Course Expectations

Read ThisUndergraduate Teaching Assistant Expectations

  1. Complete the UCF Volunteer Services Agreement Form and the required FERPA (Federal Education Rights to Privacy Act) training at least one week in advance of the start of the semester. The Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Acceptance Letter Download Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Acceptance Letter you received when you were selected to serve as a UTA outlines the specific details for how to complete these very important tasks. They are required for your service as an undergraduate teaching assistant.
  2. Contact the faculty supervisor who is teaching the course to which you have been assigned prior to the start of the semester to discuss your roles and your supervisor's expectations. Review the list of appropriate and inappropriate tasks outlined in the Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Guide. (Here is a PDF version of the Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Guide Download Undergraduate Teaching Assistant Guide.)
  3. Attend class sessions as required by the faculty supervisor. (Note: Some faculty may not require class attendance.)
  4. Attend meetings with your faculty supervisor as scheduled to prepare for upcoming responsibilities and to reflect on those completed during the previous week(s).
  5. Check the syllabus and plan of work weekly to ensure familiarity with the expectations and the time frame for execution. Good time management and communication with your faculty supervisor and the students with whom you are working are essential.
  6. Review content in advance to ensure adequate preparation for performing course-related roles and responsibilities outlined by your faculty supervisor.
  7. Respond to faculty supervisor correspondence/messages within 24 hours.
  8. Treat all students with respect and kindness and promote an equitable learning environment in which students feel safe and included.
  9. Demonstrate adherence to the UCF Academic integrity policies and expectations.
  10. While you were selected as an undergraduate teaching assistant based on exceptional work in the course, it's understandable that you may not remember everything you learned. If you have questions, ask your faculty supervisor for assistance.
  11. Reflect on your interactions with students with whom you interact, your level of preparation, and ideas for how you will continue to grow and improve in your role.

TipsTips for Success

The following expectations will help you be successful in this course. Please review these expectations carefully and follow them.

  1. Log in frequently: Log into the course several times each week to check the course content, announcements, conversations, and discussions.
  2. Stay on track: Keep up with the weekly readings and assignments.
  3. Don’t miss assignments: Please do not miss an assignment deadline. Refer to the course schedule/calendar to ensure that you submit assignments on time.
  4. Maintain Integrity: Remember that academic integrity will be appraised according to the student academic behavior standards outlined in 2020-2021-Golden-Rule.pdf (ucf.edu).

Notifications

Each semester, review your Notification settings to make sure you receive course information in a timely manner. Use this notification guide to make adjustments.

Instructor Communication

When you send a message to the teacher, please expect a general response time of 24-48 hours. The best way to contact the instructor for this course is by email (Gail.Kauwell@ucf.edu).

Generally, you will receive feedback on your graded assignments 1-2 weeks after the assignment has been submitted.

Conversations

Conversations will be part of this course. Make sure you:

  1. Check your inbox at least twice per week (more often is better).
  2. Be patient. Don’t expect an immediate response when you send a message. Generally, two days is considered a reasonable amount of time to receive a reply.
  3. Be courteous and considerate. Being honest and expressing yourself freely is very important, but being considerate of others online is just as important as in the classroom.
  4. Make every effort to be clear. Online communication lacks the nonverbal cues that fill in much of the meaning in face-to-face communication.
  5. Do not use all caps. This makes the message very hard to read and is considered "shouting." Check spelling, grammar, and punctuation (you may want to compose your messages in a word processor, then cut and paste the message into the discussion or message).
  6. Break up large blocks of text into paragraphs and use a space between paragraphs.

Zoom Etiquette

  1. Be on time for Zoom sessions.
  2. Zoom meetings are equivalent to face-to-face meetings. Your presence and participation are expected, which means your camera and microphone need to be kept on for the duration of the session. Failure to do so will count as an unexcused absence.
  3. Be sure that you are in a quiet setting without distractions and stay focused. Avoid multi-tasking and using other devices during the Zoom session.
  4. It's fine to keep a water bottle handy during a Zoom session, but avoid eating and chewing gum during our meetings.
  5. Never Zoom and drive. If this action is observed, for your safety, you will be removed from the class session and it will be counted as an unexcused absence.

Interaction Guidelines

Many of the "rules of the road" that apply to conversations also apply to the use of interactive tools used in this course. Use the following conventions when interacting with the instructor and fellow students:

  1. While using synchronous tools, such as chat and conferences, be located in a quiet, private environment. This will help you stay clear of disturbances.
  2. If you want to send a personal message to the instructor or to another student, use conversations rather than discussions (see Conversations). In Zoom sessions, use the chat feature, being sure to select the instructor's name. The default setting in Zoom is "everyone".
  3. Be patient. Don’t expect an immediate response when you post to a discussion.
  4. Respect each other’s ideas, feelings, and experiences.
  5. Be courteous and considerate. It is important to be honest and to express yourself freely, but being considerate of others is just as important and expected online, as it is in the classroom.
  6. Explore disagreements and support assertions with data and evidence.
  7. Be sure to post discussions on the appropriate discussion topic.
  8. Do not use postings such as "I agree," "I don’t know either," "Who cares," or "ditto." They do not add to the discussion, take up space on the Discussions, and will not be counted for assignment credit.
  9. Avoid posting large blocks of text. If you must, break them into paragraphs and use a space between paragraphs.
  10. For discussion assignments, deadlines for posting to and replying will be specified with each assignment. It is a good practice to always check the discussion tool multiple times during the week.

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