GUOLONG: That is Friday in one of the classrooms of Building
26, 11:00 AM.
MARZIEH: So I was quite nervous.
SHAWN: The first day is a little bit nervous for me.
CARLA: I was nervous.
I'm not going to deny it.
NARRATOR: Facing your students for the first time
can be a little scary, but it's also
an opportunity to establish that your class will
be user-friendly.
BILLY: I think the first day of class
really sets the tone for the rest of the semester.
NARRATOR: How can you set the right tone?
As they make their way to your classroom on the first day,
what qualities are your students hoping for?
BILLY: Being knowledgeable and understanding the concept.
ADRIAN: And you need to feel that you can approach them.
CHANDLER: Have just an air of confidence.
ADRIAN: Being easy to understand.
BILLY: And being enthusiastic.
CHANDLER: Being there, having a presence,
having a lesson plan ready.
CAROL: They're well-organized.
NARRATOR: That may sound like a lot.
Let's start with approachability.
ADRIAN: That is important that you feel accepted and welcomed
in the environment.
NARRATOR: Being approachable can be
as simple as facing the class and smiling-- even if you feel
like hiding behind your papers.
And making eye contact.
BILLY: Making eye contact just is a personal connection
to the person you are talking to-- the audience in general.
So students feel like the explanation you are making
is for them.
CAROL: It is an important form of communication
for them to do that.
It definitely holds the students' attention.
BILLY: In terms of international TAs, in general,
there may be some misunderstanding
here and there, but I think it's important to make
the students comfortable asking for the TA
to repeat any word or any sentence.
CAROL: I think at the beginning of the semester,
they should maybe say that it's OK for the students
to ask for clarifications if something isn't clear.
I think that's generally a good thing for all TAs
to welcome any questions.
ADRIAN: Show that you are open and you
care about the success of the students
that you are trying to teach.
NARRATOR: Enthusiasm is another way
to show your students your class will be friendly.
BILLY: Being enthusiastic and showing that you're actually
passionate about the material you
are teaching-- that also gives a little more comfortable
atmosphere during recitation.
CAROL: I think TAs who are excited about what they're
teaching-- or if what they're teaching
is very specific to their research--
you can tell that they want to teach it
and they want you to learn it because they're
very excited about it.
Then the student is probably going to be more engaged.
NARRATOR: And before any other quality,
students say they want knowledge,
but they're also confident you'll have it.
CAROL: I think I personally trust
that MIT has selected fine TAs to teach us the material.
NARRATOR: So on the first day, rather
than trying to impress the students,
stick with the simple explanation of why you are
a good fit to teach the class.
GUOLONG: I'm a third year grad student in the department of
[INAUDIBLE].
I'm working with Professor Oppenheim, who is also
the lecturer of this class.
NARRATOR: Students also want TAs to show self confidence.
CAROL: When I think of confidence in a TA,
I think of someone who is very-- they come off as, OK, I
know this material better than you,
and I'm going to teach it to you.
So often, I think TAs who speak not super fast and just pretty
articulate and slower, so that their point gets across,
usually I feel more sure that they're pretty
good at explaining things.
BILLY: The speed you have when you talk in a conversation,
just divide that by two.
And just because you're nervous in front of people,
the speed will increase either way.
So, speaking a little bit more slowly
helps a lot because you can also have the time
to think about what you're saying,
and the audience and the students you're speaking to
will have a better time understanding, especially
if pronunciation or if you have a certain accent.
NARRATOR: So, speed makes a difference
in how students see you.
What about volume?
SHAWN: In a big classroom, I definitely
have to remind myself that I have to raise
my voice a little bit louder.
NARRATOR: Speaking too quietly can also
give the impression of nervousness.
GUOLONG: This week's lecture focuses
on sampling rate conversion.
NARRATOR: A stronger voice projects confidence
and commands attention.
GUOLONG: This week's lecture focuses
on sampling rate conversion.
NARRATOR: Getting to the classroom early
can also help you to feel more confident, because you
can get to know the students before you start teaching.
And planning ahead not only makes
you feel more confident, it also makes
students confident in you.
CAROL: So, I think one TA that I had--
when I think of a user friendly class, I think of his class,
because every day he had his recitation planned
to the minute-- which is pretty ridiculous--
but it actually was very logical in a way that
helped the students learn.
So he would pretty much write the agenda on the blackboard.
Like from minute zero to minute five,
we're going to take a quiz.
And from minute five to minute 10,
we're going to talk about the quiz.
If they seem like they're well organized--
they have their papers in a nice, little folder--
I definitely look at that.
CHANDLER: Having a real lesson plan
and showing that there's going to productivity
in the recitations is important.
Having someone prepared shows that they
were thinking about us when we weren't in class.
NARRATOR: Finally, international teaching assistants
also stress preparation and planning
in their advice for a successful first day.
SHAWN: As an international teaching assistant,
we have some disadvantages probably
compared to native speakers.
But if we are prepared, if we show our enthusiasm
towards the subject, I think the students
will feel them as well.
CARLA: Just be prepared.
That's what speaks scores about you-- if you're very prepared.
MARZIEH: I went through all the notes, all the books that
are related to the course.
And I tried to prepare some good examples.
GUOLONG: I think for that class, I did over preparation
that if I discussed everything on my notebook,
it would take two hours instead of one hour.
So I think never running out of materials
seems another source of my confidence.
CARLA: I should be confident enough just
by the sake of being the TA.
You shouldn't be nervous because you do know more
about the topic than they do.
MARZIEH: It was challenging, but in a good way.
SHAWN: Get everything prepared.
Do your best.