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TO Responsibilities
Teaching Associates (TOs) within the Writing Program have two interrelated sets of responsibilities. One is to meet contractual obligations to the Program; the other is to work within the underlying educational philosophy of the Writing Program.
In accordance with the GEO contract, a full-time Teaching Associateship in the Writing Program is 760 hours over the course of 38 weeks (two semesters), which averages out to 20 hours per week for the academic year. Actual expenditure of times varies by semester, depending on whether the TO is teaching one section (13.3 hours per week) or two sections (26.7 hours per week). For payment purposes, however, the assignment is constructed to be 20 hours per week for the full period of the contract. In some cases, TOs request a one-semester appointment in the Writing Program; such contracts vary from 13.3 to 26.7 hours per week for 19 weeks.
Your specific responsibilities as a TO include:
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Teaching three sections of College Writing (or its equivalent) during the term of a year-long contract, or teaching one or two sections of College Writing (or its equivalent) during the term of a semester-long contract;
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Following the guidelines set forth in this Handbook for Instructors, including assigning specified essay types and texts;
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Observing at least two set office hours per week while classes are in session;
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Attending all required teacher training meetings, including the General Meeting each semester (see below);
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Participating in official course evaluations at the end of each semester; and
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Complying with University deadlines and requests (e.g., filing grades, progress reports from Disability Services and Athletic Services, etc.).
Failure to meet these responsibilities could result in contract termination (see “Difficulties Meeting Reappointment Criteria” on page 22).
Responsibility for Shared Curricular Goals
Working within the philosophy of the Program means adhering to the following pedagogical assumptions:
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Our students are writers; we should treat them as such, rather than as people who can't write or are poor writers.
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Our courses are based on respect—teachers’ respect for students and their writing and students’ respect for one another.
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Writing is the central and primary activity of the course.
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The most prominent and extensive reading for the course should be the students’ own writing in process.
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Reading of published writing in the course should come primarily from the required course textbooks.
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This course is about the academic essay. Although the course is also meant to help students use writing in the rest of their lives during and after college, the principal purpose of the course is to help students with the writing they will do at this University.
In order to enact the Writing Program’s philosophy, there are a number of concrete practices that we require of all our teachers:
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Have each student compile a semester portfolio that contains four substantial academic essays, each taken through a complete drafting process (the fifth essay, the Final Reflection, is discussed below).
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Assign substantive generative writing related to the essay units along with a variety of short in-class and out-of-class assignments.
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Teach each essay unit represented in the program syllabus, including: Inquiring into Self, Interacting with Texts, Adding to a Conversation, and TBA (a unit of your own design that meets the overall course goals).
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Have each student write a Final Reflection essay that serves as the final exam for the course. Meet with class during the official scheduled final exam meeting time.
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Make peer response groups central to the course by holding regular response sessions for unfinished drafts as well as publishing at least one class magazine of finished essays.
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Be sure to offer a substantive response yourself (in writing or in conference) to at least one draft of each essay in the four major units.
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Provide substantive and evaluative feedback on each final draft for each of the four major units.
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Hold one conference each semester.
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Use the required textbooks (Other Words: A Writer’s Reader, The Penguin Handbook, and The Student Writing Anthology) for the course.
Teaching Schedule
New TOs (those instructors in their first year of teaching in the Writing Program) will teach a 1-2 teaching load. They should assume that they will teach on a MWF schedule during their first year. Veteran teachers will teach a 2-1 teaching load, although they may request a 1-2. Veteran TOs may request but are not guaranteed to receive a MW or TTh teaching schedule. Our first priority is to try to ensure that there is no conflict with classes you are taking as a graduate student; other considerations (child care, other jobs, commuting) are secondary. During the semester you are teaching two sections, both sections will be scheduled on the same days.
General Meeting
On the Friday afternoon before the start of each semester, the Writing Program holds a General Meeting. All Writing Program TOs are required to attend. This is the only time during the semester that we gather as a Program. Important information concerning curricula, Writing Program policies, and other information crucial to the semester are discussed.
Next section: Required Teaching Training
