Clemson University
Electrical & Computer
Engineering
ECE Department TA Orientation
Fall 2012
Timothy Burg
Undergraduate Laboratory Coordinator
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Outline

You are now a teaching professional!
How to
organize
your class
How to
interact with
your
students
Graduate Teaching Assistant
(GTA or TA)
Undergraduate Laboratory Coordinator
(ULC)
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Outline
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Laboratory Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA
or TA) Responsibilities
General Laboratory Schedule
ECE Faculty and Staff
Laboratory Elements
Lab Equipment Maintenance
Location of Lab and Computing Facilities
Lab Safety
Record Keeping
TA Evaluations
Overview of ECE Undergraduate Curriculum
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Review of Lab Instructor
Responsibilities
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The GTA will conduct laboratory sessions
according to the Laboratory Manuals. The TA
will:
• Organize the equipment.
• Be completely familiar with each lab prior to
class.
• Supervise the students as they perform the
lab experiments.
• Answer any questions posed by the
students.
• Report any errors in the lab manual.
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Review of Lab Instructor
Responsibilities
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The Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) will
manage their assigned section.
• Provide the students with a syllabus that
includes TA office hours, email address,
and the name of the Faculty Coordinator
(FC).
• Follow the syllabus template available on
the ECE TA website.
• Present syllabus during the first class.
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Review of Lab Instructor
Responsibilities
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The TA is expected to score the pre-labs, lab
notebooks, and reports in a fair and timely
manner.
• The reports should be returned to the
students in the next lab period following
submission.
• The TA will keep the scores up to date in
BlackBoard.
The GTA will be responsible for determining a
final score and recommending a final grade to
the ULC based on the normal grading scale.
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Review of Lab Instructor
Responsibilities
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The TA is expected to ensure safety of all
participants.
• If you can’t do it safely or are not sure,
STOP. Never be a penalty for stopping due
to safety concerns.
• Secondary goal is to ensure safety of
equipment.
• Present safety video either using rolling cart
or laptop in rooms with projectors.
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
General Semester Schedule
Week -1
College TA training
Week 0 (partial
Weekweek)
0
TA Assignments
ULC Creates BlackBoard Sections
Week 1 (1st full week)
TA builds Syllabus
TA Takes FERPA Review and Sexual
Harassment Training
TA emails class via BlackBoard
Week 2
Lab Begins
Hand out syllabus
Show Safety Video
Weeks 3-5
TA Conducts Labs
TA Enters scores in Blackboard
Last week of classes
Final Exam
Student Evaluations
Final exam week
By Monday, Submit final Excel Workbook
ULC Enters Grades
Respond to any questions about grades
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
ECE Faculty and Staff
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Undergraduate Laboratory Coordinator - Dr. Timothy Burg
(tburg, 307 EIB, 656-1368)
• Responsible for overall lab procedures and quality.
• Assigns final grades
• Resolve any problems with students
Technical Support Manager - Mr. David Moline (dmoline, 221F
Riggs Hall).
• In charge of physical laboratories.
• Report problems with desks, windows, door locks, etc.
Instrument Technician - Mr. John Hicks (jphicks, 202 Riggs).
• Maintains analog and digital instrumentation in the ECE
Department and assists the students in the use of
equipment.
• Report problems with equipment.
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
ECE Faculty and Staff
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Dr. Darren Dawson, ECE Departmental Chair (105 Riggs).
• Final say on most matters
Mrs. Elizabeth Gibisch, Information Resource Consultant
(102C Riggs).
• Assists the Graduate Program Coordinator, maintains
records for the graduate program and prepares Graduate
School forms.
• Computer accounts for some labs (Apple lab).
Mrs. Lauren Mueller, Graduate Student Services Coordinator
(102A Riggs).
• Assists the Graduate Program Coordinator with Graduate
admission, initiates employment and prepares payroll for
graduate assistants.
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Laboratory Manuals
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http://www.clemson.edu/ces/departments/ece/r
esources/lab_manuals.html
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Lab Locations
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Lab Kits
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ECE 209 (Only):
Buy them from IEEE Student section through
Dr Reid in 207B Riggs (Email
BREID@CLEMSON.EDU , 656-5932 ).
