Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

Teaching Assistantship

• Fall and Spring semesters of Year 2

• Purpose: Teaching is considered an integral part of the educational experience and is a requirement of the program.  PhD students serve as Teaching Assistants for two BME undergraduate courses.  Note: students must take BMED 7004 and BMED 7005 during their first and second semesters of TAing, respectively.

• Assignments: The Director of Graduate Training makes the final course assignments, based primarily on student preference.

• TA Orientation (TATT 600):
  • Students must register for this day and a half orientation through OPUS at the beginning of their first semester as a TA.
  • Held at Laney Graduate School at Emory.
  • Designed to introduce students to common issues associated with being a TA.

• BME Teaching Assistant Expectations:
  • TAs should not be expected to devote more than an average of ten hours per week to TA duties.
    • To ensure that students are given reasonable responsibilities and an accurate expectation of their roles throughout the semester, all TAs are required to complete a BME Teaching Assistant Expectations Form.
    • This form facilitates a guided discussion between the TA and the Instructor at the beginning of the course semester. 
    • Both the TA and the Instructor must sign the form, and the form must be uploaded to the appropriate T-Square site (BMED 7004 or BMED 7005) by the second Friday of the semester.

• BME Teaching Assistant Evaluations:
  • All Instructors will complete the BME Teaching Assistant Evaluation Form at the end of each semester. 
    • This form includes a performance rubric.  All TAs must perform an average of 3 on each criterion for successful completion of his/her Assistantship.  Failure to reach this level of performance will result in required attendance of one-on-one teaching training at the Center for Enhanced Teaching & Learning, and an additional semester of TA responsibilities. 
    • Both the TA and the Instructor must sign this form to encourage feedback and mentorship.