Music Department TA Training

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This wiki page is intended to serve as a syllabus for the TA training course of the music department (Music 280) and as a resource for teaching assistants containing helpful information and links.

Program of the Workshop

April 16, 2016 (Braun 102)

  • 09:00am - 09:30am: Breakfast
  • 09:30am - 10:30am: Workshop Overview and Teaching info/resources in Braun and CCRMA: undergraduate course requirements for music majors, keys for the TA office and copy room, piano locations, printers/copy machines/scanners, audiovisual cables and remotes, and the possibility of proposing and teaching your own course.
  • 10:30am - 12:15pm: Teaching workshop in Braun (2 students)
  • 12:15pm - 01:30pm: Lunch break
  • 01:30pm - 03:15pm: Teaching workshop in Braun (2 students)
  • 03:30pm - 04:45pm: Round table with recent graduates and faculty 1: instructor expectations and tips
  • 04:45pm - 05:30pm: Round table with recent graduates and faculty 2: overview of the academic job market
  • 06:00pm: BBQ at CCRMA + Party

April 17 (CCRMA Classroom)

  • 09:00am - 09:30am: Breakfast
  • 09:30am - 10:30pm: Teaching info/resources at Stanford
  • 10:30pm - 12:15pm: Q&A session - end of the workshop

Teaching Info/Resources in Braun and CCRMA

Braun

CCRMA

  • TAing Tips for CCRMA Courses
  • Cables/Gears
  • Audio/Video Equipment

Round Table 1: Instructor Expectations and Tips

Video available after the workshop.

Round Table 2: Overview of the Academic Job Market

Video available after the workshop.

Teaching Info/Resources at Stanford

General Resources

Required Trainings

The Stanford Honor Code

International Teaching Assistants

Teaching Workshop Guidelines

General Information

During the teaching workshops participants will teach a twenty to thirty minutes lecture or workshop that simulates a class that they will likely teach next year. We’ll solicit feedback from the audience and discuss what worked well and what could be improved using the Feedback Guidelines presented below. The goal of this feedback is not so much to evaluate your performance but to explore how the attendees experienced your class from the student perspective. Attendees who will teach a CCRMA class will do it during the Sunday morning session and attendees who will teach a music class will do it on Saturday.

We’ll ask you to complete the following tasks during your lecture/workshop:

  • set up lighting, chairs, and tables
  • distribute a paper handout
  • write on the blackboard
  • play an audio example over the loudspeakers
  • show a visual on the projector from a laptop

Depending on your TA assignments, not all of these tasks will come up when you actually teach; we just want to make sure you feel comfortable doing them if necessary.

Teaching Context (with sample answers)

The participants of the TA training course will be requested to answer to the following questions before the course in order to better prepare the teaching workshops:

  • Name of teacher: Romain Michon
  • What is the number and title for the course you’re simulating? Music 42 (Music History after 1830)
  • Describe the typical education level and musical background of the students in this course. Mostly sophomores and juniors; mostly music majors who have already taken the ear training and theory sequences.
  • How long is a typical class meeting in this course? Fifty minutes for the TA’s lectures
  • What is the topic for the class meeting that you’re simulating? Opera and musical theatre in the early 20th century
  • When does this class meeting usually occur during the quarter? Final third of the quarter (week 8 or 9)
  • What is the subtopic for the particular twenty minutes you’ve chosen? Alban Berg, Wozzeck Act I scene 2
  • When would these twenty minutes occur within the class meeting as a whole? The final twenty minutes of class

Feedback Guidelines

These are some guidelines that will be given to the students attending to the teaching simulation.

Here are some common student "types":

  • Student 1 is consistently late; misses some classes; is distracted and sometimes rude while in class; is indifferent to most of the material and is only there because the course is required.
  • Student 2 is talkative and enthusiastic; is always the first to enter discussion or answer questions; is eager to please; finds the material interesting but often doesn’t do the reading.
  • Student 3 has failed the course once and is retaking it; feels incompetent; finds the material alienating but really wants to do better this time.
  • Student 4 is quiet and well-behaved in class but disengaged; written assignments indicate a lack of absorption of the material.
  • Student 5 has an advanced musical background; feels ownership over the material; is used to getting good grades; doesn’t want to be the teacher’s pet and often hangs back from the discussion.
  • Student 6 is a good and well-behaved student; finds the material moderately interesting; participates occasionally; is mostly concerned about getting a good grade.

Please feel free to add any types that we've omitted!

Now, from the perspective of each of these student types, consider the following questions about the teaching simulation you attended:

  • How was the pacing?
  • Was it an appropriate amount of material, given the subtopic for the twenty minutes as well as the topic for the entire class meeting?
  • Which parts were particularly helpful?
  • Which parts were particularly interesting?
  • Which parts were confusing?
  • Which parts were boring?
  • Did the teacher seem accessible?
  • Did the teacher seem engaging/charismatic/inspiring?
  • Did the teacher seem offensive or off-putting?

Teaching Workshop Videos

Available after the workshop.

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