Classroom Culture: Expectations vs. Assumptions
Friday, Sept. 25
11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
1311 University Hall
In this session, we will assist GTAs in navigating the unwritten norms of U.S. higher education classrooms — the cultural expectations that shape how students and instructors relate to one another, communicate and understand their respective roles. International GTAs may encounter friction in teaching roles because they hold different assumptions about authority, participation, communication and relationship-building than their students do. This session will help identify the differences in those assumptions between instructor and student and create space for GTAs to examine the gaps between them. Emphasis will be placed on the informal but powerful cultural norms that govern classroom interaction in the U.S. context.
Session leader: Doug Klutz
