General Policies

One of the most important things that will make a successful laboratory experience for students is the attitude of the laboratory instructors. Many students who were initially apathetic to biology or particular aspects of biology have completely changed their attitudes when enthusiastic instructors present the materials.

Anything that impedes your performance as a lab instructor should be immediately brought to the attention of the course coordinators. The coordinators may pop into to lab sections throughout the week to check in and maintain contact with the students.

Code Locks

The code to access all spaces in Weniger will be announced at the beginning of the term during our first prep meeting. Please do not share this code with anyone other than current BI22x TAs. Please do not leave students unattended in laboratories. Lab code locks are changed every term.

Office Supplies

Copy machines are available in Weniger 137A and the Integrative Biology Department. In Cordley, the copier code is: 1211. The Weniger copier does not require a code. Please notify the course coordinators if materials are running low in the labs or in the vole hole.

Mailboxes

TAs will be assigned a mailbox in Weniger114C. This mailbox is for students to drop off assignments and other materials to TAs. The keys to the mailboxes are to be left in the lockbox in Weniger 137A unless you are unlocking your box. Please do not remove the keys from Weniger.

Student Lab Registration

Students may not transfer labs without express permission from Trudy Powell, the Biology Registration Coordinator (Cordley 3029) Email: trudy.powell@oregonstate.edu; 541-737-1730

Teaching Resources

Teaching resources are available on the Biology 22x TA Canvas site. After logging in, select BI22x GTAs from your Dashboard. This site is the TA teaching resource site for this course and includes sample quiz questions, tips and tricks for each lab, lab keys, master copies of pre-lab quizzes, and lab introductions for all labs as well as help documents including this handbook. Each week the you will be provided: an introduction outline, in-lab key, TA tips and tricks document, and example signature questions. These are updated annually and are typically posted by Thursday of the week prior to lab. Lab manuals and textbooks are available from the course coordinators.

Lab Materials

At the end of each lab, please note the status of materials and equipment. If it looks as if the materials are running low, please contact the coordinators immediately via email. Please do not leave notes in the labs or the office.

Teaching

Each 3-hour laboratory class period is taught by a team of two TAs, one TA taking the lead and the second assisting. Each TA will be a part of two such teams, taking the lead in one and assisting in the other. TAs are free to exercise their own teaching styles within limits, that being all Biology students need to be treated similarly so that they receive similar information and that they are assessed with the same standards among all TAs. An attempt will be made to pair TAs new to the Biology 22x program with a more experienced TA for their first lab during the week. This is to help you prepare for teaching labs. Both TAs are required to stay in lab until all students leave except in extenuating circumstances. If for any reason, you are unable to teach your lab section or will be late to teaching and have not scheduled a substitute (see below), please contact the course coordinators asap. TAs are expected to teach their assigned labs or find a substitute if too ill to do so.

Extra Credit, Study Sessions and Study Guides

There is no extra credit in BI22x (except as indicated in the course syllabus). Please do not host any extra study sessions or office hours and do not post study guides or keys without express permission from the course coordinators.

Sick Leave

TAs earn 8 hours of sick leave per term for a 0.40 FTE appointment. This leave can be used at any time for illness. For BI22x, the leave can be used for the following activities: lecture class time, laboratory teaching time, prep meetings, professional development seminar, and proctoring. It cannot be used for grading time or teaching preparation time except in extreme circumstances approved by the course coordinators. Sick leave can be used for the graduate employee or eligible family member in the case of mental or physical illness, injury or health condition, need for medical diagnosis, care or treatment of mental or physical illness, care or treatment of injury or health condition, need for preventative care, birth and adoption, and bereavement. If you are sick and wish to use sick leave please contact the course coordinators ASAP and we will find someone to cover your absence for you. If you cover for someone who is sick you will be paid “overtime” at a rate of $21.12/ hour worked.

Teaching Substitutions

As stated above, you are expected to teach your lab. However, if you have a conflict with your scheduled laboratory time due to a conference or other professional activity, you may switch labs with another TA. It is preferable that you switch during the same week. If you are going to miss your lead lab, you should first ask your assistant if they can lead the lab and then switch with another individual for the assist position or switch to their lead section. If you need to miss your assist lab, you should switch with another assist TA preferably in the same week. The policy is that you need to reciprocate all substitutions. If someone covers a lab for you, you need to cover a lab for them at some point or trade a comparable amount of grading time. The course coordinators need to be included on all correspondence regarding substitutions and informed of the final substitute arrangement. If someone takes your lead lab for you, you should still prepare the lab quiz (if applicable).

