GUIDELINES
Meetings: Weekly meetings
between the faculty member and the course's Teaching Assistants should
be held and should include a review of the upcoming section assignment.
These meetings should be scheduled soon enough to allow TAs to prepare
for the section and exams. Schedules and due dates should be discussed
between faculty and TAs well in advance. The supervising faculty member
should inform the TAs about the topics of upcoming lectures so that
they can properly prepare for sections and students' questions.
Preparation for sections:
The supervising faculty member should ensure that the TAs are provided
with enough information about the upcoming section assignment that
they are confident and secure about their presentation. The faculty
member should make the TAs aware of the services available from the
University (e.g. free slide duplication for slides used in courses)
and share these resources with the TAs.
Examinations and grading:
The faculty member should provide keys to his/her exams, detailed
breakdowns for the assignment of points, and guidelines for grading.
This will help ensure that the professor's emphases and not those
of individual TAs are reflected in the grading, and will contribute
to the maintenance of uniformity among the different graders. It will
also help TAs to handle effectively complaints about grading. TAs
may be asked to evaluate the quality of the exam before it is given,
to identify misleading or confusing questions.
Responsibility for assignment
of grades: The supervising faculty member is responsible for
instruction and grading in all University courses, including discussion
or laboratory sections that accompany lecture courses. Thus, although
the TA may write all or portions of the discussion or laboratory section
assignments, quizzes, or examinations, the supervising faculty member
must check the TAs' efforts throughout the quarter to maintain academic
standards and provide necessary feedback.
Academic Dishonesty:
If the TA discovers instances of academic dishonesty for which he/she
feels sanctions are justified, the TA must bring the case to the attention
of the supervising professor.
Coordinating TAs: While
experienced Teaching Assistants may function as valuable resources
for other TAs in a course, and may be assigned special duties, the
apprenticeship of all TAs is with the supervising faculty member and
not with the more experienced TAs. This does not preclude an organizational
structure involving a coordinating or "senior" TA in courses with
multiple TAs.
Lectures by TAs: The
opportunity to give an occasional course lecture may be a welcomed
culminating experience for an experienced Teaching Assistant. Such
lecturing should be limited in occurrence and carried out under the
supervision and guidance of the faculty member. TAs should not be
expected to lecture just to substitute for an absent faculty member.
Workload: Assignment
of a TA to more than one section of the same course is preferred to
splitting a TA's duties between two courses. A half-time TA's appointment
specifies a 20-hour per week commitment. This time includes lecture
attendance, weekly meetings, teaching of discussion or laboratory
sections, office hours, grading, and preparation of instructional
materials. If these duties consistently require more than 20 hours
per week (or 10 hours per week for a quarter-time TA) the supervising
faculty member must choose among the options for the use of a TA's
time and relieve the TA of some duties.
Evaluation of TAs: TA
evaluation should be an ongoing process throughout the quarter, culminating
with written end-of-quarter student reviews. Sources of feedback during
the quarter for the TA should include gathering comments from the
course instructor and students, as a continuing process of refining
teaching skills. The TA should be provided with comments from the
instructor after a classroom visitation. The videotaping of discussion/lab
sections and the follow-up consultation with an instructional development
staff member is another course for examining teaching strengths and
weaknesses. First-quarter TAs should receive written mid-quarter evaluations
from their students; these must be discussed with the supervising
faculty member but do not become part of the TA's formal record. At
the end of the quarter, the TA receives written reviews from students,
copies of which are given to the TA and to the Department. Based on
these evaluations, the supervising faculty member should write a short
review of the performance of each TA in his/her courses.
Feedback to Supervising Faculty
Members: Professors should encourage their TAs to provide their
own evaluations and information about their students' perception of
the quality of the lectures, audio-visual materials, assignments,
discussions, readings, examinations, and any other aspect of the course.
TA's Commitment: A TA's
appointment is a binding contract for the duration of the quarter.
Once instruction has begun, it is unacceptable for a TA to break the
contract for any reason except an extreme emergency. TAs are expected
to be available throughout the quarter, including the time needed
to assign grades after the final examination.
Department's Commitment:
Normally the Department of Geography awards TA positions for specified
quarters during an academic year. However, promised employment for
quarters later in the year may be revoked for unsatisfactory performance
during an earlier quarter. Only in extreme cases of incompetence or
lack of performance will a TA be dismissed during a quarter.
Criteria for Selection of TAs:
Students will be considered eligible for teaching appointments based
on the criteria in the APM 410 and Red Binder: registered graduate
students in full-time residence; evidence of academic excellence and
promise as a teacher; maintenance of a 3.0 GPA; in good academic standing;
making normative progress to degree; enrolled in at least 8 units;
experience and excellence for specific titles. TA positions are usually
distributed among first-, second- and third-year graduate students,
and are occasionally assigned to more senior graduate students. When
possible, supporting first-year students by other means than TA positions
gives them time to become more familiar with the Department and with
the discipline. When they then become TAs as second- or third-year
graduate students, they are usually more effective and bring more
knowledge to the undergraduates.
To the extent possible, TAs will be assigned assistantships in courses
related to their previous and professional training. Two criteria
are used to select TAs: academic excellence and potential as a teacher.
