CS TA Orientation
Fall 2014
New Faces!
Introductions
 Faculty
 Dr. Brent Seales, Department Chair
 Dr. Mirek Truszczynski, Director Graduate Studies
 Dr. Jurek Jaromczyk, Director Undergraduate Studies
 Staff
 Jennifer Doerge, graduate records
 Dee Fuhs, payroll / finances
 Paul Linton, systems manager
 help@cs.uky.edu
TA Supervisors
 Dr. Debby Keen, CS 101
 Dr. Debby Keen, CS 115
 Dr. Yi Pike, CS 215
 Mr. Yi Pike, CS 216
 Mr. Paul Piwowarski, CS 221
 Dr. Manivannan, CS 275
Try to keep your balance!
 You have a teaching job, classes, research and a LIFE!
 How do you balance it?
 TALK to your supervisor AND your advisor if you are
getting overloaded
 Schedules can be adjusted with some notice!
Changes this semester
 CS 115 will have 6 sections “flipped”
 TA office hours may be in Multilab as well as RGAN
102
Class / Section assignments
 Rules for changing assignments are online
 Tell your supervisor what you want to change TO, not
just what you want to change FROM
 Write down what sections are changing and who else is
involved
 Both people sign the request
 MUST be done before first day class meets
Observations / Evaluations
 Every TA is observed by a faculty member every semester
(usually their supervisor)
 Every TA is evaluated by their supervisor at the end of every
semester
 The TA gets a copy of each form and a chance to respond to
it
 Copies are kept by TA, Dr. Keen, DGS and Graduate School
 PLEASE help us by making sure your form is filled out and
signed by the end of the semester!
Grad School Workshops
 Every full-time TA goes to two during
the semester
 Make SURE you sign attendance
sheet
 Go to MORE if you like! They’re free!
Peer Observations
 Done in 115, 101
 Experienced TA paired with new TA
 New TA observes experienced TA before their first
class/lab
 Later in the semester experienced TA observes new TA
 After each observation, TAs meet to give feedback
 Communicate to your supervisor that the observations
were done
Useful Information
 TA page www.cs.uky.edu/~keen/tas/tas.html
PLEASE do not give this URL to
anyone!!
More Useful Information
 TA mailboxes are in
 Dr. Keen’s cell phone number is 859 576 5949
 All TAs should KEEP ALL emails sent to them by students
and all emails sent to students, at least until final grades
are done
 Make sure your University account is set up and that
your supervisor has an email address for you
I-9 forms for Payroll
 If you are a new TA or
 if you have been off the payroll (even a few days!)
 See Dee Fuhs, Marksbury 102D, as soon as possible to
get on payroll!! They need a new I-9 form
Your Class Schedule
 If you are a returning student, you should have
already registered for classes – if not, then do it
NOW!
 If you are registered, please do not make
changes unless absolutely necessary
 If you make a change or have made one in the
last few days, TELL Dr. Keen NOW!
Last Day of the Semester
 Mark your calendars now!
 Last day of the semester – Monday December 22 –
AFTER Finals Week!
 We hope we’re finished sooner than that, but don’t
make plans until after 12/22/14
 Start of next Spring Semester
 January 14, 2015 Wednesday is the first day of class
 January 9, 2015 Friday will be CS TA orientation
If you have to miss…
 If you know that you are going to miss a




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TA meeting
Class meeting
Office hours
Exam proctoring
Exam grading
 Let your supervisor KNOW about it! Even if you have it
covered, they need to know! In advance if possible but
even after the fact!
Food / Drink policies
 PLEASE enforce in the labs!
 Keep everything below desk level
and in their packs unless they are
actually using it
 Don’t have bottles, even capped,
sitting next to a keyboard!
Busy this semester!
 Enrollments are up in several
classes
 18 sections of 115, 100% full
 8 sections of 215, 2 seats left
10 sections of 221, 5 seats left
Community
 TA common goal: the students’ learning
 The TAs who work in the same class should be a
community – “we know more together than we do
individually”
 Experienced TAs, please reach out to the new TAs –
tips for grading, for dealing with students, anything
can be useful when you’re new to the job!
Pay attention to the poor performer!
 Caring about the students and
 SHOWING them that you care!
 Documenting how you are communicating with them
 Try to get names of people who come to office
hours
 People who miss classes, miss assignment deadlines
 Give them a short note to ask what is wrong
Grading
 Biggest part in terms of time taken
 Very important part! Feedback is where learning
happens!
 Rubrics should be provided by supervisor
 If not, make your own and show to supervisor
 Follow them as closely as possible
 If you disagree with one, take it up with your
supervisor
 Keep the grading consistent across all sections
Academic Alert!!
 Program to alert students and advisors to 'risky'
behavior of students
 Missed Classes (at least 2-3 in the first weeks)
 Habitually Late (more than 10 minutes on a regular basis)
 Homework assignments not completed or of inconsistent
quality
 Poor performance on tests or quizzes
 Disruptive Behavior in class
 Other
Academic Alerts
 101 and 115 will do this this semester
 The alerts are sent through the IRIS system - it
automatically mails the student!
 I ask the student to see their TA and to see me
 Give them your personal attention!
 In classes besides 101 and 115, ask your supervisor
YOUR OFFICE HOURS
 YOUR Office Hours - BE there!
 They will be in RGAN 102 lab or , scheduled in the
next week or two by Dr. Keen
 Students can show up at any time, Not just the start
of the hour
 Try to help every student who asks, even if they are
not in your section or even your class
 Even if more than one TA is scheduled for a time, it
is your job to be there
How do you get your students to
be responsible for their own
learning?
(see separate set of slides)
(this is from 20-minute Mentor
Commons, access code UKY253)
What’s next?
 101 TA meeting Monday 1 pm – my office
 115 TA meeting Monday 10 am – RGAN 103
 221 TA meeting Friday 1pm – RGAN 102
 215 TA meeting – FPAT 257 after orientation
 TAs assigned to other classes – contact your
supervisors for instructions
Ending Activities
Supplies – pens, folders, textbooks
Name tags – wear them first day
Night TAs – laptops, syllabus
Relax!
 If you have time, the Kentucky State Fair is still going
on until Sunday
 In Louisville
 $10 per person admission
 See ALL of Kentucky in one place!