Professional Development/Teaching Seminar

TAs are required to perform 50 mins of professional development per week. The Professional Development Teaching Seminar with Dr. Adam Chouinard takes place on Monday at 11:00 am in Weniger 226. New TAs are required to attend seminar and may register for credit (IB512). Contact Traci Durrell-Khalife for an override to register. Retuning TAs that have attended at least one quarter of the seminar previously may elect to do a replacement activity (see professional development section for details). Additionally, each term you will do a peer or self-observation. This is your seminar experience to make up holidays where seminar is canceled.

Laboratory preparation

• The labs will be set up by the BI22x prep staff. Staff members work incredibly hard to make sure that everything is organized and ready for you to teach. Please always treat the staff with respect and gratitude. Set-up by the TAs will be generally limited to those preps that need to be done immediately before labs. In general, labs are taught back to back in all teaching labs (Weniger 247, 226 and 228). Unless you are the first lab of the day, the lab will not be available to you until 10 minutes prior to the start of your lab. Please be respectful of the other TAs and do not enter the lab until they are finished. Be prepared, however, to spend some time before lab putting teaching materials in order, writing information on boards, and checking to make sure everything is organized for lab.
• Each TA is responsible for ensuring that the lab is clean and back in order immediately after the lab section is done in consideration for the TAs and students that follow. Students will not receive points for a lab if they have not done the proper clean-up. Clean up signatures are incorporated in the lab manuals to enforce this policy.
• Please turn off AV equipment if you are the last lab of the day or if there is over 30 min until the next lab starts.

Monday Morning Prep Meeting

• Attendance is required at the weekly meeting on Mondays at 8:00 am sharp in Weniger 226. We will review and go through all the exercises for the current week’s lab and lecture. TAs are expected to read the lab and lab prep material thoroughly before the meeting. During the TA prep meeting, all TAs are expected to go through the entire lab using the worksheets as if they were students in the lab. Mentor TAs will circulate to make sure you understand the materials.
• Lecture materials should be reviewed and as time allows worked through as a student with your teaching team.
• Please notify the course coordinators if you need to miss a prep meeting. In your email to the course coordinators, please outline how you plan to prepare for the lab given your absence at prep meeting. Approval of absences is at the discretion of the coordinators.

Safety

• Read the Classroom and General Safety Powerpoint in the BI22x GTA orientation Canvas site
• Complete the Laboratory Safety Training here (only once every three years): https://oregonstate.bridgeapp.com/learner/programs/15
• Please download, sign and return form to the course coordinators via the GTA Orientation Canvas site (this only needs to be done 1 time) along with a screen shot of your completion certificate.
• Report any laboratory accidents--no matter how minor--to the course coordinators as soon as possible.
• Note that escorted rides provided by SAFE-RIDE are available for students after dark. The telephone number is posted on the bulletin board. 541-737-5000
• If you need to send a student to Student Health, make sure that they are accompanied by another student or your assist TA.
• All service animals must be approved by the course coordinators. Please send students with this type of request directly to coordinators.

Grading

• Laboratory Exercises - We determine participation in labs by taking signatures during lab (verify completeness and comprehension). TAs need to check each in-lab for completeness. You can either collect them or do this during class. If the in-lab is complete, students receive 2 points for signatures they earned in-lab and 2 points for the completeness. If the in-lab is incomplete, they receive 2 points maximum for their signatures. Return the lab material to the student either the next week or put in the Vole Hole the day after your scheduled lab during weeks that precede a quiz.
• Quizzes and Assignments-TAs are responsible for grading laboratory quizzes and assignments. Return the graded assignments/quizzes to the students by the next lab period. The course coordinator will provide rubrics and keys to all assignments and upload them in Canvas. Students will be doing several term projects and an outline of grading criteria is provided to the students in the lab packet. Turn in averages for each quiz to the curriculum TA (do not include 0s). The purpose is to prevent large discrepancies in grading standards among TAs.
• Skills Tests - TAs will be responsible for assessing student skill mastery for at least 2 skills per term using the provided rubric. These are pass/fail.
• Canvas Grade Book —TAs will be maintaining a record of all grades in Canvas (updated weekly). Records should be kept in good form as they will be kept as permanent records. We will drop the student’s lowest pre-lab and in-lab only, this will be done by the course coordinators. For specific information on laboratory points and grading, see below. The gradebook is pre-loaded in Canvas for you. See specific instructions for turning in grades to course coordinator.
• Students must be given individual grades. Although we encourage students to work together in groups, we give a single grade to each member of a group. Make sure that your students understand that they should never turn in work that is not in their own words or they will not be given credit and they may be reported to the Office of Student Conduct for Academic Misconduct.

