I. Labs in general

Labs meet once a week for 2 hours and 45 minutes and run daily from TAs are responsible for understanding content and logistics of labs, delivering short lectures of the content, and conducting demonstrations of lab techniques. There are research experiences built into the curriculum, so some research experience is desirable but not essential.

II. Expectations in general

TA qualifications/duties/expectations:  Lab TAs must be comfortable and fluent with the material taught in the corresponding General Biology Organisms to Ecosystems of Molecules to Cells lecture courses and also the additional material covered in labs that might not be part of lecture curriculum.  TAs must have had BIOL 2010 & 2011or the equivalent from a four-year University, and passed with at least a B.  First time TAs are strongly encouraged to attend the lab section of an experienced TA for at least the first semester for the review opportunity this affords, and to ensure they are fully versed with the content and logistics/management of the lab.  TAs circulate in the lab continuously, helping students with technical questions, making sure health and safety rules are being complied with, and answering content questions as needed.  TAs have significant freedom in determining how to present the material, but the curriculum is defined by the respective lab coordinator and assignments cannot be modified except in consultation with the coordinator.  On most days, there is a short “recitation” or orientation with the whole lab section (maximum number of students is 24), but the majority of the time, the TA works one on one or with smaller groups, so cannot rely on notes, which necessitates mastery of the material.

III.Specific expectations/responsibilities

• TAs must be able to attend in-person mandatory weekly meetings on Friday afternoons.
• TAs must be willing and able to dedicate 8-10 hours per week to their teaching responsibilities.
• TAs must be willing and able to teach at least two semesters.
• TAs must be enrolled in at least 1 credit hour of class for the entirety of the semester in which they wish to teach.
• TAs must be available for a minimum of one office hour/week or at student request and as afforded by the TAs schedule.
• TAs must attend TA orientation the 3^rd week of August, often coupled with a 5 hour GB TA orientation. This is effectively a full day the week before semester begins.
• TAs must complete all mandatory on-line Health and Safety, and HR/OIT trainings in a timely manner.
• TAs must answer student emails within 24 hours, and in a respectful manner.
• TAs must have patience, know their content and be dedicated to helping students succeed.
• TAs must maintain a Canvas shell for each lab section, and it is expected the TA will provide weekly announcements directing students regarding the topics to be covered in lab, to help student preparation. Lab coordinators create these Canvas sites, but the TA is expected to manage them on a day-to-day basis.
• TAs are expected to read and check every piece of content, including assignments, before making them available for student use.
• TAs are expected to grade student work fairly and equitably in accordance with the guidelines of the coordinator. All work must be graded or be given feedback within one week of it being submitted.
• TAs must communicate with the coordinator regarding any issues – student issues, personal issues – that affects their teaching. Without such communication, coordinators cannot provide support and assistance to the TAs.
• The TA’s primary responsibility is to make sure that health and safety polices are complied with including lab security.
• TAs must be available, extenuating circumstances aside, to teach all but one of their sections. One section can be covered by other TAs for ‘emergencies’ or for other academic opportunities such as conferences and meetings.
• TAs are expected to maintain a clean and tidy lab environment and ensure that the lab is in the condition it should be when a lab period has finished.
• TAs are expected to be able to respond to inquiries from the lab coordinator within 24 hours excepting weekends and holidays.

IV. Ideal candidate characteristics

• Enthusiasm for student learning and the material being delivered;
• Have good organization skills, be self-motivated, and reliable;
• Be competent with Google Drive and Microsoft Office products;
• Be an effective communicator;
• Exhibit willingness to be part of a teaching and learning community dedicated to acting as a team member; and
• Be familiar with the diverse UC Denver student demography and be committed to promoting an atmosphere of diversity and inclusion.B

For more information, please contact Dr. Erin Kelso for GB Molecules to Cells Labs and Dr. Paul Le for GB Organisms to Ecosystems Labs.

