Evaluation and Assessment | Teaching Practices |Teaching with Technology| Sample Course Evaluation Forms
Teaching Tools
2. Teaching Practices
2.4. Knowing Your Students
Questions to Ask on a Student Information Sheet
Name
To make name learning easier, you may also want to ask students to give information about how to pronounce their name if they think it is tricky. See page 15 for more about learning names.
Class
First-year undergraduates require special attention since they are adjusting to many new expectations in a new environment.
Major
Especially in required courses taken by students across the university, you can use information about students' majors to help you choose examples of greatest interest to your students. Adapting to your audience in this way is a potentially important motivational tool
Reasons for taking this course
If many students are taking the course because of a requirement, it will probably be important for you to pay greater attention to strategies for motivating learning and performance (e.g. stating the relevance of course material to students' future goals or other interests). If you are TA for an upper-level or graduate course, the students' interests in the course may tell you a great deal about their long-term professional goals.
Related courses-present or past
This information helps you to pitch your explanations at an appropriate level, to use familiar terms, and to build connections across the curriculum. If you find that students' level of preparation varies greatly, see pages 46 and 62 for more information about appropriate pace and level and about when students' background vary or are weak.
Some personal background
By asking students about where they grew up, their non-academic interests, what they like to read, or their professional goals, you can gain valuable insights about what interests them and what styles of classroom interaction they may prefer. Such information also gives you ways of connecting with students as individuals and suggests topics for small talk and classroom humor.
From Freeland, R. (1998). Collected Wisdom: Strategies & Resources for TAs. Pittsburgh, PA: Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence, Carnegie Mellon.
Adapted from the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence at Carnegie Mellon University
