Teaching Teams FAQ.

Please click on a question for the answer.

• What is the Teaching Teams Program?

  • The UT Teaching Teams Program (TTP) aims to bridge the gap between faculty expectations and student readiness in large historically-challenging classes by creating course-specific learning communities, or teaching teams, in which currently-enrolled students facilitate weekly study groups under the guidance of the course instructor and a former student of the same course

• Who makes up the teaching team?

  • The teaching team consists of the course instructor, TAs (if any), senior preceptor, and preceptors.

• What are preceptors and what do they do?

  • Preceptors are highly motivated students who volunteer to facilitate weekly out-of class study groups for the TTP course in which they are enrolled. Preceptors work in pairs and meet weekly with the teaching team to discuss course content, determine the most important topics to emphasize in study group sessions, and provide feedback about the course and study groups. (For a list of the specific responsibilities and expectations of a preceptor, please see the Preceptor Agreement, which each preceptor is expected to sign upon selection.

• Should preceptors know all the answers?

  • No. Since TTP preceptors are students who are currently enrolled in the courses in which they serve, their ability to be content experts is limited to their "just-in-time" command of the course material. Instead of acting as content experts, preceptors function as mentors, guides, facilitators of active learning, and sometimes assistants for in-class activities.

• How do I become a preceptor?

  • If your instructor is working with teaching teams, you may be contacted by email prior to the start of the semester about participating in or facilitating study groups. If you express interest, you will be sent a preceptor application that will be due the first week of class. Your instructor will also announce if s/he is going to start a teaching team during the first week of class, and s/he will have additional preceptor applications available at that time.

• What is a senior preceptor and what does he/she do?

  • A senior preceptor is a student employed by the UTLC who excelled in the same course taught by the same instructor in a previous semester. The senior preceptor helps organize, plan, facilitate, and observe the study groups during the course of the semester. S/he also helps facilitate the weekly Teaching Team meetings, acts as a model student for the preceptors, and provides the preceptors with advice based upon his or her prior experience with the course. In addition, s/he acts as liaison between the teaching team and the UTLC staff supervising TTP. Senior preceptors are expected to keep track of study group attendance and to attend bi-weekly meetings with the UTLC TTP staff to inform them of issues associated with the study groups.

• Why study in groups?

  • Because you learn by teaching and sharing information with your peers, regular group study helps you maintain understanding of and sustain interest in the course material. Attending study groups also minimizes the need for cramming because you have a weekly appointment to collaboratively review course material. Group study allows you to develop friendships and networks with your classmates while you learn. Still not convinced? Think about the future: regardless of your professional goals, you will eventually have to work collaboratively with your peers. Developing these skills benefits you both now and in the future.

• What are the benefits of attending TTP study groups?

  • The Teaching Teams Program has had a positive impact on participants: in most courses, preceptors and study group participants earn significantly higher grades than non-participants. Besides improved course performance, students who attend study groups report that they enjoy working collaboratively with their classmates and feel more confident with the material than if they had studied alone. To learn more about what TTP participants think about the program, please see What Students and Faculty are Saying.

• How do you decide when to hold study groups?

  • Before the semester begins, we email a survey to all of the students enrolled in the course asking them to choose times they are likely to attend study groups, and we choose study group times based on those responses. There are no study groups on Fridays or Saturdays because very few, if any, students will show up to a study group on these days. We prefer to offer study groups when students will attend them, not only when students can attend them.

• How do you decide how many study groups to offer?

  • The number of study groups is based upon two criteria: the number of students who volunteer to be preceptors and the number of students enrolled in the course. We aim to schedule one study group per 20-30 students enrolled. Historically, about 50% of enrolled students will attend a study group, and a 10-15 person study group (including the two preceptors) is a manageable size. Note that except the day or two before exams, TTP study groups are rarely this large.

• How large is the average study group?

  • Over the course of a semester and depending on the course, the average size of a TTP study group is 3 to 7 students.

• How do you decide which courses should have Teaching Teams?

  • Each semester, we ask students participating in TTP courses which other courses should have support from TTP. Using that information, as well as other criteria such as whether the course has discussion sections, the grade distribution of the course in previous semesters, and an instructor's interest or prior participation in TTP, we contact individual instructors to see if they would like to involve their course in the TTP program. We also are happy to work with interested faculty who find out about our program from other faculty or from our website.

• As a faculty member, how do I get TTP for my class?

  • Due to budgetary and administrative constraints, the UTLC can support and train senior preceptors in a limited number of courses each semester. However, we will work with interested professors and can help organize Teaching Teams with or without a senior preceptor. For more information about the TTP program or to arrange consultations, contact Kate Walker at the UT Learning Center.