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Graduate Student Teaching in the Mathematics Department
[Approved by the Policy Committee May 2, 2001]
PREAMBLE
This document aims to describe the goals, rights and responsibilities of graduate
students and faculty with regard to graduate student (GA) teaching in the Mathematics
Department. The document is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather to give general
goals with some specific guidelines.
Success depends on the responsible and good faith effort of both graduate students
and faculty.
GOALS
The goals of the department with regard to GA teaching are the following:
1. Excellent teaching by GAs.
2. Professional development of GAs.
3. Workload support for GAs.
GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES
The faculty shall provide GAs with appropriate training, supervision and support.
The general teaching responsibilities of GAs include the following.
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A GA should treat students with politeness, fairness and
respect.
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A GA should be well prepared to teach.
A GA should plan ahead to use class time efficiently. For example, in a section
where the GA expects to answer questions about homework problems, a GA should review
the homework problems before the class meeting.
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A GA should conduct class in the general manner prescribed
by the course supervisor.
This includes question-answer, lecture and small-group styles of class conduct.
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A GA should teach as scheduled.
Any unplanned absence (due to illness, car breakdown, etc.) should be phoned in
to the undergraduate office as soon as possible, so that a substitute can be arranged.
Any absence anticipated in advance should be cleared with the course supervisor,
and an appropriate substitute should be arranged by the GA.
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A GA should respect students' privacy.
For example, a GA should not discuss a student's grades with anyone who does not
have a legitimate professional need to know.
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A GA should uphold academic integrity.
A GA should take reasonable measures to prevent cheating and should report instances
of suspected cheating to the course supervisor. It is the responsibility of the
course supervisor to confront such students. The GA should be aware that the University
has a Code of Academic Integrity
and well developed procedures for supporting it.
The University's Handbook
for Graduate Students contains further information on responsibilities of GAs.
ORGANIZATION
Every GA is under the supervision of a course supervisor. The GA is obligated to
follow the direction of the supervisor, and to attend meetings called by the supervisor.
To the extent feasible, meetings should be at mutually convenient times. A GA will
not be required to attend a meeting on a weekend or holiday or in conflict with
a religious obligation.
The GA and supervisor are expected to operate on a basis of good communication and
mutual respect. In particular the supervisor is expected to consider carefully issues
and suggestions raised by a GA; and the GA is expected to discuss with the supervisor
problems which arise in teaching the course.
Disruptive or abusive student behavior violates the University's Code
of Student Conduct. A GA should report such conduct to the course supervisor,
who should intervene or consult the Undergraduate Chair.
It is the responsibility of the Undergraduate Chair of the mathematics department
to attend to reports from any party regarding problems, disagreements or suggested
improvements in the arrangements of a particular course.
EXAMS
The assembly of all exams and makeup exams is the responsibility of the course supervisor;
however, a course supervisor may request or require GAs to provide some candidate
exam problems. The course supervisor may require GAs to create and administer quizzes
(shorter tests taking only a fraction of the class period).
A GA is expected assist in the proctoring of all regularly scheduled exams. Any
absence should be cleared in advance with the course supervisor. The course supervisor
may require a GA to schedule and proctor makeup exams.
GRADING
The course supervisor is responsible for the assignment of the course grades which
appear on student transcripts. The course supervisor, while setting the grading
policy, will generally consult with GAs on individual borderline cases, and may
delegate much greater responsibility, particularly when the GA is the sole classroom
contact person for students in a section. The GA will generally keep the grading
records and execute as necessary the computations which are the basis for the course
grade. It is important that the GA leave a clear and complete grading record at
the end of the course, because grades are not infrequently reviewed.
GAs are responsible for grading of exams, quizzes and homework, as directed by the
course supervisor. In general, the course supervisor may choose to participate in
this grading, but is not required to. When the course supervisor is the sole contact
person for a course section (for example in Stat 100), the course supervisor is
responsible for the grading of that section, or for a corresponding fraction of
the uniform grading when grading is shared over sections.
The course supervisor should provide solutions of exam problems and reasonable guidelines
for grading. It is the responsibility of the grader to grade carefully and uniformly
within the given guidelines. This will almost always involve decisions about partial
credit; these should be reasonable and they should be applied uniformly.
Grading arrangements are chosen by the course supervisor. In particular, when the
same exam is given over several sections, the supervisor for purposes of uniform
grading may arrange that each question be graded by just one or two persons.
Grading should be completed promptly. This is especially important for the grading
of uniform exams. It may be appropriate for a course supervisor to allow a modest
delay in grading in response to academic demands on a GA (such as an exam).
PERIOD OF RESIDENCE
In general, the course supervisor may not schedule a meeting earlier than the last
working day before the first day of classes. (This provision is intended to make
careful use of GA time. It is not intended to circumvent the longer orientation
and training period for new GAs, or to preclude a longer preparation period in cases
where GAs have been given, well in advance of the start of class or the making of
plane reservations, a definite assignment for which some additional preparation
is required.)
One specific pre-teaching responsibility should be emphasized. It is the responsibility
of every GA to be available on the last working day before the first day of classes.
(The first day of classes is the day, given in the academic calendar, on which classroom
instruction for the semester begins.) In particular, the GA must attend any activity
scheduled for this day by the course supervisor. If a GA has any uncertainty about
the schedule, then it is the responsibility of the GA to be available and in the
mathematics department during the period 10 A.M. - 3 P.M. on that last working day
before the first day of classes.
It is the responsibility of every GA to be available for work through the third
working day following the administration of the uniform final examination. For example,
if the uniform final is given Thursday, then the GA must be available through 5pm
Tuesday. A GA should never make plane reservations to leave earlier, without the
prior written permission of the Undergraduate Chair.
WORKLOAD SUPPORT
GAs are half time employees of the University. However, the primary purpose of GAs
in the department is the successful completion of their own mathematical and professional
training. Therefore the mathematics department supports arrangements which reduce
the GA teaching workload, whenever this is compatible with teaching excellence and
reasonable professional development. Every course supervisor, in considering demands
on GAs such as attendance at meetings or lectures, should carefully consider such
demands and their organization with an eye to the value of GA time and its wise
use. In particular, time consuming activities with only a marginal impact on teaching
excellence should be avoided. Any GA with concerns about excessive workload should
contact the Undergraduate Chair of the mathematics department.
A course supervisor should generally give GAs good guidance as to the content of
teaching sessions. In a traditional section, this might amount to a list of homework
problems the GA should be prepared to answer. In the case of Close Contact Calculus,
this may involve the provision of worksheets to the GAs. In a sole-contact course
such as Stat 100, the course supervisor should give the GA a day-by-day schedule
of material to be covered.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
A GA may expect a classroom visit or visits from the course supervisor, particularly
during the first semester. Such visits can provide useful feedback for the GA and
course supervisor (and in addition, provide documentation for letters of recommendation
on teaching).
A GA would benefit professionally from a range of responsibilities during his/her
Maryland career (e.g., elementary math, calculus, 246 computer assistant, linear
algebra, Stat 100, tutoring room, grader for graduate course, computer helpdesk
staff, etc.). Problems of scheduling, the professional interest of the GA and significant
commitments to study and research will naturally limit the range of courses that
a GA will be assigned. All these constraints limit the optimality of course assignments
from the viewpoint of professional development.
Nevertheless, the department places value on a diversity of course assignments.
So, a GA will generally not be given the same academic semester assignment more
than four times. Also, the department encourages TAs to seek through course requests
a varied teaching experience over their time at Maryland.
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