If the graduate student has had prior teaching experience, evaluation
of teaching ability is based on written comments by supervising faculty
members and students. Otherwise, evaluation of teaching potential
is based on letters of recommendation supporting the student's application
to the Department.
Social Relationships with Students:
The University does not tolerate sexual harassment, and TAs
who subject students to unwanted attention of a sexual nature can
expect sanctions. TAs must treat all students fairly and equally,
and therefore should avoid personal relationships with students who
are currently enrolled in their sections.
TA Training: All Teaching
Assistants new to the Geography Department at UCSB are required to
enroll in Geography 500, the TA training course, during or before
their first quarter as a TA. All first-quarter TAs must be videotaped
in section, and they must then review the tape with a trained consultant
from Learning Resources. To the extent possible, TAs should repeat
this videotaping experience every quarter to continue to improve their
teaching.
RESOLUTION OF PROBLEMS
If problems arise about the roles or responsibilities of supervising
faculty and TAs, the involved parties should meet with each other
to discuss the problem and its resolution, and these discussions might
involve the TA's Faculty Advisor. If these meetings do not resolve
the problem, the TA or supervising faculty member should attempt to
resolve the problem through consultation with the Department Chair,
who has the responsibility to resolve matters regarding Department
personnel.
APPENDIX
B
SUGGESTED READING
FOR Ph.D EXAMS
6/99
To prepare for Ph.D. written exams, each student should seek advice
from members of their Ph.D. committee. It is recognized that suggested
readings in preparation for the exam will be made up primarily of
material that is related to the primary systematic and/or technical
area of focus of the student.
Abler, Marcus and Olson (Eds), 1992, Geography's
inner worlds: Pervasive themes in contemporary American Geography,
Rutgers U.P.
Agnew, Livingstone and Rogers (Eds), 1996,
Human geography: An essential anthology, Blackwell.
Bailey & Gatrell, Interactive Spatial
Data Analysis
Benoit Cushman-Roisin (1994), Introduction
to Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs.
Bohren, C., Clouds in a Glass of Beer.
Brown, J.H., 1995, Macroecology,
University of Chicago Press.
Clarke, K.C., 1995, Analytical and
Computer Cartography, Second Edition, Prentice-Hall.
Climate Change - The IPCC Scientific
Assessment World Meteorological Organization/United Nations Environment
Programme - Intergovernment Panel on Climate Change - 1990,
Cambridge University Press.
Climate Change 1995 - The Science of
Climate Change - Contribution of Working Group 1 to the second Assessment
Report of the Intergovernment panel on Climate Change - 1996,
Cambridge University Press.
Cronon, William, Nature's metropolis:
Chicago and the Great West, 1st ed,
New York: W.W. Norton, 1991.
Dingman, S.L., Physical Hydrology,
1994.
Gaile, G.L. and Wilmott, C.J. (eds), 1989, Geography
in America, Columbus, OH: Merrill Publishing Company (chapters
relating to Departmental interests).
Gill, A.E. (1982), Atmosphere-ocean
dynamics, Academic Press, New York.
Hanson, Susan, Ten Geographic Ideas
that Changed the World.
Hartmann, D., Global Physical Climatology.
Haynes, Kingsley E., Kenneth J. Button and Peter Nijkamp, with Li
Qiangsheng, (eds), Regional dynamics.
Cheltenham, UK, 1996.
Holton, J.R. (1992), An introduction
to dynamic meteorology, Academic Press, San Diego.
Johnston, R.J., Geography and Geographers:
Anglo-American human geography since 1945, R.J. Johnston, 5th
ed., London; New York: Arnold, 1997.
Johnston, R.J., Derek Gregory, and David M. Smith, ed., The
Dictionary of Human Geography, latest edition, Oxford: Blackwell
Publishers.
Knauss, John, Introduction to Physical
Oceanography, Prentice-Hall.
Livingstone, David N., 1992, The Geographical
Tradition: Episodes in the History of a Contested Discipline.
Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
Longley, P., Brooks, S., MacMillan, B. and McDonnell, 1999, Geocomputation:
A Primer, London: J. Wiley.
MacArthur, R.H.and E.O. Wilson, 1967, The
Theory of Island Biogeography, Princeton Monographs in Population
Biology 1.
Martin, G.J. and James, P.E. (1993), All
Possible Worlds: A History of Geographical Ideas. New York:
John Wiley & Sons.
Myers, A.A. and P.S. Giller, 1988, Analytical
Biogeography, Chapman and Hall.
National Research Council, Rediscovering
Geography, National Academy Press, 1997, ISBN 0309051991.
Phiolander, S.G.H., Is the Temperature
Rising?, Academic Press.
Pond, S., and G.L. Pickard (1983), Introductory
Dynamical Oceanography, 2nd ed., Pergamon, New York.
Unwin, Tim, 1992, The Place of Geography.
New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
APPENDIX
C
GENERAL DEPARTMENTAL POLICIES FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS
There are some general Geography Department policies that are important
to be aware of. If you have any questions about any of them, please
ask in the office ... we're glad to assist you.
