Before I walked into my first class as a TA last semester, I made a list of the attributes which characterized my very best professors (there were no TA’s where I went to school). Although the list got to be fairly long, the most important items were dynamism, the ability to generate productive discussion, and interest in the welfare and growth of the students. I made these three things my primary goals, and tried my best to meet them. But how do you translate these lofty ideals into practice inside and outside of the classroom?

The most important thing in recitation is to make the atmosphere a dynamic one so that students not only show up, but walk in the door prepared and eager for discursive combat. That often means changing things up with group work, debates, outside readings, or other pedagogical devices. To that end, I always send out my discussion questions 24 hours in advance, both to focus the discussion, and to make sure students have a chance to prepare their thoughts before they walk in the door. But maintaining a dynamic classroom environment also means staying focused, thinking on my feet, and striving to make recitation an interactive and cumulative learning process. It also means working hard to get the students to talk to each other and not just to me. The day they stop looking at me after every comment is the day I have successfully gotten the students to trust each other.

My responsibilities as a teacher do not end when I walk out the classroom door. TA’s at Penn, and particularly in my department, are often the only real academic contacts for undergraduates, and so I take my role as instructor and mentor very seriously. It surprised me at first to realize that students sought my counsel about things like careers and study-abroad decisions, yet I soon came to relish my role as an advice-giver as well as an instructor. At a school the size of Penn, I think it is easy for basically good students to get lost in the shuffle because they don’t have enough face-to-face time with teachers who take an interest in them. And not surprisingly, when you take an interest in students, they respond with better performances in class. It was truly rewarding to see the progression last semester of several timid and hesitant students who developed into some of my best students, in some small part, I believe, because I wouldn’t allow them to be satisfied with just getting by. Of course, this growth is not achieved only through sheer indulgence of students’ whims, but rather through an interactive and give-and-take process of prodding and learning.

No single ingredient, pedagogical style, or classroom gimmick can really characterize my teaching philosophy. Above all, I am committed to the students, to making certain that the tremendous sum of money invested in their education at Penn is met with an equivalent enthusiasm and dedication on my part. That means, among other things, staying on top of readings, taking close notes in lectures, sending out discussion questions before recitation, always being open to shifting things around a bit to meet the needs of the students, and being available outside of class. I make mistakes, of course, and not every recitation can be a rousing success, but my goal is to maintain, during every minute of class, office hours, review sections, and meetings, the energy and focus which my best teachers brought to their jobs. I have a long way to go, but I am committed to getting there.