CS 301 -- GSI Practicum


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Friday, September 23, 2005,  2:10pm-3:30pm, in 320 Soda Hall. 

Sharing your GSI experiences:
Discussion of isues that came up in your sessions.

Sign up for Mini-Presentations to be given in two/three weeks

If you have not yet handed in your team_of_2 composition, do it electronically.
There are 3 team slots type A (Powerpoint)
and 1 team slots type B (Problem/Question) still available.
(First come first served!)

A)  Good and Bad  PowerPoint Presentations (in 2 weeks):

Teams of two; give 3-5 minute demonstration of a really good or really bad PowerPoint presentation.
For inspiration, see:  The Gettysburg Powerpoint Presentation  Look at speaker notes on slide #6.
But I am sure you can do better/worse :-)

B)  Good and Bad  Exam Questions and Problem Sets (in 3 weeks):

Teams of two; give 2 examples each of a really good and a really bad exam question or homework problem.
Explain what makes your examples good / bad.


Today: "Closing the Feedback Loop"

Fill out the  Feedback Questionnaire for CS 301 - Week 4 

-- either on paper and bring it to class on September 23;
-- or on-line, and e-mail it to sequin before Sept. 23.

Preparing a Feedback Questionnaire -- Discussion


Videotaping a Discussion Session  ( Pushkar Joshi )

Videotaping is provided as a service to GSI's to improve their teaching.
It is not for evaluation or archival purposes, and it is important that the GSI, their helpers, and the students in the GSI's section are aware of this. Videotaping a section is a great way to get feedback about your teaching style and identify areas for improvement. 
However, even this seemingly simple task has a process.
To avoid common mistakes and to get the most out of the exercise,
please follow the steps in the Description of the Videotaping Program.

You may aslo want to read Watching Yourself on Videotape.

Forming the Teams of Three

Form teams of three. These teams will jointly attend and tape 3 discussion sessions -- one each of each member of the team.
During thse recordings they will cyclically rotate through three functions:   -- GSI / Session teacher -- Camera Operator / Taper  -- Note taker / Scribe

All videotaping has to occur in the next three weeks -- before October 15.
All groups must meet among themselves within 5 days after recording a video, discuss that particular session and fill out a Post-observation Goal Sheet.
Hand in those Goal Sheets  as soon as possible, but definitely before October 21.
At a later time, each team will make a summary presentattion for Pushkar and/or Carlo. ( 3 tapes, 10-15 min. each).

Form Teams of 3 before Tuesday 9/27/05: Send your team composition electronically to: ppj and sequin

Obtaining Equipment

Reserve your video equipment well in advance  from:  http://ets.berkeley.edu/ClassroomTechnology/
(It looks like you have to give them a week advance notice)
Familiarize yourself with the operation of the equipment (ask Pushkar, if necessary).

To Do: Before Videotaping

Before each videotaping session, the teams of three should meet for 15 minutes
and fill out the Checklist Before Videotaping.
so that the taper and scribe have an idea of how the sections are going,
what issues (if any) the GSI might want help with, and what the recording should focus on.

At the beginning of each videotaping session, the GSI should inform his/her class about the purpose of the videotaping,
and make it very clear that the videotaping is not for evaluation or archival purposes, and the tape will be viewed only by the GSI, the helpers and the CS 301 instructors.
It is a very good idea to have the Taper and Scribe set up the camera equipment a few minutes before the start of the section.

Discussion:

To Do: During Videotaping

The Camera Operator / Taper makes a vide recording in accordance with the guideline established in the pre-taping meeting.
The
Note taker / Scribe observes waht is going on and records his/her observations and impressions for use in the post-taping discussion.
The GSI / Session teacher give as normal a lecture/discussion session as possible.

Discussion:

To Do: After Videotaping

Immediately after the videotaping, the GSI should be given the tape to watch at home on his/her own.
Within five days of videotaping, the Team of Three (the GSI and the two helpers) should setup an hour-long meeting.
In this meeting, the helpers should find out from the GSI how the section on tape was in comparison to others.
The whole team should then discuss their observations and impressions of that session.
The may want to follow this Post-videotaping Checklist.
Make sure that the GSI is driving the discussion (holding the remote, stopping the tape when he/she wants etc).
The tape should be stopped several times throughout the session - don't just sit and watch the entire tape before starting the discussion.
Also, it's usually better to focus on one part of the tape (or the first fifteen minutes) rather than trying to get through the entire tape.

After viewing and commenting on the essential parts of the tape, identify some areas for improvement
-- if any (...but come on...there has to be at least one!) and list them in the Post Observation Goal Sheet.

Discussion:

Forms (mentioned above):

Description of the Videotaping Program
Pre-videotaping Checklist for Consultants
Post-videotaping Checklist for Consultants
Post-videotaping Goal Setting

Page Editor: Carlo H. Séquin