Does U of Michigan (Ann Arbor) really put many teaching assistants to teach master's courses?

[shivering_snowman]

Is this true?

I heard someone said this. So I went to the website of School of Information and found that the instructors of many of the specialization courses are PHD students or MSI students. Are the courses really taught by students instead of professors?

Thanks for reply!

Edited March 22, 2012 by shivering_snowman

[shivering_snowman]

Any one? Please

[ANDS!]

Wouldn't be unheard of. Especially if the course material isn't. . .too rigorous. What is HCI? Do you not want to take courses from advanced graduate students? I mean its unlikely that they are going to be teaching these courses from their own prepared notes and are probably working off a template.

[shivering_snowman]

Thanks man! I've been waiting for all day.

HCI is Human Computer Interaction. It is a specialization of MS in Information in UOM.

I just don't know how it is going to be...when courses will be taught by students. I feel kind of unhappy about this...I am thinking about taking the courses that will be taught only by professors. But I also want to hear that the assistants are doing good job!

[cyberwulf]

I think it's pretty crummy for a department to have any sizable fraction of graduate courses taught by other graduate students. Grad students can be good *lecturers* (because they often put more effort in preparation than faculty members), but they are unlikely to have the knowledge and experience to be truly excellent *instructors*. One of the most important parts of grad school is engaging in the material beyond the classroom, which is difficult if the teacher has only a marginally better grasp of the material than you.

[ANDS!]

The above is in HCI; I'm guessing the courses that are being given to graduate students, are probably courses were there's a ton of "automation" (as most of the computer science courses I took were; they could've been taught by anyone). If this were a theory course, then yes I would be a bit wary.

Edited March 24, 2012 by ANDS!