Teaching assistants, or TAs, can be an integral part of a classroom with roles ranging from grading to teaching.
Zoya Husain, communication junior, is a TA for two classes on campus — COMM 301 and ENGL 222 — and said she has had different TA experiences with both.
“I think it’s interesting to work closely with the professor, and being a TA for two different professors I’ve had two separate experiences,” Husain said. “I consider the one with Professor [Adam] Rosenthal [ENGL 222] as more of a job in the sense that I don’t have to meet up with him as often because I’m just grading, and in that aspect because I’m just grading, and in that aspect it’s more of a job. In a TA-ship that’s similar to the one I have with Dr. [David] Tarvin [COMM 301] I work more with him, and we talk about the syllabus, or [my co-TA]. Tarvin and I meet up and talk about how grades should work.”
Although TAs often act as supplemental teachers, nearly all TAs are students themselves. Nathaniel Butler, mathematics senior, taught a MATH 141 class and said it was stressful but worth it for the students.
“I did not have much free time or support balancing life, school and extracurriculars with the job, but I was definitely reassured that what I was doing had reason every time I could make someone’s life a little bit easier in class,” Butler said. “Average students need to know that TAs normally don’t have much time for you, but some like me will go well out of their way to help you with any problem you may have.”
Gerrit Botha is getting a Ph.D. in nuclear science and is also an international student from South Africa. Botha is at A&M to work on his research, and part of that includes being a TA for multiple nuclear engineering classes he said have helped him develop his skills.
“It was to help me into my progression at A&M and its systems into my research,” Botha said. “It’s kind of a step in between arriving and getting used to the system and getting into leadership and getting to know the faculty members since I’m a student. It has sharpened up my work that I did back home. I’m learning new skills, meeting new people and overall making myself into a professional.”
If a student is interested in becoming a TA, they must earn a certificate of completion from the Teaching Assistant Institute that’s connected to the Center For Teaching Excellence program located in the YMCA building. A student must complete the TA online preparation course and attend a face-to-face seminar depending on the college they’re under determines the day. Interested students can find more information at cte.tamu.edu/Featured-Programs/Teaching-Assistant-Institute