Sections

​​Sections are an opportunity for students to further explore the content of the main lecture, and an ideal opportunity for active, participatory engagement. As a course head, you will guide conversations with your teaching team on how they handle sections. Some course heads are very specific about what they want Teaching Fellows and Teaching Assistants (TFs & TAs) to do. Some provide lessons or write out problems or discussion questions to be addressed, while others give their TFs a great deal of independence. Faculty and TF/TAs should meet regularly to determine what to teach and how to teach it while providing guidance and suggestions on section objectives for student progress. 

As a course head, you should encourage TFs and TAs to clarify the responsibilities of the roles of  and your expectations for section.This Teaching Team Handout can be used to guide your teaching team conversations.

Helping TFs & TAs Prepare for Sections:

As the course head, guiding your TFs/TAs through this process can help ensure alignment for students across sections. 

  • Establish clear lesson objectives. What have you and your teaching team decided that students should get out of each lesson? What should they know or be able to do as a result of the lesson? How does it connect with the larger course objectives?
  • Create a lesson plan. This lesson should provide ways for students to engage with each other while reaching the set objectives. Each section should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. All sections should have a clear introduction and agenda, so that the goals are clear to everyone. TFs/TAs should be intentional about presenting information through using the board, slides, handouts, and/or activities, focused on active student participation. Time at the end of section should be allotted for answering questions, summarizing or reflecting on the day’s activities, or reviewing the homework assignment.
  • Encourage active student engagement. Throughout section, instructors should include multiple opportunities for all students to engage with the material in a meaningful way. This can include having students spend 5 minutes responding individually to a prompt, working in pairs on a problem or a discussion with the whole class. (See our page on Active Learning for more ideas.)

Resources for TFs & TAs:

  • Head TFs: See our Head TF Resources page for more advice.
  • TFs/TAs: Preparing for and running a section is a multifaceted process. Planning involves working with your teaching team about the goals for the lesson, considering how course material will be presented, and deciding how students will engage with the content. Delivery involves the way you communicate the content and facilitate the session. See our Teaching Training resources for more information.