Graduate teaching assistants are too often given only "survival training" to prepare them to teach freshman composition. For the following reasons, the focus of teacher preparation in this area should be on rhetorical theory: (1) the study of theory informs the practice of teaching, (2) the study of theory is likely to give the beginner…

This article describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a 1-week inservice program for graduate students teaching a course entitled "Personal Health" at the University of Oregon. The survey course covers issues relevant to the college-age population, and its purpose is to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to…

Offers a perspective on composition as a discipline. Focuses on practical advice about using sentence combining and employing effective grading procedures. (RL)

Explains that women were more likely than men to have earned science degrees in liberal arts colleges and the frequent remoteness of senior professors in research-intensive universities may be the problem. Describes what can be done to make teaching assistants more effective. (PR)

Intended for the growing number of composition faculty members involved in training graduate teaching assistants (TAs) and adjunct faculty to teach, as well as new teachers, this book presents essays addressing how best to prepare new teachers to teach writing, and what advice to offer new teachers about particular aspects of teaching writing.…

Six keys to successful instruction in large classes are identified: don't be intimidated, prepare carefully, be natural, be personal, prevent students from feeling insignificant and anonymous, and stay in touch with teaching assistants. (MLW)

This document is designed for use by teaching assistants running intervention sessions associated with the Early Literacy Support (ELS) Programme of the National Literacy Strategy. It is the essential guide to running the sessions each day, and includes details of resources and preparation for each session as well as a full script. The document…

This book contains materials to support the introduction of Early Literacy Support (ELS) in Year 1 schools in England. The 60 sessions outlined in the book are designed to revisit key objectives from the National Literacy Strategy Framework. The ELS program involves comprehension training for Year 1 teachers and teaching assistants. The training…

This detailed guide is for new teaching assistants (T.A.'s) teaching elementary French at the college level. Individual sections address the following topics: (1) the first day of class (including forms to be distributed to students); (2) written exams (policies regarding contributions, exam procedures, and corrections); (3) oral exam of the…

Describes a training program for teaching assistants designed by the Department of Germanic Languages of the University of Texas (Austin) and consisting of four interrelated phases: orientation, theoretical training, practicum and evaluation. The term "Teaching Assistants" refers to graduate students who have not earned the M.A. or lack…

The use of videotapes to introduce teaching assistants to teaching methods and classroom techniques and as a tool for recording and evaluating TA performance is discussed. (CHK)

Describes a one-week workshop for biology graduate students designed to persuade these future biology teachers of the importance of good teaching; inform them of the techniques, theories, and procedures that can improve instruction and learning; and train them in these techniques. Organization and preparation are emphasized as essential in any…

Noting that materials available on the topic have undergone a numerical explosion over the last decade and now number in the hundreds, this 43-item annotated bibliography on preparing graduate teaching assistants includes books, journal articles, conference papers and videotapes published between 1963 and 1990. The first item in the bibliography…

This book offers successful teaching approaches based on college surveys and interviews with 30 professors who have received awards for teaching excellence. Chapter 1 is an overview of the challenges of college teaching. Chapters 2 and 3 consider agents for change, institutional inertia, and an historical evaluation of faculty development.…

This workshop provides a number of teaching suggestions for graduate teaching assistants and parttime instructors to use in public speaking classes. The workshop outlines some first day activities, offers tactics and techniques that can be used throughout the quarter, and presents a potpourri of class exercises. Some first-day activities suggested…