How to Teach

Last Update: Monday, 15 September 2014

Note: NEW or UPDATED material is highlighted

For further advice on success in your graduate program (and beyond), visit:
Information for Grad Students in CSE @ UB


"Research and teaching have always cohabited: anyone who teaches a subject well wants to know more about it, and when she knows more, to impart that knowledge."


"Since starting my working life in electrical engineering, I have seen more fundamental changes in that field than in computer science. However, my electrical engineering education remains valuable because it stressed fundamental science and mathematics. … The problems caused by technology changing quickly are actually a subset of the problems caused by the fact that nobody can be familiar with all technologies at once. Educators should teach fundamentals, illustrating them with example technologies. Graduates stay current by learning about new technology as needed."


  1. UB Teaching and Learning Center

  2. TA Orientation — Fall 2007 (Powerpoint)

  3. CSE Graduate Handbook: Assistantships—General Information

  4. Generic Recitation-Section Lesson Plan

  5. Rapaport, William J. (2006) "Advice for (New) TAs" [Powerpoint]

  6. UPDATED Rapaport, William J. (2014), "How to Give Presentations & How to Teach" UPDATED

  7. Rapaport, William J. (2006), "How I Grade"

  8. Rapaport, William J. (2006), William Perry's Scheme of Intellectual and Ethical Development"

  9. Althen, Gary (1988), "Manual for Foreign Teaching Assistants".

  10. Case, Bettye Anne (ed.) (1989), Keys to Improved Instruction by Teaching Assistants and Part-Time Instructors, MAA Notes No. 11 (Mathematical Association of America); ISBN 0-88385-061-3.

    1. Out of print, but Rapaport has a copy somewhere:-)

    2. Available for purchase (25 Aug 2006) at: alibris.com, barnesandnoble.com, Biblio.com, etc.

    3. Some of it is online at:

      1. Columbia University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Teaching Manual

      2. Cohen, Robby; & Robin, Ron (eds.) (1985), "Teaching at Berkeley: A Guide for Foreign Teaching Assistants", from Case 1989.

      3. Reznick, Bruce A. (1985), "Chalking It Up: Advice to a New TA", from Case 1989.

  11. Expectations that TAs (should) have of the faculty that they work for.

  12. University of Iowa Teaching Resources

  13. Speaking of Teaching: Stanford University's Newsletter on Teaching

  14. Arras, John D. (2006, March 24), "It's a Simple Game: A professor reduces his teaching life to a few bullet points" , Chronicle of Higher Eduation, p.C3.

  15. Brookfield, Stephen D.; & Preskill, Stephen (2005), "Keeping Discussion Going through Questioning, Listening, and Responding", Discussion as a Way of Teaching (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Wiley), Ch.5.

  16. Brown, Ron (2006), "Five Short Stories on Teaching", Tomorrow's Professor #693 (Jan. 27).

  17. Bugeja, Michael J. (2007), "Distractions in the Wireless Classroom", Chronicle of Higher Education (26 January): C1,C4.

  18. Cushman, Thomas (2007), "Hemlock Available in the Faculty Lounge", Chronicle of Higher Education (16 March): B16.

  19. Grafton, Anthony (2006), "The Nutty Professors: The History of Academic Charisma", The New Yorker (23 October): 82-87.

  20. Hummel, Rolf E. (2005), "Contemplations after Forty Years of Teaching", University of Florida Pedagogator 3(13) (July/Aug).

  21. Lang, James M. (2006), "Shaking Things Up", Chronicle of Higher Education (3 November): C2-C3.

  22. Lang, James M. (2007), "Did You Learn Anything?", Chronicle of Higher Education (9 March): C1,C4.

  23. Lang, James M. (2007), "Classroom Transparency", Chronicle of Higher Education (6 April): C2-C3.

  24. Lang, James M. (2007), "Perfecting Your Vocal Technique", Chronicle of Higher Education (4 May): C2-C3.

  25. Lang, James M. (2007), "Finding a Light", Chronicle of Higher Education (21 September): C2-C3.

  26. Leavitt, Melissa C. (2006), "Team Teaching: Benefits and Challenges"

  27. Loui, Michael C. (2003), "A Selected Bibliography on College and University Teaching"

  28. Singham, Mano (2004), "Talkers and Listeners", National Teaching and Learning Forum Newsletter 13(2).

  29. Meacham, Jack (2006), "Questioning the Best Learning Technology", Peer Review 8(4) (Fall).

  30. Mosteller, Frederick (1980), "Classroom and Platform Performance", American Statistician 34(1): 11-17.

  31. Wankat, Phillip; & Oreovicz, Frank (2006), "Activity Breaks: A Push for Participation", ASEE Prism 15(5; January).

  32. Pai, Aditi, "Adapting to the American Classroom: Evolution of an International Teaching Assistant", Teaching and Learning (UB Center for Teaching and Learning Resources) 3(1): 3-5.

  33. Faculty/TA Teaching Teams, Tomorrow's Professor #854

  34. Description of an Online Tutorial for Designing Effective and Innovative Courses, Tomorrow's Professor Msg.#874 (Stanford University)

  35. Doyle, Terry (2008):

    NEA Higher Education Advocate 26(1) (October): 5-8.

  36. Felder, Richard M.; & Brent, Rebecca (2008–2009), "The Ten Worst Teaching Mistakes", Chemical Engineering Education

  37. Patterson, David (2009), "Your Students Are Your Legacy", Communications of the ACM 52(3) (March): 30-33.

  38. Ullman, Jeffrey D. (2009), "Advising Students for Success", Communications of the ACM 52(3) (March): 34-37.

  39. Vicens, Quentin; & Bourne, Philip E. (2009), "Ten Simple Rules to Combine Teaching and Research", Tomorrow's Professor Msg. 948.

  40. Huston, Therese (2009), "How to Teach What You Don't Actually Know", Chronicle of Higher Education 55(42) (24 July): A25–A26.

  41. Barkley, Elizabeth F. (2010), "Student Engagement Techniques for Seminars", Tomorrow's Professor Msg. 1029.

  42. Wailgum, Thomas (2010), "How Steve Jobs Beats Presentation Panic", Macworld (October): 54–55.

  43. Sternberg, Robert J. (2010), "Teach Creativity, not Memorization", Chronicle of Higher Education (15 October): A29.

  44. Clark, Richard; Kirschner, Paul A.; & Sweller, John (2012), "Putting Students on the Path to Learning: The Case for Fully Guided Instruction", American Educator 36(1) (Spring): 6–11.

  45. Rosenshine, Barak (2012), "Principles of Instruction: Research-Based Strategies that All Teachers Should Know", American Educator 36(1) (Spring): 12–19, 39.

  46. Su, Francis Edward (2013), "The Lesson of Grace in Teaching", The Mathematical Yawp (18 January).

  47. Immerwahr, John (2012), "Teach Philosophy 101"

  48. Corbett, Steven J.; & LaFrance, Michelle (2013), "It's the Little Things that Count in Teaching", Chronicle of Higher Education (13 September): A30–A31.







Text copyright © 2006–2013 by William J. Rapaport
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(rapaport@buffalo.edu)
http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport/501/501teaching.html-20140915