General ECE TA Instruction

A Guide on How to be a TA

 

  1. Get the homework locker combination and a list of the students in your lab(s) from the ECE secretary, make sure it’s current (verify students in your lab(s) and ask if they know anyone else who is planning on attending).

 

  1. Lab projects are most effectively taught starting with a lab overview.  With permission of the instructor, conduct a Lab 0, where you cover an overview of the project the students will be working on for the semester, and explain expectations for the Formal Report. You could discuss a related article to show the importance of the project, overview how the project is broken down into labs, familiarize students with the lab instructions and rubrics, show students where to find lab report checklists and templates, and write a sample Final Report introduction to help students understand writing expectations.  
    1. Resources: 

                                                    i.     Sample Writing Lab Agenda

                                                  ii.     Sample Article

                                                iii.     Sample Overview

                                                iv.     Sample Introduction

 

  1. Before conducting the lab each week, print out a copy of the lab instructions and verify that all equipment and resources are available and working properly by running through with the professor or lab technician.

 

  1. At the beginning of each lab, show students the equipment and how to use it and overview the objectives of the lab.

 

  1. Have students print out rubric and staple it to front of formal report before handing in (print a few extra for those who forget).  If there is no rubric, work with the professor to create one using the guidelines on the Rubric Website link.  A clear rubric will help you grade more consistently and help the students know what is expected.

 

  1. Collect lab reports at the beginning of the next lab (the week after the lab is completed).

 

  1. Grade according to weekly rubric, giving comments on content, grammar, and general flow.  Please see other links on guidelines for grading student papers.

 

  1. Return reports and lab books by the following lab. 
    1. Grading as per the rubric will give you solid reasoning for students who argue about their grade. 
    2. If you did actually miss something, you can adjust the grade for that section.

 

  1. Keep track of lab notebook and lab report grades on the list printed from the secretary.  The professor will request these as needed.