1. It Takes Two!The Instructor/Teaching Assistant Partnership in an Online Course 2009 Sloan-C Conference Orlando, Florida
2. Motivation Other than delivery of course content, what does meeting regularly as a class do? Gives the student and instructor structure. It is a conscious and consistent reminder about the course and its obligations (assignments, preparation, etc.) Consciousness of the Course
3. Instructor Testimonials “The Teaching Assistant Program helped me concentrate on teaching content, while giving the students a resource for navigating through the administrative hurtles.”-- Instructor for Introduction to Statistics
4. Teaching Assistant Testimonials ”I think it great to have more staff interact with students and allow them to feel that sense of community within the college. This program allowed me to share that with the students.” -- Teaching Assistant for Communications Course
5. Teaching Assistant Testimonials “ [The instructor] and I worked well together and had a clear understanding of each other’s role. And, since [the instructor] was relieved of some of her non-teaching duties, it created more time for teaching.” -- Teaching Assistant for Introduction to Statistics
7. Structure of Initial Trial Large Class Size – 44 or higher Experienced instructors and teaching assistants Compensation and Loss Teaching Assistants were compensated at TA rate Instructors gave up one credit…willingly! 1st semester Pilot 2nd semester and beyond Contract with clear expectations, duties, and partnership outlined beforehand
8. Case Study Introduction to Statistics Early email with login instructions After one week, check in with those who are behind During the semester, keeps both students and instructor on task
9. Extending the Idea Student Assistants instead of Teaching Assistants Less cost Work Study or Service Learning could fund the Student Assistant More of a peer-to-peer relationship with students Content knowledge means built in tutor
10. Extending the Idea Rethink Class Size – 20 to 30? For Administrators: Slight increases to capacity (5 to 10 beyond current capacity) without associated cost or headaches. Maintain the quality of the course at a lower cost For Instructors Guaranteed assistance Takes away the facilitation aspect so you can focus on being a teacher. For Students More seats, so more opportunity to sign up for the course
11. Further Information You are welcome to access the following website: http://dlf.csmd.edu/onlinetaproject On the website, you will find: Presentation Full student, teaching assistant, and instructor testimonials Samples of Contracts and much more!
12. Thank You! Donna Sperry Associate Professor Mathematics, Physics, & Engineering College of Southern Maryland DonnaS@csmd.edu Dr. Sue Subocz Director Distance Learning & Faculty Development College of Southern Maryland Ssubocz@csmd.edu
