R. Siegel
January 14,
2001
Microbiology and
Immunology 201
Teaching
Assistantship
Application Form
Dear Potential TAs -
Thank you very much for your
interest in TAing the M&I220B course.
Below I have listed some background
info and a series of questions. Please
do not use the
available space as a guideline as to how much you should
write.
Please be patient as it may be a
while before I can go through and evaluate all the applications.
Best
wishes, Bob
Background
information:
You are all well-aware of the
tremendous amount of work involved in TAing this course.
In the past, I have tried to make
use of TAs primarily as content and pedagogic experts rather than clerical
assistants, (though the latter is sometimes hard to avoid.) I hope to continue this policy in the coming
year.
We will continue to improve the
quality of the syllabus and of Microbe.
Some of this will be administrative improvements; much of it will focus
on enhancing the content.
A lot of the work will actually be
completed in spring and summer quarters in preparation for the course.
I hope to greatly increase the
amount of web related material available to the students, particularly in
conjunction with the CPCs.
I also hope to add to the
supplementary material in the appendices, including an alphabetical index and a
high content factoid section.
Although there will be a lot of
flexibility in the roles of the TAs, several things will be required:
§
Helping to
write and grading the placement exam
§
Helping to
write and grading the final exam
§
Helping to
write the make-up exam
§
Helping to set
up and take down the parasite labs on days when Dr. Basch lectures
§
Teaching a
weekly review session
§
Keeping track
of the student homework assignments
§
Acting as an
effective liaison between the students and the faculty
§
Anticipating
student needs with regard to the class
§
Helping to
update, correct, and improve the curricular materials including: Microbe, CWP,
and the syllabus
§
Helping with
class setup on the days when Dr. Siegel lectures.
I expect TAs to be self-motivated
and to anticipate, detect, and correct any problems that might interfere with
the students' ability to master the course material.
Please note that a 25% (or 50%) TA
is expected to put in a minimum of 10 (or 20) hours per week or a total of at
least 100 (or 200) hours... NOT including class time. Although I hope you will enjoy and learn from sitting in on the
class, you will not be required or even expected to attend.
*****
Application questions
1) Describe how you
would like to spend your time as an M&I 220B TA in order to most
effectively enhance the course.
2) Describe specific
ways in which you would contribute to improving the course reader.
3) In addition to
the reader, propose as many ways as possible to improve the course for next
autumn. Be as specific as possible.
4) What did you like
most about last year's weekly TA review sessions and end-of-the-quarter
reviews? Can you think of ways in which
you might enhance those sessions in the coming year?
5) What is your
availability to work on the course during spring, summer, and autumn
quarters? (Please specify what other
commitments and obligations you will have during those quarters.)
6) Describe any
public health experience, computer skills, or other areas of expertise that you
will bring to the course.
7) What teaching
experience have you had?
8) Please list 1-2
references who can comment on your teaching (preferably) or research.