Teaching Assistant

Hours Today - 3 1/2 Hours Total - 53 1/2 I had A block first this morning. It was their last chance to work on their projects during class time. On myProctor, it said that the project was due today. The gallery walk isn't until tomorrow but it says that it's due on Monday because A block doesn't have class on Tuesday. This confused a lot of them. I tried to explain this when I could. The problem is that you explain it to them and they say it makes sense, but then five minutes later they're asking the same questions again. Then, I had extra help in the projection room starting at 6:15. Everyone left by 7:30 and then I stayed a little longer to clean up. There were paintbrushes that needed to be washed and then I threw away some random scraps of paper on the table.

  Hours Total - 50 (2 hours on Sunday from doing extra help) Weekly Reflection I felt like this week I got a lot better at grading essays and giving feedback. I started this week by going over C blocks essays again to add more feedback. A block also had their essays due on Monday so I felt like by the time I had finished adding more feedback to the other class I was more prepared to be more thorough and give more feedback and edits in my first look through rather than needing to go over it again. What I understand now more than I ever did before after having gone through this process is how subjective grading can be. Factors like mood, energy, the time of day, and the order in which the essays are graded can all affect the outcome. It is easy to unknowingly compare the current essay you’re grading to the previous one or two that are the freshest in your memory and grade it relative to those rather than comparing all essays to the same standard. You can go over the same essay several di

Hours Today - 4 Hours Total - 48 5/20 I didn't have any classes today. I spent most of my day in the theater working on a pair of shorts I started earlier this week. Then, I went to the cast party cookout that Charlie hosted at Davis for lunch. I got back to my dorm in the afternoon and started reading The Marrow Thieves. I read for a total of four hours. I took breaks while reading. I’m really glad I decided to read it because I normally read non fiction books so this is a good change from that.

5/19  Hours Today - 3 and 20 mins Hours Total - 44 I had both A and C blocks this morning. This was their last time in the projection room working on the projects until their next class when it was due. Both classes did not need a lot of help so I mostly sat in the back and supervised. A few students did approach me with questions. I helped them but I did not go around the room and ask everyone how they were doing because it seemed like everyone knew what they were supposed to be doing. I stayed for an extra twenty minutes after the last class left to clean up the materials. I made the terrible mistake of letting people leave before the entire room was clean. I learned that you can't just let them go when they clean up their own spot. You have to bar them from the door and say no one leaves until it is clean. I also cleaned up some paint that got on the table which there was a surprising amount of. When I was talking to Ellie later, she told me that some of them may not have been i

 5/18 Hours today - 4 10 mins Hours Total - 40 hours and 40 mins I only had C block today during the second to last class. We met in the projection room again to use the arts and crafts supplies. It seems like everyone in C block now has a good idea of what they want to do for their projects. I mostly just sat in the back and occasionally helped people find things because they all seemed good on their own. I met with Ellie after during E block on the library to go over the grades for the essays. She had reviewed A blocks essays and had some revisions and questions before we published the grades. I had finished all except for three of C blocks so we went over those. I found it much easier to add more feedback this time. We decided I would have extra help in the Fowler common room today, tomorrow, and Monday since Ellie won’t have another extra help before the capstone is due. I wasn’t expecting anyone to show up but towards the end there were about five people. It ended up going longer

 5/17 Hours Today - 2 1/2 Hours Total - 36 1/2 I only had one class block today. I had the A block class first block. We met in the projection room to work on their art projects for the capstone. Most of them seem confident in what they want to do but a few of them are still struggling to come up with ideas. I walked around and asked people what they were doing. I tried to focus on those who looked like they were struggling the most to think of something. I also helped people find materials they were looking for. I went back to my dorm after and continued grading A blocks essays for an hour and a half.