Hello All, I have a somewhat lame question. I have always done my classes alone without a TA because I've had quite small classes--I'm a language teacher. I'm turning to TBL in the hopes of keeping up the small class atmosphere while dealing with a very large class. Now I have to write a rationale for why I need a TA. Frankly, when they told me this-- I began to doubt whether I really do need one and am wondering if you all can advise me. I couldn't get a scanner for grading the iRATs so I was hoping the TA could be hand-grading those while I administer gRATs and start students on other tasks. I also thought the room set-up (getting tables set up for teams and putting them away again at the end) might be a little tough on my own--though once it becomes a routine I'm sure the students could do this. My TBL is all hand-made. No clickers, just laminated A,B,C,D cards for teams to hold up. I do have the IF-AT forms--but that's all the budget I've been given. I'm not as young and spry as I used to be, but am I just being wimpy in thinking that I need a helper? Do I have good reasons for getting a TA? Thanks for your input! Christine -- ******* Christine Kuramoto, Assistant Professor: Medical English Kyushu University, Department of Medical Education Faculty of Medical Sciences 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582 Japan Phone: (+81)92-642-6186 Fax: (+81)92-642-6188 E-mail: [log in to unmask]