TA TALK Issue #14
March 2003

Welcome to TA TALK! TA TALK is an on-line newsletter published by the Center for Teaching Effectiveness at UT. Its goal is to provide timely information for TAs and AIs regarding teaching, learning, and university resources. If this is the first edition of TA TALK that you've received and you'd like to receive future installments, you may subscribe to receive three electronic copies of TA TALK each semester by following the directions at the end of the newsletter.

Please e-mail Michelle Achacoso, Ph.D., (mvachacoso@mail.utexas.edu) if you have suggestions for topics for future articles. Thanks to Stephanie Corliss and Steve Knoll for their help with Web design and HTML.

In this issue, we bring you three different reports on sessions from the 3rd Annual Experienced TA/AI Seminar "Expanding Your Tools for Teaching." Helena Bianchi reports on Yale Patt's insights about teaching. Dr. Patt is a professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. Angela Bush reports on Marilla Svinicki's insights on the process of grading. Dr. Svinicki is the Director of the Center for Teaching Effectiveness and a associate professor in the Department of Educational Psychology. Finally, I report on how to use PowerPoint as an effective learning tool based on a workshop developed by the Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment. I'd like to extend a special thanks to Helena and Angela for their contributions. Enjoy!

Yale Patt's Advanced Techniques for Science and Engineering
Helena Bianchi
Teaching Assistant, School of Biological Sciences

The "Third Annual Seminar for Experienced TAs and AIs," took place January 25th, 2003 and it was a complete success! It was a success not only because everything was extremely well organized and a lot of TAs and AIs showed up, but mainly because I was able to take home a lot of wonderful ideas to help me improve as a TA. The first session I attended was called "Expanding Your Teaching Toolkit: Advanced Techniques for Science and Engineering Courses," given by Dr. Yale Patt from the Electrical and Computer Engineering departments. One of the things that enticed me to go and hear him speak was that I had heard he was a unique individual with a passion for teaching. Additionally, his description of what was going to go on at his session was very unique: "Dr. Patt will sometimes ramble, sometimes answer questions, sometimes engage in dialogue. Those wanting a structured forum should look elsewhere. Some central themes: (1) Ten Commandments for Good Teaching; (2) High Tech - a potential plus, or a clear minus. All are welcome: if there are any insights, they will probably be equally applicable to non-science and non-engineering."

I am so glad I decided to attend Dr. Patt's session!! Little did I know that I was about to encounter a person with tremendous enthusiasm, and a very positive outlook towards teaching. In fact, his love for passing on his knowledge was so contagious, that it affected me and my teaching in lots of wonderful ways. I say that it affected me, because I was very happy and, I must say, quite relieved, to know that there are college professors that genuinely care about their students' learning; and I mean, really learning. I am talking about connecting to the students in such a way that you are sensitive to their level of knowledge; you know that, though you are an expert, they are not, and, therefore, you need to show them the reasoning that you use to get to the point you are trying to make; Dr. Patt calls that "giving them the underpinnings."

I don't think there are words to describe the energy and enthusiasm that permeated the classroom as he was speaking, but I can tell you some of the tips and advice he gave us. One of the things he first talked about was that we, as educators, are there, in that classroom to help the students learn; it doesn't matter how they do it, as long as the final result is that they learn. This means that you, as the teacher, are not the only way students have of learning the material; they should be encouraged to work in groups in class, and study in groups outside of class; in that way, they have a chance to help each other learn the material and, therefore, learn more. Dr. Patt also stressed the importance of "giving the students the underpinnings;" in other words, show them how to get there. Don't just teach them a concept without making sure that they know the assumptions involved and what tools to use to understand that concept. This was a huge moment of clarity for me!! I lost count of how many professors I have had in my life that did exactly that, not show how they got to a certain understanding of different concepts; as a result, I got really frustrated during the course and even lost interest, even though I really liked what I was learning.

Next, Dr. Patt talked about his Ten Commandments:

He didn't talk about each one in depth, but emphasized some, more than others. According to him, it is very important that you want to teach; for your passion and enthusiasm for teaching will be passed on to your students. Excitement is contagious; and if you believe that what you are teaching is one of the most interesting, cool, and exciting things in the world, your students will also. They will not only believe they are learning something that is worthwhile, but because they believe this, they will learn better. On the other hand, if you are bored out of your mind and hate being there, they will quickly pick it up and this negative energy will be passed on to them. What do you get? You end up with a group of bored students who care less whether they learn the material. Dr. Patt also stressed the importance of knowing that it is okay, for you, the teacher, to not know something. When teaching, if you are asked a questions that you don't know, just say "I don't know;" there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It is impossible for you to know everything; so tell the student you don't know and ask if anybody in the class can help with answering the question. According to Dr. Patt, there almost always is someone who knows the right answer. This brings us to the situation where, instead of admitting you don't know the answer; you make up an answer or say something you think is right. If students find out you are wrong, you quickly and irrevocably loose your credibility with the class.

