Overview
Although considered to be a requirement for obtaining a graduate degree, appointment as a Teaching Assistant should be viewed as a privilege. This is an opportunity for you to interact on a one-on-one basis with a group of undergraduate students, and requires that you develop and improve your teaching and communication skills.
The manner in which you teach reflects upon you, the department, and Texas A&M University. You should do your best to excel in the instruction of undergraduates. You are often their closest link to the university and the department, and your attitude and support can do much to enhance (or lessen) their educational experience.
You should never forget that an inadequately prepared or poorly motivated Graduate Teaching Assistant not only can convey a negative impression of the department and the university, but also can make the laboratory or classroom an unsatisfactory learning experience and can lead their students into developing poor skills and a flawed knowledge base. Your teaching effort could turn out to be the single most important factor affecting a particular student during that semester, and you should not take this responsibility lightly.
Guidelines
- You are required to teach a minimum of two semesters, normally within your first four long semesters. Most teaching appointments are at the GAT-3 level, although some may be at a reduced level if a student has supplementary financial support from a fellowship or scholarship.
- Graduate Assistant-Teaching (GAT) positions are for a full semester. Upon accepting a GAT assignment, you are required to complete your responsibilities for the entire semester, even if you complete all of your graduate degree requirements prior to the end of the semester.
- Non-teaching appointments, such as grading or instrument operation, that do not involve direct contact with students , do not normally count toward the fulfillment of this two semester teaching requirement.
- Each time that you teach a course for the first time, you may be required to enroll in the appropriate section of CHEM 697-Methods of Teaching. This may result in taking more credit units of Chem 697 than a student's degree plan requires. (Ph.D. requirements typically include only 1 credit (1 course) of CHEM 697.)