ECE TAs

Meeting Notes and Slides

Winter’24 TA Meeting Updates:

11 January:

We had Prof. Payman and Stephanie joining us on Thursday (1/11/24) at ECE 403 from 1 – 3 pm to impart valuable tips, share insights, and address any queries that TAs had. This gave them an excellent opportunity for direct interaction, to voice their doubts, offer feedback, and gain valuable insights.

Key highlights of the meeting:

  • It is crucial to establish expectations and engage in a discussion with your instructor at the beginning of the course. The form shared by Stephanie holds significant importance and should be treated as a contractual agreement to mutually discuss and agree upon the assigned tasks. Avoid blindly signing off on what the instructor has filled in.
  • The hours spent in lectures also contribute to your 20 hours of TA work. Essentially, any task related to the course you are TA-ing that consumes your time is considered part of the 20 hours.
  • Tailoring your teaching approach based on the type of students can enhance effectiveness. For instance, graduate classes may expect a more in-depth explanation and application rather than just understanding concepts or providing answers.
  • In courses shared by ECE and CSE (like 474), if the teaching faculty is a CS or CS-affiliated professor, TA selection is handled by the CSE department, not ECE. Therefore, ensure you check the faculty for the quarter and apply accordingly.
  • If you find yourself working below 20 hours a week, it’s acceptable for some weeks of work to exceed 20 hours (especially during grading) to maintain an average of 20 working hours.
  • When sending out personalized TA mid-quarter surveys, please inform the instructor to avoid any potential confusion.

 

Spr’23 TA Meeting Updates:

14 May:

We have the last TA Meeting for Spring’23 this week on Thursday 18th May between 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM in Room 403. Please do make it if you haven’t before. In addition, this meeting will have one or two fun activities. If you weren’t able to make it to the show and tell meeting last time, this would be a great opportunity to bring out your talent and show it off!
If you are interested to be featured on the ECE Department TA website, please fill up the below form if you are interested to talk about your experience. The deadline to fill up the form is 18th May, 5 PM PST. 
I look forward to seeing all of you one last time during the last TA meeting!
If you have graders who help you in your course and who are interested to be TAs in the future, please feel free to invite them to this meeting!

27 Apr:

We had an eventful meeting last week with Prof. Hameed. We came up with an idea of a show and tell if everyone is up for it!
It will be happening during our next TA meeting on 2nd May, from 12:30 to 2:00 PM. Please fill up this signup sheet if you are interested to be part of it!
Don’t be shy, you can bring literally anything you have worked on/created/proud of! This is your chance to show your hidden skills and talent to the ECE TA community!
Deadline to sign up: Sunday, 30th Apr, 11:59 PM. 

Mar 27:

Here is the planned schedule. There can be minor changes to the date and time depending on everyone’s availability.
3 Apr 2023 (Monday) Week 2 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM ECE 403
21 Apr 2023 (Friday) Week 4 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM ECE 403
2 May 2023 (Tuesday) Week 6 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM ECE 403
18 May 2023 (Thursday) Week 8 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM ECE 403
To communicate and connect with the TAs in the department outside of these meetings, I have created a Slack channel. This channel will be informal and you can share memes, fun events, tips for better time management, grading methods, etc. I have sent an invite to the TAs but in case you didn’t receive it, click on the invite link below.

Win’23 TA Meeting Updates:

22nd Feb:

We have our last TA Meeting for this quarter tomorrow, 23rd Feb 2023. We will have Prof. Sep Makhsous joining us to help you with any concerns related to TA-ing that you would like to discuss.
If everyone is down for it, we can watch a short movie or an episode or two from a TV Show that everyone prefers. (All suggestions are welcome!) Not to forget, as usual, we will have food and beverages.
Send in your suggestions via the Slack Channel or reply to this email.

10th Jan:

Here are some updates/announcements for Week 2. Apologies for the long email but since some of you weren’t able to attend, here are the main points we discussed during the TA meeting.
  • We had the first TA meeting on 9th Jan. The slides are on the TA website and the link to the recording is here.
  • If you haven’t filled up and signed the contract yet with your professor, now is the best time to do so. Request your professors for a 15-minute meeting to talk to them about the expectations they have from you.
  • If you are leading lab sections in your courses, try to build rapport with the students by letting them know what the expectations of each session are.
  • If you are holding office hours, professors have noticed that TAs face fatigue. Talk to the students and let them know how you plan to hold your office hours, what the format would be, and what areas you will be focusing on.
  • If you are grading for the first time, ask for an active grading session with your professor and other experienced TAs in the same course (if any). Ensure that the grading stays consistent across the TAs in the course.
  • I will be sending out When2meet links to TAs at 2xx, 3xx, 4xx, and 5xx levels to meet with all of you and check in for concerns.
  • I am available via Slack/Email in case you need office hours from me.
  • The next TA meetings are planned and I sent out a poll on Slack to check if these dates and times work for most of you. Please vote so I can make a decision to change the dates and times as per everyone’s availability.
  • The TA meetings are not mandatory. We always have TAs walking in and out during that time. You are not expected to stay the whole time. These meetings help TAs gather teaching techniques, connect with other TAs, learn about opportunities, and also learn to set expectations. Also bonus, we almost always have snacks, food, and coffee!

Archive (past quarters resources)