Things I have learned from being a TA
Back Story:
I’ve TAed a bit, and it’s been an overwhelmingly positive experience. It’s awesome seeing people’s faces when the puzzle pieces fit, and being part of that process is surprisingly fun. Here’s the takeaway:
Don’t tell people flat out that they are wrong. Why? Because it’s not helpful. Being a beginner is terrifying enough without people telling you that you don’t know things, and being told ‘you’re wrong’ or ‘it should be obvious’ can leave a bad enough impression that people hesitate to ask for help. Instead, use your words to describe the differences and be nice about it.
student: is this a cat?
ta: well, it’s close to a cat, but it’s actually a dog. Dogs can be pretty similar to cats: you want to pet them, they have four legs, sometimes they wear collars. Dogs tend to have a friendlier disposition though. Also they bark, while cats meow.
Pester your students. Silent rooms are a death sentence. Being a TA isn’t about being the best teacher in the world, it’s about helping the students to understand. So pester them. Breath down their neck. Ask them what’s happening, ask them to explain what their code is doing, ask them what would happen if you changed just a line of it. Be involved.
Congratulate them when they are right! If they sum up something and they really nailed it, tell them! Everyone likes being correct, and positive acknowledgments make people feel good and happy.
Let them type. If you want them to google something, tell them to go to their browser and google something. Try not to take the keyboard away from them. A lot of people learn well by doing.
Connect with your students. If you can explain something on a high level, do it that way first. Words like ‘kernel’ and ‘grep’ might not be the best choices for brand new beginners. Know your audience.
Things about other TAs/Teachers:
This shit isn’t about you. You aren’t here to be rewarded, you’re here to fucking teach. Don’t show off and be the oh-so-smart-know-everything guy. Put the spotlight on the students, they’re the reason you’re even there.
Back up your people. If another TA flags you over to help with something, help them. Sometimes people just need another set of eyes, sometimes they need another way of describing something, sometimes they need help with computer hardware. Help out your folks.
Off that note, don’t belittle your fellow TAs/Teachers. Don’t start pointless debates/arguments over which text editor is better or whether to use rvm or rbenv or blah fucking blah. Don’t do it. No one wins from those. Either one person politely accepts defeat and then loses credibility in front of students, or everyone just looks like a jack ass. If you have a firm belief, talk about it somewhere else because this shit isn’t about you.
