University of Virginia, Teaching Resource Center
(August Teaching Workshop)
About this course: I led a 90-minute session entitled “Teaching the First Days of Class,” in the University’s August Teaching Workshop (8/22/07). This workshop is designed for new faculty and graduate teaching assistants, and was attended by 300 people. (This small group session was capped at 30 attendees).
About this document: Since this workshop is open to the entire university, this session drew participants from a wide range of departments (everything from Engineering to Slavic literature). However, participants gave uniformly positive evaluations at the end, and their comments suggest that the workshop met my goals of reducing nervousness and stimulating “big picture” thinking and planning. Participants also praised the format and delivery of the workshop: 26 out of 30 students mentioned either the interactive nature of the session, the presenter’s approachable manner (enthusiastic, friendly, etc.), or both.
See also videoclips from this session.
The complete compilation of evaluations, as provided originally by the Teaching Resource Center, is also available as pdf.
