Students: Graduate Information
Description of Teaching Appointments
Each year the English Department employs a number of Graduate Teaching Associates (GTAs) as instructors of lower-division courses, mostly English 110 (First-Year English Composition). To hold an Associateship, a graduate student must be in good academic standing, enrolled each quarter for 9-12 credit hours, and demonstrate effective teaching.Workloads and Required Services
Most teaching done by GTAs is in English 110, a five-credit course, and most GTAs hold a 50% appointment, teaching three classes of English 110 during the year, one per quarter. Enrollment in English 110 is capped at 24 students. We estimate that this appointment requires twenty hours per week.Advanced GTAs may also have the opportunity to teach other courses, such as intermediate composition and English as a second language, work in the Writing Workshop, or tutor in the Writing Center. All M.F.A. students will at some point teach one section of introductory creative writing in their genre.
When the Department's overall teaching schedule permits, Ph.D. students who have completed English 903 (a teaching practicum) are given the opportunity to teach an introductory-level literature course. In addition, 3rd year M.F.A. students and Ph.D. students are sometimes given 50% appointments as teaching associates for large lecture courses, attending lectures and running recitations.
A GTA has full responsibility for teaching in the classroom, preparing daily lesson plans, grading papers and returning them promptly, giving final examinations, holding office hours, attending staff meetings, taking part in professional development activities, and performing the other tasks associated with teaching a university course. In addition, GTAs teaching First-Year English Composition at Ohio State for the first time will be expected to enroll in English 781, the course that grants GTAs eligibility to teach in the department. Part of this course (approximately 3 credit hours) will be held from August 31-September 15, with the rest of the course held during Autumn quarter (this portion will consist of weekly 2-hour meetings with the Director of First-Year Writing and peer mentors). Simultaneous with the pre-quarter portion of English 781, GTAs will also be expected to attend the First-Year Writing Program’s Workshop for Professional Development. Because the FYWP is committed to supporting ongoing professional development, GTAs are also required to participate in their peer-mentoring program during Autumn quarter 2004, meeting regularly with a small group of new GTAs and an experienced GTA in FYWP. GTAs with both previous college teaching experience and graduate coursework in Composition Studies may request an exemption from English 781 by contacting Wendy Hesford in the First-Year Writing Program.
Evaluation of Performance
Teaching performance is evaluated on a quarterly basis for the duration of their employment by the English Department. GTAs must submit copies of their course syllabi and student course evaluations to the Director of the Program in which they are teaching. While teaching in the FYWP, GTAs are required to administer the standard Program Course Evaluation form for English 110 (110L, 110C). The University Evaluation Form, the SEI, is optional but strongly encouraged. In Autumn quarter, new GTAs are visited by their peer mentor. During Winter or Spring quarter, a member of the FYWP administrative staff observes the classes of new GTAs. In each of these quarterly observations, GTAs will meet with the staff member before and after the visit, and those conversations, along with the visitor’s comments, will be incorporated into the quarterly class observation report. Each GTA will receive a copy of the quarterly report and the original will be filed with the FYWP office. A year-end report on the GTAs performance in English 781 from the Director of First-Year Writing will be forwarded to the GTA and filed in the FYWP office; a copy of the year-end evaluation will also be forwarded to the Director of Graduate Studies.Instructors of second-level writing and introductory literature courses have their evaluations reviewed by faculty course directors.
Stipends
The stipend for the nine months of the 2004-2005 academic year will be at least $11,395.Re-Appointment and Termination
If performance both as students and teachers is satisfactory, GTAs are normally re-appointed for the following year, up to a maximum of two years for M.A. students, three years for M.F.A. students, and six years (a total which includes the two years of enrollment in the M.A. program) for Ph.D. students. Students who have entered our program with an M.A. can be re-appointed for up to five years.An appointment can be terminated because of unsatisfactory teaching. The Director of Undergraduate Studies of the Department is responsible for ensuring a high level of teaching in all undergraduate English classes. Upon receiving evidence that a GTA’s teaching is markedly ineffective, the Director of Undergraduate Studies, in consultation with the faculty Director of the course in question, will investigate carefully and, if the evidence warrants, terminate the Associateship.
Summer Appointments
In recent years the Department has employed more than a hundred GTAs for each academic year and has been able to offer a small number of summer positions. Usually, Ph.D. candidates who have passed the Candidacy Examination get first preference for the summer positions; then Ph.D. candidates who have not yet taken the Candidacy Examination; then M.A. and M.F.A. candidates. Summer quarter tuition and fees, however, are waived for all students who have held Teaching Associateships for the preceding academic year.
