Assignments
MTH 599 — 2012/2013

General Requirements

Teaching

Each student is expected to participate in assigned teaching activities, which may include:

• Visiting the classroom of a mathematics (or closely related science) course taught by an experienced instructor, ideally including both lecture and recitation sections.
  Make sure to obtain the instructor's permission beforehand!
• Visiting the classroom of a fellow graduate student.
• Participation in selected activities offered by other units on campus, such as the Center for Teaching and Learning. Further details will be announced when available.

For some of these activities, a brief writeup is expected.

• For a classroom visit, include the name of the course, the instructor's name, and the date and time.
• Include a brief description of the content and format of the class.
  Did you observe any teaching strategies you might like to use in your own classroom someday?

Seminars and Colloquiua

You are encouraged to attend at least 2–3 research talks per term.
This is not a formal requirement during Fall Term 2012, but may be required in future terms.

• Colloquiua or research seminars within the department are good choices.
• Colloquiua or research seminars in other departments (or at other institutions) may also be used, so long as they have significant mathematical content.
• Talks at conferences are also acceptable, again so long as they have significant mathematical content.

Fall 2012

Weeks 8 & 9

Our final meeting in Week 10 will be devoted to a discussion of what you wish you had done differently as a TA — and how you plan to handle that issue next term. (There is no class meeting in Week 9.)

Please write a short paragraph about at least one such issue and your plans to deal with it, and be prepared to discuss your responses in class. Please bring your written responses to class; there's no need to email them to me.

Weeks 6 & 7

No assignment.

Week 5

Due 10/31/12:

Our guest speaker in Week 5 will be Robin Pappas, Assistant Director of the Center of Teaching and Learning. She has asked that students prepare for her presentation as described below:

As the term moves from the shared enthusiasm of Week 1 to the anxiety and fatigue following the first midterm, what happens in the classroom can shift in unexpected ways. What was originally working may no longer be effective; what hasn't worked well from the start may become difficult or obstructive for both the course/recitation leader and the students. For the seminar on 10/31, we will consider factors that contributed to this shift and identify ways of realigning your sections to promote the best learning environment possible for the rest of the term. To prepare for this conversation, please brainstorm about and write down responses to the questions below. These will be used as the basis for our discussion

• What behaviors (for good or for ill) have crept into class that weren't (as) evident before mid-term?
• What changes have you noticed in students' study skills or levels of preparedness for class? What patterns have you noticed?
• What strategies have you tried thus far to maintain the motivation and concentration levels in the students? Which have been most successful? Which have been less successful? For those that haven't worked, what factors contributed to their inefficacy?
• What have you wanted to try in the classroom or in any other interaction with students) this term but haven't? What has held you back?
• How has your process of preparing for class changed so far? What is your routine? What data do you have that indicate the process is effective? What data do you have that point to possible areas for change?

Please bring your written responses to class next week; there's no need to email them to me.

Week 4

No assignment this week.

Weeks 2 & 3

Due 10/16/12:

Observe at least one recitation taught by another graduate student.

• If possible, please observe a recitation taught by a fellow GTA working for the same instructor and course.
• If possible, please observe a recitation taught by a first-year GTA currently enrolled in MTH 599.
• You can find schedule information here.
• Please send a brief writeup to me electronically (roughly 1 paragraph; plain text rather than an attachment strongly preferred) and be prepared to comment on your observations during class.

A later assignment will be to observe an instructor (your own if possible), and/or a more experienced GTA. Feel free to perform such additional observations at this time if desired, and to include them in your report.

Week 1

Due 10/1/12:

Send an email message to me at tevian@math.oregonstate.edu.

• Include basic information about yourself, such as where you completed your undergraduate degree, what you hope to specialize in, and what you hope to do when you finish at OSU. Also let me know whether you are a GTA, and if so for which course and instructor. Feel free to add any further information you wish.
• Please send a copy of your message (or a separate one should you prefer) to David Finch, Chair of the Graduate Committee, at finch@math.oregonstate.edu.