CS302, Fall 2002, Prof. Frank Vahid
Tips on Running a Lab Section
UCR CS&E is proud of its extensive use of scheduled laboratory hours.
Our students get excellent hands-on training, in addition to learning
computing principles and theory. One of your key duties as a TA is
to run these lab sections smoothly. Below are some tips. However, be
aware that the faculty member teaching the course is ultimately the
boss -- he/she may override any of the following tips, and the tips
may not apply to all courses.
- Meet -- Set up a regular meeting of the TAs, ideally including
the faculty too, and perhaps even any graders. Even if you don't think
there's anything to talk about, still meet and discuss how things are
going. Communication is extremely important in any technical endeavor.
Don't underestimate the helpfulness of communication -- you never know
what you don't know. It is better to overcommunicate than to
undercommunicate.
- Plan ahead -- Begin preparing the lab well in advance; ideally,
before instruction begins. Make sure the software is setup, that
tutorials are in place, and the first lab assignment or two are ready
to go. Make good use of the first week of lab. TAs are the key to an
organizined, enjoyable lab experience -- for both the students and
the TAs.
- Solutions -- At least one of the TAs should work through
lab assignment solutions BEFORE the assignment is posted, to work out
any problems with the assignment. A key frustration for students is
having an assignment changed after it's been assigned -- this teaches
students to wait until the last minute to begin an assignment. We want
to reward them for starting assignments early, not punish them :-)
- TAs and sections -- The assignment of TAs to sections is
a scheduling convenience to ensure all sections have AT LEAST one
TA available. There is NO REQUIREMENT that TAs ONLY cover those sections
to which they are assigned. A professor may change the scheduling,
perhaps use some of his TAs to cover more lab sections while using others
to cover lecture or grading, in any combination desired. Furthermore, at
times, having two TAs in the lab may make sense. One may be more
knowledgeable in a certain area than another TA, and thus could help
introduce a topic. Or maybe something must be turned in, so having
two or even three TAs check students off at the end of a lab section
may make sense.
- Running a discussion section in lab -- We utilize lab sections
to hold both a discussion and to give time for programming. Many
CS courses at other universities have only the discussion, held in
a classroom -- this part is important! A typical discussion involves
a 15-20 minute presentation on the whiteboard by the TA, questions being
answered, and then sending the students to work on the computers.
Students should learn that the first 30 minutes or so of lab will
be discussion only -- they should not be on the computers at this
time. Have the students move their chairs up to the whiteboard
during discussion time -- don't let them sit at the computers, because
they will inevitably begin checking their email or surfing the web.
If they are concerned about reserving their computer, have them put
their books at the computer first, then move to the whiteboard.
Students need to learn in all their courses that the first portion
of lab time is DISCUSSION TIME.