Teaching Methods in Computer Science

CSE 599 is a TA development class for incoming TAs in Computer Science and Engineering classes.

CSE 599 will help you during your first CSE TA experience. In this class, you will learn how to synthesize information and help others learn it. You will meet weekly with other first-time TAs and a mentor to share your experiences and practice key skills. And you will document your learning process by observing teaching and reflecting on your growth.

With the successful completion of this class, you will be able to:

1. Effectively carry out the basic roles and responsibilities of CSE TAs at UC San Diego.
   More specifically ...
   • Communicate with your instructor to align expectations about the specific roles and responsibilities of your TA position in a given quarter.
   • Effectively plan and deliver discussion sections with clear learning objectives and implementing active learning strategies.
   • Create and use rubrics to support efficient and replicable grading.
   • Maintain and safeguard protected student data.
2. Connect professionalism to teamwork and teaching and reflect on your development as a professional.
   More specifically ...
   • Reflect on your and your teammates' collaborations to assess what's working well, what can be improved, and how to improve it.
   • Identify priority areas for attention and improvement, and identify where efficiency can help decrease time spent on non-priority areas.
   • Connect skills and insights from your role as a TA to future career goals.
3. Describe several theories of how people learn and apply them to teaching and learning strategies.
   More specifically ...
   • Design specific, low-stakes activities to find out what students do and don't know.
   • Use techniques for creating inclusive communities for learning.