Engineering 190 - Professional Responsibilities of Engineers
This position and job description is subject to change without notice by the University of California, the Department, or the Faculty.
This position and job description is based on a 10 hour per week position.
Course Information
Lecture: 3 hours per week
Discussion: 1 hour per week
Usual number of TA's: 3 per quarter (depending on number of sections)
Requirements
Graduate student with a degree in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering. Must have taken the course or equivalent. Preference will be given to those who apply by March 15 for following academic year. All domestic applicants applying to the MAE Graduate Program, with a GPA of 3.5 and above will automatically be considered for this position.
General Tasks and Responsibilities
Note: These are estimates for planning purposes. Actual schedules and totals will vary.
TA is in charge of several one hour long sections in which students make short oral presentations on engineering topics before the TA and 10 to 12 fellow under-graduates. These presentations may be video recorded with the TA setting up the video equipment and acting as camera operator. The TA does not do any lecturing, but must be articulate in the English language and capable of intelligently criticizing these oral technical presentations. TA will prepare a written critique of each speech to give the student. TA will also review the written comments of the students in the class who are also providing a critique of each speaker and prepare a critique of these comments.
Weekly Tasks - hours per week
Lead discussion sections: 4
Attend TA meetings: 1
Preparation: 2
Grade oral presentations: 3
Quarterly Tasks - hours per quarter
No quarterly tasks: 0
Average total hours per week (estimate)
[Weekly total + (quarterly total/10)]: 10
Supervision: Faculty/Lecturer in charge.
TA Office Hours: TA's may hold office hours, or they may answer student questions via email.
Description of Procedures and Policies
The faculty member teaching the course is the primary supervisor of all TA's. Problems, concerns suggestions, or questions about all course aspects or policies - content material or references, grading practices, individual student needs, make-up policy, etc., should be directed to the faculty member in charge.
Methods, Times and Procedures of Evaluation
All TA's will be evaluated during their last discussion section of the quarter using the departmental student survey form. The faculty member in charge will also evaluate, in writing, all TA's at the end of the quarter. Student evaluations will be available for TA review in a reasonable amount of time. Evaluations by the faculty member will state clearly the basis for the evaluation, i.e., two classroom visits, numerous student comments, personal observations of teaching or course related activities throughout the quarter, etc.
Special Circumstances
TA's for this course are expected to enroll in MAE-396 (Teaching Assistant Training Practicum), which meets one hour per week. The purpose of this course is to provide instruction on teaching and grading in conjunction with ENG-190.