1. Student TAs in DSU Physics Labs Samuel Tobler, PhD Physics and Astronomy Teaching and Learning Conference April 2015

3. Why TA’s? Limited full-time faculty Limited adjunct in St. George Growing DSU with little extra funding Cheaper than adjuncts Students get experience

4. Courses Physics 2215 (1 section) (1 st semester of Physics) – 1 TA covering this section – Students did not have faculty teach lab previously – Enrolled 17 with 2 dropping Physics 2225 (2 sections) (2 nd semester of Physics) – 1 TA covering both of these sections – Students had Dr. Tobler as instructor last semester in Physics 2215 – Enrolled 14 total

5. TA Responsibilities/Section 1 hour preparation before lab time 2 hours in lab with students 2 hours allotted for grading labs

6. Faculty Responsibilities 1 hour training of TA in next lab  1.5 hours/week/lab subject Set-up labs before students arrive  45 minutes/week/lab subject Take-down labs after students leave  45 minutes/week/lab subject Write labs and provide quizzes for sections  1 hour/week/lab subject New work

7. More Faculty Responsibilities Be on call during labs  Problems occur, equipment and directions  Forgotten equipment Able to work in office  Prepare next lab or other office work 1 contact hour per course for up to 3 sections

8. Student Opinions Student given questionnaire end of March Answers are anonymous Asked about 18 questions – 15 questions given a scale 1 = strongly disagree 5 = strongly agree – 3 free response questions

9. Rate My TA 1.The TA came prepared to lab each week 2.The TA returned written labs in a timely manner 3.The TA provided useful feedback on returned labs 4.I did not feel comfortable asking the TA questions 5.The TA was able to answer questions during the lab

10. Rate My TA (Part 2) Free Response Questions What is one thing the TA did that was outstanding in the lab? What is one thing the TA could improve on in the lab?

11. Rate the Faculty Labs were set up and ready by the time class started If a problem existed during the lab, Dr. T was able to help the TA in a timely fashion so as not to delay the lab Trained the TA adequately before each lab Shows up periodically to make sure labs are running smoothly Listened to my concerns about the lab/TA/or other matter pertaining to lab

12. Rate the Course I disliked the lab This lab helped me learn concepts taught in lecture I rarely showed up prepared for the start of lab The TA did a good job when compared with Dr. T as the instructor for the lab DSU could benefit from more classes with Tas if these classes followed this pattern

13. Student Comments – Things TA did well Answered questions well Easy to talk to and could explain lab questions in plain english My labs are read in their entirety and feedback is given (not just unexplained grading) Help you figure it out instead of answering for me

14. Student comments – Things TA can do better More detailed info at the beginning of new labs More consistently let the class know when time was running out There were very few times he struggled to help with a problem during a lab, but as a TA I wouldn’t expect him to be able to solve every problem a student can come up with in a lab. He could have years of experience, which would be difficult to find

15. Results

16. TA’s Opinion

17. Conclusions TA’s major help in faculty workload Students who have faculty previous semester averaged higher TA ratings – Possibly due to the misconception that TA’s can’t possibly be as good as professor Faculty can keep close relationship with students