初級TA筆記｜如何做好學術課堂Presentation？

在多大讀書時，當TA的博士班朋友都說：「TA就是改改作業，最煩的是學生會來要吵分數，會寫信來問會考什麼，除此之外也沒什麼好忙的。」故，我信以為真。

殊不知現在要讀的York University，以訓練學生critical thinking聞名於加拿大人文學術圈，他們所有人文社會學科的學生在兩小時必修和選修課後，還要外加兩小時 Tutorial，維基是這樣解釋：

A tutorial, in education, is a method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of a learning process. More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture, a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete a certain task.

簡言之，就是TA需要在聽要TA課之外、改作業之外、回應族繁不及備載的學生Email之外、還要有完整的兩小時陪公子練劍。而這兩小時，是自己的兩小時：我可以決定讓課程怎麼進行，怎麼出作業折磨學生，在學術界，責任越大瑣碎之事越多，直到開學第一週我才意識到：

我需要也自己的課程大綱，外加設置自己的教學頁面！！

這簡直完全把我拖出死讀書的研究生大夢，整個週末都在忙這件事情。我怎麼會天真地以為這個週末能夠修改論文還是超前閱讀進度？

由於參加TA Workshop時，教授們再三提示最好和同團TA有所聯繫（一個超過200個學生的大班可能會有6-8個TA團隊），以免你出太多作業，學生比較後決定恨你。於是我只好加入我們的TA群組，親自體會「內卷」的真諦：

畢竟自己已經是英語非母語，口語上比不上其他TA能言善道，所以還是希望能夠在其他方面幫到學生，而我們這組的TA超敢出作業不說（有什麼理由讓學生額外的小論文，還三、四篇啦？），都會提供一些寫作業的方向，搞得我也只好不落人後的在週末寫出各種問問題、口頭報告、寫小論文的快速指南，導致讀書能量被大為消耗。還好目前我還神智清楚的沒有出什麼小論文作業，畢竟這也是要我批改給分，我給反饋意見，我哪來的時間啊我？

但因為已經寫了，這裡就來分享一下如何做好學術課堂Presentation？

以下是寫給大學生看的，如果是研究生當然可以參考，但請自行升級內容。

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Presentation Guidelines

Weekly presentations will be 12-15 minutes in length. Each presentation should cover all of the readings for a given week and be guided by the weekly lecture theme/topic if applicable. Presentations should include a brief summary of the readings; i.e., the author’s central arguments and supporting evidence and data. However, presentations will largely be graded on the extent to which the presenter compares and contrasts the various readings and engages critically with their content. Students are encouraged to also ask a question to foster subsequent discussion about the presentation material, though this is not required. Remember: tutorial presentations are intended to be an exercise in critical thinking, not a summary or description.

Some tips for a successful tutorial presentation:

1)    Pick a catchy title. This might not seem important, but it actually helps for thinking up linkages between the readings.

2)    Identify what the readings are about.

3)    Identify the main arguments of the readings.

4)    Identify the evidence and data sources readings cite in support of their argument. Be sure to note also the types of evidence (i.e., qualitative/quantitative, historical, statistical, etc.)

5)    Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the authors’ arguments. Is there something the author is overlooking or overstating?

6)    Consider the personal or real-world impacts of the readings. Did the readings impact your worldview on a personal level? Did they make you view some event or phenomenon through a new lens?

7)    Provide some concluding thoughts. Was there something you particularly liked or disliked about the readings, and did they help to inspire a question that you’d like to discuss with the tutorial group?

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因為不知道會不會變成一系列的TA經驗談(x)靠北文(o)，所以標題暫定初級TA筆記。

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