Makeups

• Lecture exam makeups - The course policy is to discourage makeup exams. There are no early exams. If there are extenuating circumstances or if students wish to appeal this policy, they may contact the course coordinators.
• Lab quiz makeups - If a student misses a lab quiz, there is a single make-up opportunity on the Monday of the following week. Students need to email the course coordinators ASAP to make sure that they do not miss this opportunity.
• Laboratory makeups - Emphasize to the students the importance of attending labs. Laboratory exercises reinforce the material presented in lecture. Moreover, the student’s laboratory grade is based on completion of laboratory assignments that are turned in at the end of each lab period. During COVID-19 remote teaching we are offering asynchronous labs for those that need them. Ideally, these will be scheduled in advance (through course coordinators) but can also be used as a make-up laboratory. There are an extra four points built into the lab grading scheme so that student may miss one lab without losing points. However, they are still responsible for the content covered and can either review the material on their own or with a TA in the Vole Hole.

TA Workload

If you find that you are consistently unable to complete your required duties within the 17.5 hours available in a given week, please contact the course coordinators immediately. Your hours will fluctuate throughout the term but if you are consistently working over 20 hours a week this is a cause for concern and we will address ways to reduce the time you are putting in.

Mentor TAs

The mentor TAs assist with Monday lab prep meetings, support other graduate students teaching assistants and assist with the teaching seminar. The mentor TAS are a good resource for new and returning TAs of ideas, curriculum, problem solving, and general issues that may arise.

Undergraduate Teaching Interns

BI22x has an undergraduate teaching intern program. This program allows undergraduate biology students to act as laboratory assistants for one term. Each TI is assigned to one lab section and generally comes and participates as an additional instructor in the lab. TIs attend the Monday morning TA prep meetings to help them prepare for lab each week or attend an afternoon alternative (TIs only). If you have a TI scheduled in your lead lab section you will act as their TI mentor. As part of the internship, the TIs are required to lead one day of lab. This means that the TI will prepare the introduction and pre-lab discussion related to that material. The TI and their TI mentor should schedule the teaching date for the TI by week 3 of the term. The TI mentor is responsible for assisting their TI in developing teaching materials and reviewing the content of the materials prior to its delivery, as necessary. At the end of the term, the TI mentors will be responsible for evaluating and recommending a grade for their TI, an evaluation for will be provided. See additional information on TI Responsibilities.

Students with Disabilities

• You may have students with documented disabilities in your labs. Whenever possible, the course coordinators will address Disability Services (DAS) requests. If necessary, you will be notified by the course coordinators as to who the student is and what accommodations should be made. See the information below from the Disabilities Services Webpage. If students approach you about disability accommodations, please refer them to the course coordinators. It is possible that you will have note takers, transcribers or other assistants in the classroom who are bound by confidentiality must be accommodated. Please forward all emails about DAS accommodations to coordinators.
• There will probably be several students who will need additional time taking exams. These exams including lab quizzes will be proctored by DAS. If you receive a notification that you have a student has an accommodation for extra time, please refer the student to the course coordinators. If the student feels that they will need additional time, you will need to send the course coordinators or DAS (testing.services@oregonstate.edu) a copy of your quiz as early as possible to allow them to proctor the exam prior to the class period in which the quiz is given.
• If you plan to show videos, DVDs, internet clips, etc. that contain audio, please email disability.services@oregonstat.edu with the title, owner, and date that media will be shown in the classroom or the link if media is on-line.