"Encourage interruptions!!" said Dr. Patt. Encourage your students to ask questions and make comments about the subject being taught! According to Dr. Patt, you can use this for your advantage; you can pick up on a question or comment, and use that to better explain the material. In this way, you can add richness to your teaching and you can learn a lot from your students.

Dr. Patt also gave his views on using high technology in the classroom. He believes that, though document readers, PowerPoint, etc, can be used for your advantage when teaching, they will not transform a bad lecture into a good one. Additionally, you have to be very careful with these methods for they can disconnect you from the students. He believes that the best thing to use is the "chalk and board" method. According to him, you can create a three dimensional teaching environment by using the board; in other words, student connects to the concept through the teacher and the chalk. In that way, you can create a kind of timing where you build on each concept that you are teaching.

I could easily write more on all of the interesting things discussed that day; I hope this can give you a taste of how inspiring it was, and I hope that you can incorporate some of his advice into your teaching. I have; and I think my students are responding a lot more and are learning better. It was a pleasure listening to Dr. Patt; his passion for teaching is contagious and amazing, and it has influenced me to become a better teacher.

Improving Effectiveness and Efficiency in Grading
Angela Bush
Graduate Research Assistant, Center for Teaching Effectiveness, DIIA

Accompanying the concerns of teaching course content effectively and creating assignments that will assess student learning are the related issues of how to grade students' understanding and evaluate their performance. As TAs and AIs we will or have already experienced the situation of sitting down with a stack of assignments and feeling excited to read student responses, yet sometimes a bit overwhelmed with all the considerations involved in grading. How can I be fair? How can I maintain consistency in grading over all assignments? How can I be sure that the grades assigned are effectively communicating to the student how they are doing? How can I establish a way of grading that is efficient in terms of the type and importance of the task? Will I grade based on whether students meet certain criteria or based on how an individual performs in relation to others in the class or a combination of both? If you have ever found yourself in a similar situation and want to further clarify how to address such issues, the following explanations of effective and efficient grading may be helpful in setting your mind at ease.

Dr. Marilla Svinicki, Director for the Center for Teaching Effectiveness and Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, has enlightened professors, TAs, and AIs across campus and beyond for over 30 years. Her insights and achievements in higher education research and implementation are astounding, as was apparent when she delivered an outstanding discussion on the topic of effective and efficient grading at the 3rd Annual Seminar for Experienced TAs and AIs in January, 2003.

Grading Effectively
Grading should be supportive of student learning and accurately reflect their performance. To become a more effective grader, one should focus on what the student is learning and assisting them in knowing what to do about it. One way to grasp what it is you are grading for is by doing a critical components analysis. This involves identifying concrete ingredients that should be apparent in the assignment. Dr. Marilla Svinicki asked the TAs and AIs in the session to use a writing assignment to brainstorm components as an example. Identifying a clear thesis, showing evidence in support of the thesis, structuring an elegant argument, using appropriate language and vocabulary, and writing grammatically correct were discussed as benchmarks for grading such an assignment.

Next, to be effective in grading the components of an assignment, one should consider levels of performance for the critical components. Characteristics such as quality of the product, original thinking, and completeness in a timely fashion were decided as ways to weight levels of performance. Levels of the argument such as superior performance of original and clearly stated thesis; persuasive, well-organized, and imaginative use of source material to the minimum of no awareness of argument or complexity could be used to differentiate performance. Using descriptive scales of performance for each critical component increases the accuracy and reliability of grading. Establishing a rubric for grading does just that because we define the critical components and create a weighting system that is consistent within and across assignments. Not only should this be given back with the graded assignment, but allowing the students to have this before the assignment guides their efforts in applying it to their own work.

The above analysis of assignments using a grading rubric and weighting system is designed for grading using a criterion-referenced approach. It implies that one is evaluating on the basis of whether or not students meet certain standards. It is our hope that if we tell students what is expected of them from the beginning, they will rise to the challenge. Another approach is norm-referenced grading by which students are evaluated on the basis of the assumption that there is a normal distribution of performance in the class. Students' grades are assigned based on their performance in relation to other students in the class. This is most commonly known as grading on a curve. This approach to grading is not suggested for small classes and one should consider its potential to increase competition within a group of students.

