To: Professor Erika Paterson
From: Byung-Sun Park
Date: February 23, 2023
Subject: Proposal for Enhancing Continuous Support for Teaching Assistants at the UBC Department of Computer Science
Introduction
The teaching assistantship program has played an important role in delivering large undergraduate courses to students at the department of Computer Science at UBC. The main duties of teaching assistants include leading weekly tutorial sessions, holding office hours, invigilating exams, and grading assignments. As teaching assistants are involved in various parts of the courses, it is important that the department can provide regular support to help teaching assistants meet the expectations for quality teaching throughout the term.
Teaching assistants are expected to have knowledge of the course contents but may not always be familiar with the specific course logistics and teaching methods. Furthermore, most teaching assistants are graduate and undergraduate students who do not have a background in teaching. Although there are short training sessions in the first week and the performance review in the last week of the term, the department lacks continuous support programs for teaching assistants in the middle of the term.
Audience
The readers of the report will be Ms. Sharon Craddock, the HR Manager, and Ms. Michaela Butler, the HR Administrator, from the department of Computer Science who have the authority to act on the suggested recommendations.
Statement of Problem
Despite training sessions in the first week and the performance review in the last week of the term, there is no in-between departmental support program for teaching assistants to regularly review and improve performance and teaching skills throughout the term. The lack of regular support for teaching assistants throughout the term can result in inadequate performance and poor quality of course delivery. Since teaching assistants play an important role in Computer Science courses, continuous support throughout the term for teaching assistants is necessary to ensure the quality of the courses for students. This proposed report aims to suggest recommendations for implementing continuous support practices to provide regular feedback and opportunities for teaching assistants to improve performance and teaching skills throughout the term.
Proposed Solution
One possible solution is to implement regular one-on-one meetings between teaching assistants and instructors. These meetings can allow teaching assistants to review performance and address any concerns with the instructors. To make the one-on-one meeting process workable and cost-effective, teaching assistants can complete a survey prior to the meeting to summarize any concerns or questions to be discussed during the meeting.
Scope
The proposed report aims to investigate and analyze the current departmental resources and assess the feasibility and potential benefits of implementing practices to provide continuous support to teaching assistants at the UBC Department of Computer Science. Six areas of inquiry will be pursued in this proposed report:
- How are teaching assistants involved in delivering computer science courses at UBC?
- Why do teaching assistants need departmental support?
- What are the limitations of resources for teaching assistants currently available at the department?
- What changes/additions can be made to current departmental resources for teaching assistants to ensure continuous improvement of the teaching quality of the courses?
- What are the potential benefits of implementing practices to provide continuous support to teaching assistants?
- Will there be potential obstacles of implementing practices to provide continuous support to teaching assistants?
Methods
The primary source of data for this report will be surveys with students and teaching assistants from the department of Computer Science. An survey will be distributed to current and former teaching to investigate and analyze the status of current departmental resources available for teaching assistants. In addition to conducting an survey with teaching assistants, another survey questionnaire will be distributed to Computer Science students to gather various perspectives and experiences with the role of teaching assistants in the learning process.
My Qualifications
As a third-year Computer Science student at the UBC Department of Computer Science, I have taken twelve Computer Science courses since 2019 and interacted with many teaching assistants in these courses. Furthermore, I currently work as a teaching assistant for a first-year computer science course, leading weekly tutorial sessions and office hours to guide students through systematic program design techniques. My experiences as both a student and a teaching assistant at the department vouch for my qualification to write a formal report on the topic of enhancing continuous support for teaching assistants at the UBC Department of Computer Science.
Conclusion
Currently, the Computer Science department lacks programs to provide regular support for teaching assistants in the middle of the term. By pursuing the six areas of inquiry stated above, I can investigate and analyze the current departmental resources and suggest recommendations for implementing practices to provide regular feedback to teaching assistants throughout the term. Once you approve my proposal, I will start research right away.
References
“Policy for Teaching Assistantship.” Computer Science at UBC, 25 Sept. 2017, www.cs.ubc.ca/students/grad/awards-financial-support/policy-teaching-assistantship.
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