ENG 598 TL

Assignment: Interacting with Students

Scenarios:
1. You are one of two TAs this semester for your advisor’s course, a 400-level elective
with 25 students. The first of two midterm exams was Monday, and now it’s
Thursday. Your advisor told you and the other TA, another grad student in your lab,
that they expect the exam graded and returned within one week. Neither you nor
the other TA have communicated yet about grading, but you know they have a
conference paper deadline next Tuesday.

Answer:
First, I would like to talk to the other TA about the deadline for the grade
submission. If he is available and can do the grading, we will try to set up a goal that
can help us to do the task efficiently. If he is not available due to any reason, we will
discuss it with the Professor to extend the deadline. For instance, one of the TAs of
a course had a deadline for his research work last year. So, we discussed with the
Professor and were able to extend the time limit for the grade submission. It helped
us to do our work more efficiently.

2. You are one of seven TAs for an introductory circuits course with 400 students.
During lab in the third week of the semester, a student asks why their Canvas
message to all the course staff hasn’t gotten a response yet. The student will miss
lab in several weeks due to a university-sponsored trip, so they sent the message in
the first week of class to get the absence approved and plan for making up the lab.
You vaguely remember seeing the student’s name in a Canvas email digest that you
quickly deleted, but no one has mentioned the student’s message in the weekly
course staff meeting.

Answer:
I would thank him/her for reminding me of such an important issue and apologize
for not responding soon enough. Then I will discuss the matter with the other TAs
as well as with the Professor. I will let them know that I deleted the email without
knowing what it was about. Then I will let the student know about the decision
made by the course staff so that they can join the trip without any worry.
Last year, I asked a question through canvas but didn’t get any response. Then I
talked with one of the course TAs, and he immediately talked with the course staffs
and resolved my issue.
3. You are a TA for a large, 100-level course that uses an online Q&A forum for peer-
to-peer and TA-to-student homework help. The course instructor encourages
collaboration on homework, which is graded for completion. You see the following
student post and student answer.
Question (Anonymous student 1)
I’m having trouble with problem 5 on HW #2. I thought I got the first step right,
but now I’m stuck:
[screenshot of student’s scratchwork]
Any hints?
Student Answer (Anonymous student 2)
Maybe pay attention in lecture next time? This one’s quite simple if you showed
up.

Answer:
I would like to reply to both students.
To anonymous student 1: Great! You are halfway there. I am positive that you can
solve the problem if you can review the related lecture notes again. If you have any
questions regarding the lecture, I can explain them to you during our next office
hour. Best of luck!
To anonymous Student 2: You can give him a hint or direct him towards relevant
materials which can help him to solve the problem. In this way, it will help you to
develop your ability to collaborate with each other.
Sometimes negative comments can lower our self-esteem. In one of my courses, I
asked a question in the Canvas discussion, and I got a negative response from a peer.
But the course TA was very understanding and help me to overcome the situation
with a thoughtful reply.

4. You are the head TA for a course with 800 students, 20 lab sections, and 10 TAs.
Each TA grades the weekly lab reports from their two sections. Two students,
friends with different lab sections, neither of which are yours, come to your office
hours. The students complain that one of their lab reports was graded far more
harshly than the other.

Answer:
I will tell them to talk with their respective TAs about their dissatisfaction with the
grade. In the meantime, I will discuss the matter in the weekly course staff meeting
and ask them not to grade harshly since it will demotivate the students towards
study.
 In one of my courses, the TA was a bit harsh with the grade. Eventually, most of
the students were graded poorly. When we talked with the Professor, he discussed
the matter with the TA and helped us to get a good grade. It helped us to gain
confidence in our ability.

5. It is the last week of the semester, and a student emails you, their discussion section
TA, asking for an extension on the course project because the due date is the same
as a term paper deadline in one of their other courses. The course syllabus states,
“Project extensions may be granted by the instructor on a case-by-case basis.”

Answer:
I will advise the student to provide me with any relevant proof of his/her claim.
Then I will discuss the matter with the Professor and try to come up with a decision
that would be helpful for the student.
It is very normal for a student to have multiple deadlines in the last week of the
semester. We, as an instructor, can help them to deal with such situations. For
instance, I had several final exams and project submissions in the final week of the
last semester. I talked to one of the TAs showing the dates of other exams. He was
very considerate. He talked with the Professor and extended the deadline for my
project submission.