TA scenarios
From GradBook
This article is part of the series EECS TA Guide |
The following are "hypothetical" TA scenarios that describes situations in which TAs may find themselves. These are based on the discussions at the IAP 2005 TA Workshop. These may not straightforward answers or guidelines, but please feel free to contribute your thought by clicking on the "edit" tab at the top of this page.
Student wants private tutorial
A student who is falling behind asks you to schedule a special appointment to go over course material. Being a generous TA, you agree, only to find that the student fails to attend at the agreed-upon time. Later in the semester, this student again asks for special help. What do you say?
Furthermore, other students hear how generous you are, and since the subject is very difficult, they also ask for private tutorials. Now what?
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Student is suspected of altering answers on graded exam
A student asks for a regrade on three of the six problems on his exam. You look over his exam and suspect that he altered his answers after the exam was handed back because you graded one of them yourself and the chances are too slim that the graders for the other problems also over-looked the ``correct answers. Unfortunately, you did not make a photocopy of his exam before you returned it to him. What do you do?
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Unpopular grading scheme
You are a TA for a large subject. While the staff is grading the first exam, the lecturer in charge explains the grading scheme, which you and another TA find exceptionally harsh. Despite your protests, the rest of the staff agrees with the lecturer and you grudgingly grade the exams in that manner. When you hand back the graded exams in your section, students are angry about the grading policy. You privately sympathize with the students' concerns, but you do not want to go against the lecturer, who is your research supervisor. What do you do?
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Plagiarism
For the first homework assignment, two of your students turn in identical problem sets. You talk to them privately, and they claim that they misunderstood the collaboration policy. You give them the benefit of the doubt, so you give them full credit for the assignment, but you clearly state that what they did was unacceptable. On the second homework assignment, they again turn in identical work. What do you do?
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Students go to your office outside of office hours
You are working late in your office because you have a paper deadline the next day. It looks like you may not sleep at all. Then, at 11 p.m., three of the students in the subject for which you are the only TA appear at your office and frantically ask for help on the problem set, which is also due tomorrow. They are diligent students who always keep up with the material, but this problem set is particularly difficult. Although you feel bad about turning them away, you really need to do your own work right now. What do you say?
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Student asks out TA
You suspect one of your students has a crush on you. She sits next to you during every lecture, and even though she seems to be acing the homework and exams, she still goes to all your office hours. The other TAs have noticed and make private jokes about the situation. At the end of office hours one day, she asks you whether you'd like to go out to dinner sometime. What do you do?
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Mistakes due to incorrect information
While grading an exam, you notice that a student made a mistake that you feel is due to incorrect information you accidentally gave out during recitation. What is an appropriate resolution for this situation? What if, in this scenario, you don't recall exactly what you said during the recitation in question? Does it matter whether other students made the same mistake? What if you take off points, but the student herself approaches you later and points out the incorrect information you gave?
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Unpopular office hours policy
You are a first-time TA for a subject with about 40 students. The other TA for the subject has been TAing it several terms. He tells you that the TA office hours policy is that the TAs cancel office hours if no student sends e-mail to them at least a day beforehand stating their intention to attend. You notice that very few students ask for office hours, and a few felt embarrassed when they asked for them, but decided not to go. A few weeks into the term, a student is doing poorly on the homework and tells you that he is intimidated by the office hour policy. A second student, after doing poorly on an exam, angrily complains that TAs should hold office hours no matter what, and students should not have to ask for them. You understand the students' concern, but the other TA is unwilling to budge on the office hour policy. What do you do?
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Late homework
You are the head TA for a large undergraduate subject with a strict homework deadline policy. A student asks his friend, who is not in the class, to turn in his homework for him because he has some private matter to attend to. The friend wakes up late and forgets to turn in his friend's homework. He frantically sends you an e-mail and comes to your office several hours after the deadline and asks you to accept it. When you repeat the policy, he bursts into tears. What do you do?
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Aftermath of an incomprehensible lecture
Yesterday, the lecturer of the course gave a presentation on a difficult topic that even you found confusing. As a consequence, many students are showing up at your office hours today, all saying something to the effect of “I didn’t understand a word from yesterday’s lecture. I’m feeling really lost in this class. Can you please explain all of topic X to me?” How do you address this situation?
Misleading advice
While grading an exam, you notice that a student made a mistake that you feel is due to a misleading suggestion you gave during office hours. What is an appropriate resolution for this situation? What if you don’t recall exactly what you said during the office hour in question? Does it matter whether other students made the same mistake? What if you take off points, but the student approaches you later and complains that her mistake was due to your incorrect advice?
Students want more practice
The students in your class are asking for additional problems as practice in preparing for the next exam. However, the class does not use a textbook as a primary reference, and the textbook problems you can find differ significantly in style from those that have been assigned as homework. You are also having trouble finding exams from past terms, and/or the instructor in charge is reluctant to give them out. What can you do?
Student does poorly on exam
A student who did poorly on the last exam comes to talk to you in office hours. He is obviously unhappy with his low score. While not directly arguing for more points, he seems to think that many points were taken off for only minor errors and is looking for your sympathy. You however think that his score does reflect his true level of understanding. How can you steer the conversation in a positive direction? What advice can you give to improve the student’s performance?
Motivation
You are a TA in a subject with one other TA, who you feel does not like teaching and views TAing as a chore. He seems to want to get by with the least amount of effort possible, for example, by not holding his office hours if no one is present at the beginning and no one has e-mailed to request a meeting. How can you approach him regarding his effort, and how can you work effectively in this environment?
