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GSI Teaching & Resource Center
  • Basics for GSIs
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  • Teaching Guide for GSIs
    • Pre-Semester Preparation
    • Teaching Discussion Sections
    • Facilitating Laboratory Sections
    • Teaching Reading & Composition
    • Evaluating & Improving Your Teaching
    • Working with Student Writing
    • Teaching Critical Reading
    • Grading Student Work
    • Academic Misconduct: Cheating, Plagiarism, & Other Forms
    • Teaching with Technology
    • Learning: Theory & Research
    • Fostering Your Professional Development
    • Campus Resources for Teaching & Learning
  • GSI Online Library
    • Award-Winning GSI Teaching Ideas
    • Language & Teaching Resources for International GSIs
    • How Students Learn
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    • GSI Teaching Gallery
    • Faculty Talks on Teaching for GSIs
  • Faculty Resources
    • Teaching with GSIs
    • Support for Pedagogy Courses for First-Time GSIs
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Pre-Semester Preparation

In this section of the Teaching Guide for GSIs you will find many, many things to think about, find out, plan for, and organize as your teaching semester approaches. Even if you have worked as a GSI before, you may benefit from this broad and dense array of resources and suggestions.

In This Section

  • Communicate with Faculty, Fellow GSIs, and Staff
    • Checklist for Getting Started as a GSI (pdf)
  • Create a Section Syllabus or Information Sheet
    • Chemistry Section Syllabus (pdf)
    • Integrative Biology Section Syllabus (pdf)
    • Political Science Section Syllabus (pdf)
    • Italian Studies R&C Section Syllabus (pdf)
  • Get to Know Your Office and Classroom
  • Consider Your Tone with Students
  • Plan the First Day’s Session
    • Creating an Activity for the First Day of Class (pdf)
    • Sample First Day Lesson Plan (pdf)
    • Pre-Course Survey (doc)
    • Sample Day 1 Survey (pdf)
  • Starting Conversations in Office Hours
  • Time Management Strategies
    • Time Management Worksheet (doc)
Download a PDF of Pre-semester Preparation
  • Teaching Guide for GSIs
    • Pre-Semester Preparation
      • Communicate with Faculty, Fellow GSIs, and Staff
      • Create a Section Syllabus or Information Sheet
      • Get to Know Your Office and Classroom
      • Consider Your Tone with Students
      • Plan the First Day’s Session
      • Starting Conversations in Office Hours
      • Time Management Strategies
    • Inclusive Teaching
    • Teaching Discussion Sections
    • Facilitating Laboratory Sections
    • Teaching Reading and Composition
    • Evaluating and Improving Your Teaching
    • Working with Student Writing
    • Teaching Critical Reading
    • Grading Student Work
    • Academic Misconduct: Cheating, Plagiarism, and Other Forms
    • Teaching with Technology
    • Learning: Theory and Research
    • Fostering Your Professional Development
    • Campus Resources for Teaching and Learning

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