BIOL 3227 Human Physiology TA: The physiology labs meet once weekly for 2 hrs and 45 minutes. To the greatest extent possible, each TA will be responsible for 2 lab sections, and the coordinator will work to ensure the schedule works well with the TAs school, work, and life schedule. Phys labs run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursday, and there’s usually a morning lab (9:30 am to 12:15 pm), an afternoon lab (12:30 to 3:15 pm), and an evening lab (5:00 to 7:45 pm). Physiology TAs must have earned a C or better in BIOL 3227 Human Physiology or the equivalent. Strong preference is given to prospective TAs who’ve also excelled in a 4000-level physiology course, especially Exercise physiology, or Neurophysiology, as this gives the TA a deeper and broader perspective from which to teach the material. TAs have significant freedom in how they present the material, but typically they present a 30 to 60 minute lecture/recitation, followed by a related exercise that deepens and extends student understanding of the topic. Because many of the students taking Human Physiology are pre-health careers, they are motivated and dedicated students, and it is expected that TAs will have a sufficiently deep understanding to engage these students knowledgably. Additionally, students in Human Physiology are required to complete an inquiry-based semester-long research project. TAs must be able to mentor these projects in addition to teaching their lab section, so a strong background in primary literature and exposure to research and statistics is desirable.   

• TAs must attend a department TA orientation that takes place in mid-August.
• TAs must attend weekly TA meetings. These take place on Mondays, though the exact meeting time is negotiated each semester (it’s usually scheduled for some time Monday afternoon).

• TAs must grade weekly lab write ups as well as one quiz, two lab practicals (tests), and the final research project.  Grading must be completed and posted to Canvas in a timely manner.

• TAs must guide 24 students/section through each lab, with a combination of recitation and one-on-one assistance.

• TAs must be available for a minimum of 2 office hours/week, which are held in the physiology lab on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
• TAs must complete all mandatory on-line Health and Safety training in a timely manner. TAs must answer student emails in a timely and respectful manner.
• TAs must have patience, know their content, be EXCITED about physiology, care deeply for the integrity of their students, AND the other TAs.
• TAs must maintain a Canvas shell for each lab section, and it is expected the TA will provide weekly announcements directing students regarding the topics to be covered in lab, to help student preparation.
• TAs must communicate with the coordinator regarding any issues – student issues, personal issues – anything that affects their teaching, to enable the coordinator to provide as much support as possible.
• TAs are responsible for the safety of the students, as well as the security of the lab and the data acquisition equipment.
• TAs must be able to troubleshoot the lab computers and the BioPac data acquisition system, so prior experience in the lab and with BioPac is strongly recommended.

For more information please contact Alex Moss

BIOL 3241 Human Anatomy TA: The anatomy labs meet twice weekly, for 120 min on either Mondays and Wednesdays (MW) or Tuesdays and Thursdays (TR). If at all possible, TAs will teach 2 labs, back-to-back (for instance, you’d teach 7:00 am to 9:00 am, and 9:05 to 11:05 am on Monday and Wednesday). Lab sections are scheduled throughout the day, Monday through Thursday, so there are many options for scheduling.  TA qualifications/duties/expectations: Anatomy TAs need to know a LOT of anatomy. TAs must have had BIOL 3244 or the equivalent (upper-division, cadaver-based anatomy), and passed with at least a C. Students who’ve repeated anatomy make GREAT TAs, as they’ve seen the material more than once, AND develop compassion for students who are struggling in the class. TAs are also required to have taken BIOL 4644/5644 Advanced anatomy before (or during the first semester of) TAing. First time TAs are strongly encouraged to attend the lab section of an experienced TA for at least the first semester for the review opportunity this engenders, to ensure they are solid with the content. TAs circulate in the lab continuously, helping students master identification and understanding of the structures of the human body. TAs have significant freedom in determining how to present the material. On most days, there is a little “recitation” or orientation with the whole lab section (maximum number of students is 18), but the majority of the time, the TA works one on one or with smaller groups, so has no powerpoint or “cheat sheet” to work from, necessitating mastery of the content.

