In the fall semester of 2012, Lumari Pardo-Rodriguez took Professor David López-Carr’s course, “Geography 288: Six Things you need to know to achieve maximum success in Grad School,” which led to her writing an article for the UCSB GradPost, titled “Make your Research Marketable!” Lumari made waves on the GradPost again this year by participating in TA orientation as part of a panel discussing how to be a good teacher. The following is a write-up of the event for the GradPost by Torrey Trust, posted September 24, 2013:
On September 24, hundreds of new and returning graduate students filled the seats in Campbell Hall for TA orientation. Dr. Lisa Berry, an Instructional Consultant, welcomed the crowd and polled the audience about their teaching experience and confidence in their teaching abilities. Dr. Berry responded, “It looks like there’s a lot of experience, and still a lot more to learn.”
The theme of learning how to be a good teacher was prevalent throughout the general session and the workshops at TA Orientation. Chancellor Henry T. Yang shared his three tips for being a good teacher: 1) You have to be a good researcher and understand your content well, 2) You have to be a good lecturer, which means having a dialogue with students, knowing the students’ names, and making learning fun with humor, and 3) You have to be a good counselor during office hours, which requires exceptional listening skills, the ability to ask the right questions, and patience.
Equally important to the theme of learning how to be a good teacher was the theme of being knowledgeable about the campus resources and support services that can support TAs. A panel of experienced TAs emphasized the importance of knowing about the campus resources that are available to TAs and graduate students. These resources include: Instructional Development, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Office of the Ombuds, Campus Advocacy Resources and Education (CARE), Office of Equal Opportunity & Sexual Harassment, and Office of Judicial Affairs.
Editor’s note: Many thanks to Daniel Ervin for suggesting this article.
