Briefly describes two guidebooks, published by the National Center for Research to Improve Postsecondary Teaching and Learning, designed to assist both teaching assistants (TAs) and professors to improve instruction. Stresses the importance of course planning and writing effective syllabi. Argues TAs need to learn skills from their current…

This guidebook is designed to help graduate teaching assistants plan a college course more effectively and efficiently. It is based on information from instructors in community colleges, liberal arts colleges, and universities regarding how they plan their courses. Course planning considerations are presented, sequenced generally in the manner…