• ·         TAs must be available to set up 4 practicals – the set-ups happen from 7 pm to 11 pm on 4 Tuesday nights.
• ·         Mandatory weekly TA meetings take place at 12:30 pm on Friday afternoons and last anywhere from 1 to 3 hours, though rarely less than 1.5 hrs.
• ·         TAs must be available for a minimum of 2 office hours/week at student request.
• ·         TAs must attend TA orientation the 3rd week of August, often coupled with a 3 to 4 hour anatomy TA orientation.
• ·         TAs must complete all mandatory on-line Health and Safety training in a timely manner.
• ·         TAs must grade 4 practicals per semester, in a timely manner (within 1 week of the practical) and participate in a “grading meeting” during which all the TAs and the lab coordinator collaboratively decide how each answer option is graded.
• ·         TAs must proctor at least 2 lecture exams per semester (and sometimes 3). 
• ·         TAs must answer student emails in a timely and respectful manner. 
• ·         TAs must have patience, know their anatomy, care deeply for the integrity of the cadavers, their students, AND the other TAs.
• ·         Each semester, the humidors and lab are “deep cleaned”. All TAs are expected to participate in this extravaganza.
• ·         TAs must maintain a Canvas shell for each lab section, and it is expected the TA will provide weekly announcements directing students regarding the topics to be covered in lab, to help student preparation.
• ·         TAs must communicate with the coordinator regarding any issues – student issues, personal issues – anything that affects their teaching, to enable the coordinator to provide as much support as possible.
• ·         TAs are responsible for the safety of the students, as well as the security of the lab and the cadavers.

For more information please contact HANNAH.ANCHORDOQUY@UCDENVER.EDU

BIOL 3651 General Microbiology Lab Instructors & TAs: The microbiology labs meet twice weekly for 2 hours on either Mondays and Wednesdays (MW) or Tuesdays and Thursdays (TR). Lab instructors will be responsible for understanding the content and material to be delivered and have the ability to communicate this content in a professional and effective manner. Instructors/TAs must be comfortable fielding questions about the material as well as any student questions that may relate to the material, or at minimum, advising students as to where they may obtain answers to their questions. Furthermore, as the acting lab supervisor for your enrolled students, you will be responsible for mastering the techniques to be taught as well as be comfortable working with live organisms. As such, you must have had General Microbiology with a lab (preferably BIOL 3654 in the Department of Integrative Biology or an equivalent upper-division microbiology course with a lab component) and passed the overall course with a B or better. First time lab instructors/TAs are strongly encouraged to attend the lab section of an experienced TA for at least the first semester for the review opportunity this engenders, as well as seeing how to logistically deliver and tackle multiple lab experiments per lab meeting with your students (our labs often run multiple experiments at EACH scheduled meeting and must maintain consistency in content coverage and experiment completion with all other offered sections). As the instructor, you are expected to budget an hour prior to the start of your scheduled section for bacterial culture aliquoting and obtaining of all required supplies, materials, and necessary media in the required quantities (please note that you are NOT responsible for growing the necessary live culture strains, just for making the necessary student-related volume subsets). The overall lab setup will be completed prior to your arrival to the lab, but the preparation of your specific section supplies and live organism quantities and volumes will be your responsibility. Lab instructors/TAs will be given PowerPoints to present material from, as well as all assignments, assignment keys, rubrics, and lab exercises/experiments to be conducted throughout the semester. In summary, lab instructors/TAs will be responsible for the following (the list below is not inclusive of all responsibilities, but represents an overview of the most important responsibilities):

•  Be available for a weekly meeting with all lab instructors/TAs, coordinators, and instructors on record for ~1.5-2 hours/week (these meetings usually fall on Fridays)
•  Must be available for at minimum 1 hour/week to conduct office hours •
• Must attend a department orientation in August, followed by a separate General Microbiology orientation meeting
• Must complete all mandatory online trainings as well as an in-person training for EH&S purposes
•  Must be able to work with live organisms (our labs work with BSL 2 level organisms) in a sterile, aseptic manner to minimize contamination and maintain safety
•  Must be familiar with general microbiology media types and purposes
•  Must be able to arrive to lab one hour prior to schedule section start time to prep all required supplies, materials, and bacterial culture aliquots
•  Must be able to grade assignments given related assignment keys, rubrics, etc. • Must be able to develop two written exams throughout the semester
• Must be able to administer a practical exam throughout the semester
•  Must be able to follow directions regarding Canvas shell set up, and execute Canvas related tasks weekly
•  Must be able to answer emails in a timely manner (typically within 24-48 hours)
•  Must be able to maintain student records, student documents of concern, and overall grades (including providing averages of section statistics as needed, and at weekly meetings)
•  Must be able to communicate with the lab coordinator & preparator regarding any student issues, teaching issues, personal issues, or anything else that may affect your teaching experience
•  Must demonstrate academic excellence (specifically with regards to microbiology) as well as maturity given the above mentioned responsibilities
•  You are responsible for the safety of your students.

For more information, please contact the General Microbiology Lab Coordinator at Munira.Lantz@ucdenver.edu