Guidelines for Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Teaching Experience

OVERVIEW

Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UTA) provide faculty with help in their courses, increase support for current enrolled students, and enhance more effective communication between instructors and students in the classroom. Significantly, Undergraduate Teaching Assistantships provide valuable experiential learning and real-world work experience to the students in these roles. The UTAs usually have been students in the class, bringing first-hand knowledge and experience from the student’s perspective. To make this  opportunity successful for the faculty, UTA, and enrolled students, this document offers suggestions to faculty for how to best utilize UTAs, including scope and responsibilities, selection, supervision, compensation, and handling conflict of interest.

The activities in which UTAs are involved  enrich  the courses they are supporting and improve the teaching-learning enterprise.

SUGGESTED TEACHING OR TEACHING-RELATED ACTIVITIES APPROPRIATE FOR UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANTS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

• Facilitating discussion groups or other forms of collaborative learning activities as part of regularly scheduled class sessions
• Facilitating student study sessions or tutorials in support of a particular class at times other than regular class sessions
• Assisting the instructor in secondary activities of teaching
• Developing course materials
• Developing and/or maintaining Canvas sites
• Non-discretionary grading (see below)
• Mentoring

UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANTS SHOULD NOT BE INVOLVED IN THE FOLLOWINg:

• Conducting regular class meetings, lectures, or seminars
• Grading papers or major exams
• UTAs should never proctor examinations or quizzes on their own, although they may assist the instructor during exams.
• Assigning final grades
• Overseeing research projects
• Work unrelated to class

GRADING

• UTAs who assist with grading can only perform non-discretionary grading that does not require content expertise and only under the supervision of the instructor or TA. For example, an UTA could grade from a key developed by the instructor, after being trained on the use of the key. The UTAs grading must be monitored by the course instructor or graduate TA. An example of discretionary grading that UTAs are not permitted to do is evaluation of essays.
• Before allowing UTAs to grade, any student identifiable information must be anonymized.
• If there is a graduate student in the course, their course material cannot be graded by a UTA.
• If using UTAs for grading, the course instructor should communicate to the class that the UTAs have limited authority for grading and that any disputes should be brought to the instructor. Current students need to know that requesting a re-grade for any assignment graded by a UTA will not penalize them in any way. Ideally the instructor should have a formal re-grading process outlined in their syllabus (i.e. have students in the course email them, explain areas of concern in the grading, and timeline for when students have to request a re-grade). Ultimately, grades are the responsibility of the course instructor.

FACULTY MEMBERS WHO ARE WORKING WITH UTAs MUST:

• Have some knowledge of the students beyond their class performance.
• Work with the students ahead of time to identify peer conflicts (see below).
• Meet with the students ahead of time to identify schedule conflicts.
• Clearly articulate the scale of credit or stipend related to effort (number of hours per week) at the outset of the project.
• Establish reliable lines of communication.
• Ensure that the UTAs receive appropriate training.
• Never require UTAs to prepare course material . Review regularly with the students any work they will be using in a study group or other activity involving students in the supported class.
• Meet with the student or students regularly throughout the term.
• Monitor UTA performance.

DIETRICH SCHOOL STUDENTS INTERESTED IN UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING EXPERIENCES OR ASSISTANTSHIP ROLES:

• Should be University of Pittsburgh Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences undergraduate students in good academic standing with a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
• Must have completed the course, or a similar course, with a grade of B or higher if the supporting teaching activity involves facilitating discussion groups or other forms of collaborative learning activities  for students in a particular course.
• Should expect to attend the lectures or other class meetings.

EARNING CREDIT OR RECEIVING STIPEND

An undergraduate teaching assistant should receive either credit through departmental courses or financial compensation commensurate with effort (i.e., the number of hours per week the student works on the teaching project).

Credit can be earned through registration for departmental undergraduate teaching experience courses or directed study courses and should be on the scale of one credit for three to five hours of work per week.

Alternatively, compensation should mirror the hourly rate for tutors in the Dietrich School.

The following examples indicate the relationship between the number of hours a student spends on a teaching-related assignment and credit or stipend. The stipend should be based on the established minimum wage for student employees over a 14-week period.

SUPERVISION AND EVALUATION

The course instructor holds primary responsibility for both the content and delivery of the course, as well as for overseeing the conduct and performance UTAs. In this capacity, faculty must approach their work with UTAs as a mentoring relationship. Regular meetings between faculty and UTAs are essential for providing guidance and feedback, as well as for gathering insights from UTAs about student learning and comprehension.

These meetings should be used to discuss course content, learning objectives, assignments, and relevant pedagogical strategies. Faculty should also implement a system that allows UTAs to report on their work outside the classroom, including office hours, review sessions, and observations about student understanding.

UTAs generally do not possess the same level of subject matter expertise or life experience as graduate teaching assistants. Consequently, course instructors must recognize this distinction and provide instructional materials and guidance with greater clarity and depth than would typically be necessary for graduate TAs. Failure to do so may result in UTAs being expected to independently master complex course content, effectively placing them in the position of students rather than instructional aides. This can impose undue time constraints and generate unnecessary stress and frustration for the undergraduate assistants.

All UTAs must be evaluated, regardless of whether they receive compensation or course credit. If UTAs are actively involved in the classroom, instructors may consider incorporating optional questions about their performance into OMETs. Alternatively, student feedback about UTAs can be collected through other means. Whenever feasible, feedback should be provided in written form so that UTAs have a documented record of their evaluation.

CONFLICT OF INTERESTS

Unlike graduate TAs, UTAs are part of the same social structure as the students they are interacting with in the class. This leads to potential conflict of interests that must be addressed. Instructors need to help UTAs understand and identify potential conflicts of interest. Potential conflicts of interest for an undergraduate instructional assistant may include, but are not limited to, a relationship with anyone in the class (i.e., current/former roommate, family member, friend, or partner), a student of particular notoriety in the course (i.e. student body president or student athlete), or graduate students in the course (i.e. an undergraduate student must not grade a graduate student’s work). The instructor should review the class roster with the UTA prior to the beginning of the semester to identify students who may present a conflict situation. However, students do not have to disclose why they feel it may be a conflict of interest. Once a student discloses a potential conflict of interest, it is the supervisor’s responsibility to manage that conflict. If the student is in the UTA’s discussion or lab section, they should not treat them differently than any other student or offer private tutoring outside of class