POSSIBLE  OBJECTS  OF  STUDY
For the teaching assistants participating in Geography 599, reasonable, small teaching components that might be studied include:

1. the use of small groups to discuss an issue
2. having students engage in team projects as a required part of the course
3. emphasizing student-led discussion in sections
4. establishing an electronic discussion group for the class
5. asking leading questions to focus discussion
6. engaging the students in a mid-term assessment of the course
7. gender or background differences in student participation
8. the implications of students' varied expectations about the course (E.g., what varied conceptions of "geography" must Geography 100 students carry to the first day of class!  How does this affect their learning?)

POSSIBLE  METHODS  OF  STUDY
The methods proposed here go beyond the self-reflection described in Davis's Chapter 43 (Tools for Teaching).  Self-reflection is vital, but our research on our own teaching can use additional information sources:

Student feedback loop

At the beginning of the course, spend 10-15 minutes asking students in your section whether they've ever had to engage in a particular type of exercise in a course (e.g., "objects" 1-4 above) -- an exercise that you intend to use in the course.  From those who have any experience with that exercise, ask what they liked about it (what about it helped them understand the material), and what they didn't like about it.

Briefly in class, but more on your own, think about some way in which your use of this exercise or teaching method could accentuate the positive aspects of it and reduce the problems that students have with it.

When you use this teaching method, quickly note how you are tailoring the method to make it more helpful.  (Note this in a matter-of-fact way, since you don't want to encourage negotiation of the rules you've established).

Toward the end of the course, ask students how that exercise or method helped them, and how it didn't.

Outside the classroom, ask yourself:  Did your attempts to improve the exercise or method help?  (This is your "research question.")  Is the method salvageable?  What might you do differently now?  Are there peculiarities of the particular class that may not transfer to other classes or courses?

For more guidance, see UW CIDR's bulletin on classroom assessment techniques.

Collegial observation

Ask a colleague (another TA, the Lead TA, or a faculty member) to observe your teaching, at a time when you're engaging in a particular type of exercise (e.g., 1, 3, 5, or 7 in the list above).  Before the observation, explain what you're trying to achieve, and what problems or signs you want your colleague to watch for.  (E.g., how many men/women respond?  How many students were unengaged?  How many people seemed confused by your leading question?)

This frees you to focus on the exercise in class.  Leave it to your colleague to observe.

Meet with your colleague as soon as possible after the class, and ask what (s)he observed.

For an even better experimental design, you might do this twice, each time varying some specific aspect(s) of the way you engage the class in the exercise.  (The "research question" is clearer if you do this).

For more guidance, see UW CIDR's website on classroom observation.

Interview
Interview a colleague (TA or faculty member) widely regarded as being an excellent teacher, asking focused questions about how (s)he engages in a particular exercise or method.  Relate this information to your own experience.

REPORTING  OUR  STUDY
On 2 December 2003, please present the results of your investigation.  What was the exercise or pedagogic method?  What aspect of it did you vary or observe closely?  What seemed to be the result of how you did the exercise, on your students' learning (or engagement, or participation -- whatever is the thing you decided you wanted to affect)?  Write this up as a research brief for me:  a 2-3 page summary of what you were trying to learn, how you structured your investigation, and what you feel you learned -- no literature review necessary.