Grading Efficiently
Effectiveness is certainly important to grading in all situations, but efficiency goes hand in hand in assessing student learning. "Am I grading accurately and consistently?" answers the question of whether the grading is reliable. Are the students receiving feedback in a timely way so that they can make use for further knowing what to do to improve is another important quality to consider in grading. Does the grading provide informational value as to why the grade assigned was the grade earned? The diagnostic component of grading should communicate what to do about it now that the assignment is completed and evaluated. To ensure the grading fits with the task, the grader should take into account whether the assignment is for a grade (summative assessment) or to help the students learn (formative assessment). If the purpose is for a grade, reliable and informative qualities of grading are crucial. If the purpose is leaning more towards student learning, the informative and diagnostic value of the grading as well as timeliness are key. It is imperative that students are able to use the information provided to know what to do next and how to go about successfully achieving that.

A matrix of common assignments and assessments to help guide efficient grading follows:

Further suggestions for making grading efficient include:

Understanding and utilizing these ideas about how to make grading more manageable and explanatory to students will not only lessen the burden for the grader, but hopefully reduce tension between students and teaching assistants that is commonly associated with evaluating student performance. Consistency and accuracy should allow for mutual recognition by students, TAs, AIs, and professors concerning fair and reliable grading. For further inquiry concerning grading or other related TA and AI issues, please contact Michelle Achacoso (mvachacoso@mail.utexas.edu).

Thanks to all those involved in the organization and participation of the TA and AI seminar. Best wishes in all of your endeavors!

Avoiding Death by PowerPoint
Michelle Achacoso, Ph.D.
Interim TA Program Coordinator, Center for Teaching Effectiveness, DIIA

Have you ever noticed that you have become very sleepy while watching a PowerPoint Presentation? Do you want to use PowerPoint effectively to present your own work without putting your audience to sleep? If the answer is "yes" to either of these questions then this article is for you. The Center for Teaching Effectiveness and the Center for Instructional Technologies, two of the components of the Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment, have begun to design workshops to help TAs, AIs and professors to improve their use of PowerPoint in order to help students learn. This article will focus on the pedagogical aspects of using PowerPoint. For information related to the technical aspects of PowerPoint, for instance, how to do something in PowerPoint, please contact Suzanne Rhodes at the Center for Instructional Technologies (suzanne.rhodes@mail.utexas.edu).

Based on our informal research, we have noticed that PowerPoint is mostly used as a glorified overhead presentation where the presenter uses the program as a page-turner to guide the pace of the presentation. While this kind of usage can produce very nice, professional-looking presentation, students tend to get bored very easily. Below we will give you some ideas for maximizing PowerPoint as a learning tool all while keeping your audience awake and active during your presentation.

If we know something about how students learn, we can enhance our usage of PowerPoint. One thing we know is that visuals used in the classroom can be very powerful mechanisms to help students learn. To this end we can design the presentation of material to enhance retention and learning and get students actively involved with the material.

Enhancing Presentation of Material

Encouraging Participation by Students

We know that when students are active with material, they learn the material more easily. PowerPoint can help you get your students involved in lecture. Here are some ideas:

PowerPoint can be a wonderful tool to help you design your presentations or lectures and to involve your students in the learning process. Following some of the suggestions made here can be more time-consuming in terms of preparation than simply scrolling through a presentation. However, to relieve boredom and increase learning, it is well worth your effort to maximize the potential of this multi-faceted program.

For questions on how to integrate various forms of software in PowerPoint, please contact Suzanne Rhodes at the Center for Instructional Technologies (suzanne.rhodes@mail.utexas.edu).

Good luck!

References:

Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment. & College of Liberal Arts's Instructional Technology Services. (2002, November). Dodging Death by PowerPoint. Workshop presented at the Sharing What Works Seminar.

Brown, D. G. (2001). PowerPoint-Induced sleep. Syllabus, 17.

Tessler, F. N. (2003). Presentation Power Tips. Macworld, 76-78.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Services for TAs at the Center for Teaching Effectiveness

Seminars: Planning for the New TA Seminar in September is under way. Please email Michelle Achacoso mvachacoso@mail.utexas.edu if you have interest in being a part of the planning committee. On January 25th, 2003, CTE and UTLC cosponsored a seminar for experienced TAs to help them hone and develop their skills as instructors.

Departmental Consultations: Would you like to see changes in the TA experience in your department? Would you like more feedback on your own teaching? Contact Michelle Achacoso, Ph.D., Interim TA Program Coordinator at the CTE. (mvachacoso@mail.utexas.edu) She would be happy to reply to your e-mail questions or concerns, or to meet with you or a group of TAs to brainstorm ways to enhance your teaching or to improve student learning.

Do you want additional ideas on teaching and learning? Check out the CTE web site at http://www.utexas.edu/academic/cte/. Here you'll find suggestions on everything from how to encourage student participation to methods for assigning grades.

Finally, do something for yourself. Check out the self-help opportunities through the Counseling Center's Food for Thought groups: http://www.utexas.edu/student/cmhc/outreach/ffttops.html