Teaching Observation

Who: Non-TAs

Deadline: By the end of the fall quarter

Estimated time: 1 hour

Why Junrui wants you to do this

  • For non-TAs, how can you possibly get better at something if you never actually practice it? Well, you can learn a lot just by observing and learning from how others are doing it!

  • For TAs, this is a good source of feedback on your teaching from your homies. Normally you only get feedback from your students at the end of the quarter (and mid-quarter if you're lucky), which is often too late to be useful. But because the economy is so bad and there're so few of you who got TA positions, you'll likely have several non-TA peers observing your teaching and giving you feedback throughout the quarter. How great is that? :)

What you need to do

If you are a TA...

Use this Google sheet to kindly provide information on:

  • Your name & email
  • The course you're TA'ing for
  • Are you leading lab or discussion sections?
  • The day(s) and time(s) of your section
  • The location of your section (Zoom link or physical location).

Once all of you've filled out the sheet, Junrui will consolidate the information and share it with non-TAs in the class. Please expect to receive emails/discord DMs from your fellow non-TA classmates asking to observe your section. Please be accommodating and let them know that you're happy to have them observe your teaching!

Other than that, you don't need to do anything else. Just teach your section as you normally would, and enjoy the extra company!

If you are a non-TA...

  1. Once Junrui has collected the information from TAs, he will share a sign-up sheet with you.
  2. Please pick one TA's section to observe. You can pick any TA you want, and any section that fits your schedule.
  3. Please reach out to the TA (via email/discord/in person) to let them know that you'd like to observe their section, and confirm the day/time/location with them.
  4. Put your name on the sign-up sheet next to the TA's section that you're observing. We want to make sure that no section is overwhelmed with observers!
  5. On the day of the section, use this TA observation form to provide constructive feedback to the TA on their teaching. Please be kind and respectful in your feedback. Put yourself in their shoes: what kind of feedback would you want to receive if you were the TA?
  6. After the section, please send a copy of your filled-out observation form to the TA.
  7. Finally, upload the filled-out observation form to the corresponding Canvas assignment--this allows Junrui to keep track of who has completed the assignment.