The Matter and Interactions (M&I) version of the Introductory Physics sequence consists of 3 hrs/week of lecture and 3 hrs/week of lab. PHYS 2211 is Intro Physics I (mechanics) and PHYS 2212 is Intro Physics II (electricity and magnetism). During the semester, students have weekly homeworks, 4 exams (plus a comprehensive final exam), between 5 and 8 lab quizzes, and 12 labs. The M&I version of Intro Physics (often called “modern” by the students) is characterized by the use of coding (VPython/GlowScript) in several labs and some assignments.
GTA Supervisors
Dr. Ed Greco (ed.greco@gatech.edu) is the coordinator for the M&I classes, both 2211 and 2212, and he is assisted by two Head TAs. If you’re an M&I GTA, Greco is your GTA Supervisor. If a student asks you anything about the course policies and you don’t know the answer (e.g., questions about homework deadlines, extensions, clickers, extra credit, grading breakdowns, etc), direct them to talk to Greco.
The Head TAs are experienced graduate students who have TA’d the class at least once before. There is a Head TA for 2211 and another Head TA for 2212. The Head TAs are primarily in charge of writing answer keys for exams and lab quizzes, answering student questions on the class Campuswire forum, and meeting with the new TAs (grad and undergrad) every Friday afternoon to prepare for the following week’s lab. Your Head TA will usually have answers for you if you have questions about the labs, and if they can’t answer you then they will direct you to Greco.
Each semester, Greco creates an M&I channel on the School of Physics Slack group (gtphysics.slack.com; create a Slack account with your gatech email address and join the group if you haven’t already done so). It is very important for you to check your Slack messages regularly. This is particularly important when grading exams.
Student and TA Resources
Students in the M&I classes have various ways of getting help from faculty (office hours) and from TAs (in lab, at the Physics Help Center, on the Campuswire class forum). All class materials can be accessed by students on the class Canvas site (e.g., syllabus, schedule, lecture slides, exam prep documents, labs, extra credit, etc). Students submit homework assignments through the WileyPlus system, which can also be accessed from Canvas.
All TAs (grad and undergrad) have access to the TA versions of the labs through a shared folder on Georgia Tech’s Office 365 service, https://office365.gatech.edu/ (requires gatech login). GTAs also have access to the course Canvas site, which gives you access to all the same class materials that students can access, as well as the textbook for the class, and a way to enter and update your students’ grades.
Who do I contact if I have questions?
The M&I pages on this site should cover basically everything you need to know as a new GTA for the M&I version of PHYS 2211/2212. However, if anything is still unclear, or you have any questions or concerns, please contact:
- Ed Greco — ed.greco@gatech.edu — Howey W-206 — M&I Coordinator and GTA Supervisor. Talk to him if you have any questions about course policies, or if any problems or issues arise.
- Emily Alicea-Muñoz — ealicea@gatech.edu — Howey E-201 — Was GTA and Head TA for 2211 and 2212 for many semesters, in addition to teaching the Physics GTA Preparation course for several years.
- Elaine Rhoades — elaine.rhoades@gatech.edu — Was GTA and Head TA for 2211 and has done classroom observations of first-time GTAs for several semesters.
- Wesley Toler — wtoler6@gatech.edu — Head TA for 2211 in Fall 2019.
- Adrien Saremi — asaremi3@gatech.edu — Head TA for 2212 in Fall 2019.