The importance of exchanging ideas between the TA and supervisor is critical for the success of any course and for the pedagogical advancements of the individuals involved. It is essential that the opening dialogue between the supervisor and teaching assistants address not only establishing teaching goals but also hands-on development and negotiating of a course syllabus and specific discussions clarifying teaching roles in the class. This section of the checklist offers ideas for structuring first meetings of a teaching team as the course begins.

For ideas and examples related to creation of discussion section syllabi and grading policies across several sections of a large course, see the Northwestern University TA Handbook located on our Resources page.

Establishing Teaching-Related Goals for the Semester

• Professor creates a course handbook/teaching packet to introduce pedagogical goals and teaching strategies related to the course.
• Teaching team sets up workshop meetings before class begins, creating a dialogue about course development, but also engaging TAs in considering how they might design a particular assignment or quiz, or vary discussion formats in their section from week to week.
• Department and professor clarify how this course meets University requirements such as Writing Intensive and Cultural Diversity themes.
• Teaching team opens discussions about TA professional development goals (for example, presenting a lecture or creating a new strategy for leading a class).
• To showcase on-going teaching-related discussion as a goal, invite experienced TAs to participate in workshop as resource teachers.

Discussing Syllabus and Assessment

• Make use of information gathered "Before the Course Begins" to shape the final course syllabus, making use of TAs goals and experiences as well as professor's interests and expertise.
• Discuss how course content, student skill development and assessments (tests, papers, informal exercises) work together so that the teaching team can convey these connections to students as well as consider rubrics/formulas the team will use for grading these assessments.
• Discuss the details of course policies related to class attendance - in section and lecture - in order to establish a consistent policy.
• Discuss grading policies and practices to clarify what will be uniform for all sections and what is to be determined by a TA for individual sections.
• Discuss expectations and requirements regarding time commitment to students, formal or informal - office hours, study sessions.
• Create resource book (samples of syllabus, assignments, daily activities, a range of graded papers and tests) that the teaching team can consult over the term.
• Work together to create and review TAs discussion section syllabus. Again, look for places where clarity of intent/practice and consistency across sections needs to be addressed.

Clarifying Teaching Assistants Role for Students From Day One

• During the first class, publicly announce roles and names/titles of teaching team members.
• State and stick to a "chain of command" - whom to talk to and when - and note on the syllabus or on the first day class.
• Reinforce grading policies by having professor explain rationale for assessments selected.

Creating Systems to Maintain Communication

• Determine the primary mode of communication between class sessions.
• Share schedules, contact information and best means of distributing materials.
• Regularly schedule meetings to address specific teaching issues and to continue an open, problem-solving dialogue among TAs/professors.