What were they thinking?

Who decided I'd be a good mentor figure, and what made them think that would be a good idea?

What it all boils down to (so far)

It seems like the #1 skill to learn during this whole ordeal isn't anything to do with ecology or research (necessarily). It's an elaborate game to teach you how to manage time effectively. I'm not losing, per se, but I'm certainly not at the front of the pack. Yet.

Semester 1 mid-term update!

So I've got half of my exams back (one) and my teaching evaluation done for the term so far.

So to recap, I'm taking Pedology (soil science), Foundations of ecology (discussion-based course, no exams) and Statistics for Researchers. I think I'm doing pretty well in all of my classes--no troubles in any of them, really. Discussion questions of mine are fairly regularly picked to get put up on the powerpoint presentation to be discussed (we email questions ahead of time, so that he can choose ones that will be good for discussion), and my stats average is around a 96 or so for my homework.

So today we got our first midterm back for stats, and I managed to pull a 92. I think the average was an 82 (I'm not sure, I cut out after the exams were handed back--I don't really attend my stats lecture normally), and only 25 of ~80 students got above a 90, so I'm feeling pretty good. I get my pedology exam back tomorrow, but it was pretty easy, so I'm not too worried.

The big one for me, I think, was my teaching evaluation. I've never taught before, as McGill had very few TA positions available within my department, and they gave precedence to Canadian citizens first. So when I got this Teaching Assistantship position for this term (with the ability to be re-appointed next term, depending on my marks and my evaluation), I was pretty happy. First, it gives me teaching experience, which is good since I want to remain in academia after I get my degree. But it also comes with a nice stipend ($1,400 or so net, for ~20 hours of work) and the biology department pays my tuition (barring student fees) and half of my health insurance premium.

So last night the lab coordinator for the biology department snuck into my lab and observed me teaching, and then watched me interact with my students for a bit and then would ask them what they thought of me while I was on the other side of the room from them and pre-occupied. I've got two labs, and my wednesday evening lab is my larger one, so there were more students for her to pull from, which also lends to having a wider range of how those students felt about me.

So in her estimation, I'm doing a pretty good job. I know the material, I explain what they have to do well, and I help them out and answer questions very well, and allow them to ask them. All I have to work on is varying my tone a bit more, and slowing down my speech, as well as getting more class involvement going. So I have to get them to answer more questions during the lecture part of my lab, and make it interactive. I can handle that.

My students (who I have no idea who she ended up speaking to) all gave pretty glowing reviews. The only negative thing they had to say was that I need to vary my tone a bit. One girl apparently thinks I'm the best TA she's got this term. Considering most of my students are freshmen and not really all that familiar with university yet, and that I'm one of the first instructors they really have to deal with, I'm going to take that as a pretty big compliment. They all seemed to think that I do a good job of not acting like I'm above them and that I'm extremely helpful and engaging during the lab.

So all in all, I'm feeling pretty good. I love where I am, and what I'm doing, and I honestly do wake up every day grateful that I get to do this. Getting grades back from a fairly difficult class, and then having a pretty good overall evaluation of my teaching skills has definitely re-affirmed my belief that I've found something I'm pretty good at.

Now to get my manuscripts out and published....