$40 cash or check to IEEE.
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
B2SPICE Software
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B2SPICE for circuit simulation
Campus License
STEP 1. Download B2SPICE v5 demo version from the
following link:
http://www.beigebag.com/demos.htm#v5
STEP 2. Download full database from following link:
http://www.beigebag.com/files/ad_v5/PartsV5.zip
After downloading the zip file, first unzip it then copy it, and
paste in B2SPICE folder (e.g. C:\Program Files\B2 Spice A_D
v5). It will ask you to replace existing file, click yes.
STEP 3. Run your B2SPICE.
STEP 3. Get license file from the campus “Software” drive
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Lab Equipment Maintenance
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Report all problems with equipment or the lab
to the Instrument Technician.
When reporting on particular equipment
problems, the bench number, room number,
and the inventory number should be used to
identify it.
• (Note: The theft prevention number
(SC00390016-C) is on all equipment and
should not be used.)
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Lab Equipment Maintenance
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Small items, such as the resistor boxes and
cables can be left on the GTA's table to be
picked up and repaired, but should still be
reported on the lab report sheet.
Cable ends that come loose should not be
thrown away, as many can be reattached to
the cable.
NO FOOD OR DRINK IS ALLOWED IN THE
LAB! This includes the TAs.
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Lab Equipment Maintenance
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“But it was broken when I got here”
It is your responsibility to keep the lab clean
and report problems regardless of the source
of the problem.
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Interacting With Students
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This is a business relationship!
Students have the right to have their work
judged impartially – don’t do anything that
compromises this relationship.
Students have the right to privacy (FERPA).
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Administrative Issues
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You should have access to any supplies that
you need for your lab.
• Policy and Procedure for Use of Copying
Machines
– Located in 104 Riggs is a copy machine for graduate
assistant use only.
– Appropriate use includes copying the syllabus or tests
for distribution to the class. Copying of text books is
definitely not allowed.
• Dry erase supplies, markers, erasers,
cleaner, are available to you in Riggs 221-A
in the gray colored cabinet. Use whatever
you need for your class.
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Administrative Issues
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Desks
• Due to the limited available space, it may not always be
possible to accommodate each student.
• You openings in your laboratory room schedule to arrange
a time and place to meet students.
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Laboratory Room Access
• Each laboratory has a unique door code.
• Email the Technical Support Manager, Mr. David Moline, in
Riggs 221F for the code to you lab
(dmoline@clemson.edu).
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Grade Record Keeping & Reporting
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FERPA - The Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act
• Privacy laws restrict parents' access to confidential student
information
• Only the student can have access to their grades,
attendance, performance, etc.
• Parents may not ask you about the student.
• Don’t talk about a student with another TA.
• Don’t post grades (BB solves this problem)
• Contact Laboratory Coordinator for any issue that you feel
may involve the students right to privacy
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Grade Record Keeping & Reporting
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Scores MUST be reported to the students and
laboratory coordinator in a timely manner
• Use BlackBoard
• Some courses will require assessments of
ABET outcomes on a separate MS Excel
workbook.
• All final scores are due to the lab
coordinator no later than the Monday during
final exams
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Grade Record Keeping & Reporting
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Blackboard: http://bb.clemson.edu/
TA and ULC see all scores
Rows with each student are
automatically created
MS Excel Workbook
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
TA creates columns for
each assignment
Students see only their scores
Grade Record Keeping & Reporting
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You are free to adopt your own policies
concerning discussions with students about
final grades.
• You must answer students' questions
• You may require students to meet with you
in person
• You may request that students first email
their concern.
• Contact Laboratory Coordinator for any
issue that you cannot resolve.
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
Lab TA Evaluations
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Students will complete an evaluation of the lab.
before the end of classes each semester.
• Each TA will be responsible for picking up
his or her evaluation packets.
• ECE requires that each TA be evaluated in
each class that he or she teaches
• Will be reminded at the end of the
semester.
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
ECE Laboratory Teaching Assistant
Orientation
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Some items today specific to:
• ECE209
• ECE 211
• ECE212
• ECE273
• ECE309
• ECE311
• ECE312
• ECE372
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department
You are now a fully trained
teaching professional !
Electrical & Computer Engineering Department