is going to work very well together and with the Professor, and am looking forward to the upcoming classes!