1. Attitudes and Expectations

2. Introduction We are constantly making judgments about other people. We may form these judgments without the other person uttering so much as a word. We use external information such as clothes, facial expressions and body language.

3. Attitude of the Instructor and What Your Students Expect of You “The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind.” -William James Your attitude towards teaching and towards your students will influence your students’ attitudes towards the class and towards you.

4. Attitude of the Instructor and What Your Students Expect of You You will want to communicate the following things to your students (either implicitly or explicitly): Demonstrate that you genuinely care about them and that you want them to do well in the course. You are knowledgeable of the subject matter.

5. Attitude of the Instructor and What Your Students Expect of You Professionalism. Have a pleasant demeanor. Dress nicely. Treat students with respect. Get there on time. Show that you are enthusiastic about teaching and that you enjoy it. Communicate effectively. Make yourself available outside of class. Give feedback on their performance in the class.

6. Attitude of the Instructor and What Your Students Expect of You Flexibility/valuing students’ opinions. You are in control of the class and foster a comfortable learning atmosphere. You are well prepared and organized. You ask and answer questions.

7. Attitude of the Instructor and What Your Students Expect of You You DON’T want to communicate the following things to your students: You don’t cover the material sufficiently. You embarrass them in front of their classmates.

8. Attitude of the Instructor and What Your Students Expect of You You don’t care about teaching. This is often done implicitly through lack of preparation, slow return of graded material, lecturing from the book, not being on time for class, sloppy appearance, etc. If you send the message to your students that you don’t care, they won’t care about the course either.

9. Attitude of the Instructor and What Your Students Expect of You You are their best friend. You are their worst enemy. You are unaware of your audience. You assign things thoughtlessly. You think you are a stand-up comedian. You use words like “trivial” and “obvious.”

10. Attitude of the Instructor and What Your Students Expect of You Remember: The first few classes set the tone for the entire semester. If you are not well prepared for the first few classes, this sends the wrong message to the students about your attitude towards teaching and the class. First impressions are lasting impressions.

11. What You Can Expect from Your Students Timely completion of assignments. Courtesy, politeness, respectfulness. Some involvement in the class. Academic honesty. Level of professional distance. Many of them will require additional help from you.

12. What You Can Expect from Your Students Many students are freshmen. You should tell them that in high school, most of the learning goes on in the classroom, but that in college most of the learning goes on outside of the classroom. Students come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Apathy on the part of some students.

13. What You Can Expect from Your Students Many students are focused on their grades rather than on learning. They seek to be efficient in the sense of achieving the best grade with the least amount of work. Many students will not spend a lot of time on your course. A Penn State survey suggested that 2/3 of the students study less than 15 hours a week.

14. Additional Comments to Foreign Graduate Students The typical American student may be very different from what you’re used to. Students from your countries most likely have a much stronger background in mathematics.

15. Additional Comments to Foreign Graduate Students Most students are from Pennsylvania or surrounding states and may have difficulty understanding instructors with a foreign accent. “If you are organized, if you speak up, if you treat students with the respect that you would desire from an instructor and if you show some enthusiasm for what you are doing, then students will forgive a lot.” (Krantz)

16. Additional Comments to Foreign Graduate Students Write everything you want the students to know on the board in an organized fashion. Immerse yourself in the language as much as possible. You cannot lecture the entire time. Students may be less disciplined than what you’re used to.

17. Additional Comments to Foreign Graduate Students Many students come in with very high grades from high school. Many students become angry, upset, and/or shocked that they will not be getting an A in your course. Talk with other TA’s from your country about the differences they have observed and about their approaches to these situations.

18. Closing Remarks We must remember to place ourselves in our students’ shoes from time to time and try to see things from their perspective. If you are not willing to put time and effort into the course, then don’t expect your students to either. Remember that you are a role model to your students of how an educated person should behave. Conduct yourself in a manner worthy of emulation.