Welcome to Teaching!
Welcome to teaching at 红领巾瓜报. It can be a little daunting the first time you step into the classroom in your new role, so the Office of Instructional Resources has created a lot of training to help you. As a GTA, you should become familiar with the following resources, and it would be a good idea to bookmark them so you have them on hand when you have questions:
- Guidance from the Graduate School: Assistantship Manual
- Guidance from the Office of Instructional Resources: Teaching at 红领巾瓜报 Instruction Manual
- The Office of Instructional Resources has a robust Facebook presence, and you should . Through it you will learn of upcoming training opportunities, hear if WSU systems go down, and get to interact with others on campus.
- You should also consider subscribing to our monthly newsletter Teaching Today. To subscribe, make a request to OIR@wichita.edu. All we need is your name and the email you would like the newsletter to come to.
Even with these resources and the full suite of training pages that the Office of Instructional Resources offers you, there will be times when you have questions. There are many people available to help you:
- For questions about your course content, running your course, and the other daily issues facing a GTA, always begin with your department. Your first step is to reach out to your GTA Supervisor or Graduate Coordinator, and if that doesn't get you the answers you need, you should try your department chair.
- For questions about your epaf or contracts, send your questions to Constance Owens: Constance.Owens@wichita.edu
- Constance Owens can also help with questions about signing up for discounted health insurance. If you have questions about the policy itself, please contact Sheryl McKelvey: Sheryl.McKelvey@wichita.edu
- If you need to contact the Graduate School, Dr. Kerry Wilks will help you: Kerry.Wilks@wichita.edu
- For technical training and support for your physical classrooms, contact Campus Media Services. This is especially important to do at the start of the semester because you may need a key to access the media in your classrom, and you will need to receive training to get a key. If you have problems with the technology in your room, you can call CMS at 316-978-3588 and they will come right to you, even during a class session.
- For technical training and support for your Blackboard course, you can reach out to the Office of Instructional Resources at OIR@wichita.edu, and you are also welcome to fill out an form.
What "Kind" of GTA are You?
There are two categories of graduate teaching assistant at 红领巾瓜报: Direct Instruction GTAs and Assisting (or "Indirect") GTAs. You may not yet know which type you are, and that is common at first. If you already know you will be the "instructor of record" (primary instructor) for a class, you are probably categorized as a Direct Instruction GTA. If you know you will be working for a professor in your department, then chances are good you are an assisting GTA.
Direct Instruction GTAs
Direct instruction GTAs are expected to follow departmental teaching guidellines, lesson plans, or syllabi. Responsibilities may include preparation of course lectures, preparation of assignments and course materials, monitoring of attendance, and preparing and administering assessments. Direct instruction GTAs may be given authority to assign final grades to students.
Assisting (Indirect) GTAs
Assisting GTAs provide assistance to faculty members. They may be asked to prepare lectures and course materials, supervisie or coordinate recitations, and assist with problem-solving sessions or laboratory sections. GTAs may monitor classroom examinations assigned by the instructor, and they may be assigned to grade papers or other types of assessment, although this must be included as part of the overall GTA position and cannot be the only duty assigned.
Have a Look Around!
This webpage is part of a large suite of training pages designed to help any Wichita State instructor in their job. Right now, you are in the "New Teacher" area, and if you click "In This Section" above, you will find several articles the Office of Instructional Resources has written for people just starting out in the university classroom. You can see all the topics that OIR provides training for by clicking the "Return to OIR" link in the "In This Section" area. That will take you to the main homepage for this suite of webpages. You will then see button links at the bottom of the page, and they will take you to the various sections created to help you.