Setting, communicating, enforcing expectations

SETTING, COMMUNICATING, ENFORCING EXPECTATIONS
Identifying and communicating expected routines for the classroom in areas such as
Participation, assignments, and general classroom behavior.Redirecting behavior that isn’t consistent with expectations.

• Explaining that all classes have certain routines; sharing the ones relevant for the class and noting how they impact students’ success:
  • General:  use of electronic devices, doing work for other classes, entering late, where to sit, etc.
  • Participation:  speaking loudly enough to be heard by everyone in the room, raising of hands, reading prior to discussion, responding with respect to other students, etc.
  • Assignments:  procedures, time limits, grading standards, submission of late work, etc.
• Addressing behavior that isn’t consistent with expectations right away by means of verbal reminders, direct requests, and private conversations as needed.

• Communicates to students that TA is competent and can be trusted.
• Acculturates students to university classroom expectations.
• Reduces student anxiety and improves performance.
• Helps ensure that students’ behavior supports learning objectives.
• Increases teaching satisfaction and effectiveness.
  

EFFECTIVE QUESTIONING
Asking different types of questions:

• Various levels of learning or complexity
• Open-ended versus closed
• Planned and spontaneousMatching types of questions with appropriate structures for answering:
• Addressing individuals, small groups, or the class as a whole.
• Soliciting spoken versus written responses.
• Asking different questions of different individuals, or a single question that every person in the class takes a turn answering

• Avoiding the answering of one’s own questions.
• Allowing adequate time (at least 7 seconds) after asking questions.
• Redirecting questions by­ rephrasing, prompting, allowing the use of additional materials like notes, etc.
• Encouraging students to interact directly with each other by asking questions, responding, and elaborating on each other’s comments
• Troubleshooting the reasons for silence (e.g., lack of knowledge, clarity of the questions, students’ anxiety).
• Asking questions that get students involved with different types of cognitive skills (e.g., recalling facts, explaining a process, analyzing a case).

• Enhances and equalizes opportunities for participation.
• Allows students to independently make connections.
• Promotes analytical thinking.
• Creates multi-directional interactions ( i.e., TA to student, student to student).
  

CREATING TANGIBLE OUTCOMES
Creating durable reminders of what the students learned and/or did in the discussion section.

Creating opportunities for the session to yield some physical product that students can take home (e.g., notes, chart, concept map, essay outline).
The process of developing a tangible outcome to the session can be supported by:

• Posting an agenda to signal what students will be accomplishing that day.
• Using the board as discussion occurs to record, organize, summarize, and relate information/ideas. (This translates aural to visual and encourages students to take their own notes.)
• Making acknowledgements that highlight student progress toward class goals (e.g., “Great! The arguments you’ve just talked about can be used on your next paper.”).
  

• Creates a record that reinforces the insights that students gain as a result of the discussion section, and can serve as a guide for home study and test preparation. 
• Students can articulate what they learned.
• Increases perceived value of the session.

ASSESSING LEARNING (formative)
Gathering evidence to determine the extent to which objectives are being met.Distinct from formal summative assessments that are probably already part of the course (e.g., graded tests, papers, etc.).  

Providing opportunities for students to demonstrate competency and/or explore limits of knowledge. These can:

• Be planned, discrete events (e.g., no-stakes quiz, muddiest point, minute paper, directed paraphrasing, blind poll).
• Arise spontaneously (e.g., posing questions, listening to student questions and comments, monitoring body language).

• Creates a feedback loop; information gathered from assessment can inform future discussion sections.
• Activities used for classroom assessment can also give students the opportunity to practice and demonstrate proficiency.