Brown Bag Teaching/Learning Seminar #3
Michael Keynes on a National Teaching Assistant Conference, and Linda Martin on a local calculus one

For this Brown Bag we have a split bill: reports on two quite different mathematical expeditions. For a start, we have Michael Keynes, who summarizes his experience as follows: The Sixth National Conference on the Education and Employment of Graduate Teaching Assistants was held from Nov. 6 through Nov. 9 this year. The biannual conference focused on changing graduate education. I attended this conference and went to three and a half days of talks on various subjects, such as reformation of TA training, use of technology in teaching and pedagogical development, and the loss of able undergrads from Math, Science, and Engineering. While there was significant representation of mathematics departments at the meeting, the conference included all disciplines and many ideas in TA training and teaching were discussed. Some of these are already implemented in our department, and some of them were not.

Meanwhile, Linda Martin and I attended a shorter, more casual, and far closer (North Bend) gathering of math people from around the state. I wouldn't say we have a report, but we do have a few observations.

All of this will be the food for discussion at our next Brown Bag on

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20 at NOON in the MATH LOUNGE


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