CS 365: SEAS Teaching Practicum

Schedule

Topics and their order are likely to change slightly according to enrollment and how the seminar's trajectory progresses.

Date	Topic	Files
1/25	Teaching by doing; then reflecting We begin to look at teaching by teaching. Students will take turns briefly (2-3 min.) teaching a non-academic topic of their choice -- no prep is required! Time permitting we will then discuss the purpose of teaching and the role of the teacher. Student should leave the session with questions to ask themselves about teaching, beginning the process of reflection.
2/1	Practice teaching I After briefly discussing the reading from the Torch each student will do their first (still brief) academic practice teaching. Time permitting we will view videotapes of past TFs and begin to develop a vocabulary for talking about teaching in specific and descriptive terms.
2/8	Communication and Teaching As teachers, how do we connect with our audience? Elise Morrison, the Bok Center's Associate Director for Speaking Instruction will lead a workshop on how to engage your audience while speaking. This will help us to continue developing a vocabulary for talking about teaching in specific and descriptive terms.	Public Speaking Quick Tips
2/15	Section planning: board use and interactions One of the most useful tools a teacher can use is "chalk tech". We will discuss aspects of board planning and then break up into small groups to study each other's board plan (prepared as homework). A few of you will practice teach with your board plan, followed by a discussion of intent versus execution in terms of student learning.
2/22	Managing your classroom: student types and difficult situations Section teaching is most useful when it is catered for the students in your section. To effectively apply the teaching techniques we have talked about so far in your actual classroom, you need to be aware of the types of students in a classroom and their learning styles. We will discuss techniques for managing classroom interactions, and a few of you to practice teach a short interactive lesson during which the rest of the class will model different student types.
3/1	Practice Teaching II
3/8	Case discussion We will read and discuss a case study of a classroom situation, and have a discussion about expectations, classroom norms, and our role as teachers.
3/15	Spring break!
3/22	Student learning and assessment We teach so that our students can learn, e.g. to achieve a higher level of understanding. How can we tell that students are learning? How can we use various forms of feedback to assess and improve student learning? We will discuss the literature of assessment, cognitive science, and learning theory.
3/29	Grading & Feedback Kevin Rader, Preceptor in Statistics, joins us to lead a workshop and discussion on grading student work and providing them with feedback.
4/5	Interacting with the course staff Teaching rarely happens alone: as a teaching fellow, you will interact with other members of the course staff and work together to ensure the course's success. Professors Vinny Manoharan and Michael Brenner join us to discuss their expectations for a course staff and how they manage the staff on a weekly basis.
4/12	Practice Teaching III
4/19	How to lead technical discussions and teach problems Much of teaching in the applied sciences requires discussing pros and cons, and connecting concrete problems to underlying concepts. Professor Margo Seltzer will lead a workshop on how to teach a problem: some of you will present problems you have prepared and then use the remaining time for discussion.
4/26	Office Hours and other 1:1 interactions        and How to make you happy Much of a teaching fellow's interaction with students is outside of the classroom in office hours. We begin the session by discussing the purpose of office hours and approaches you may take as a teacher in interacting with the student. When you teach, we want you to have fun and enjoy the experience. Becoming an effective teacher helps with that, but you will also have to manage your time and not be overwhelmed. So we'll address time management and the importance of maintaining a community among teachers and students. To conclude we will share our collective list of concrete tips learned in this course.