Lesson 4: Develop strategies

When you reflect on your classroom experiences as a student, what are some positive and challenging situations that arose? Now that you are in a teaching assistant role, how might you understand those experiences from a different perspective?

As a teaching assistant, you may encounter some of these common situations in the physical or online classroom environment. By brainstorming strategies ahead of time, you can build confidence in your ability to develop rapport with students and stay focused on the learning experience.

Read each scenario below and answer the question that follows. We have provided some ideas to get you started. Based on your context and your experience, however, there may be many more options! If you are unsure about how to proceed, connect with the instructor of record for their advice.

Scenario 1 – Getting started

It is the beginning of the term and as a TA, you want things to go smoothly. You may be feeling nervous, but you want students to be engaged, learning and succeeding throughout the term. You have a course outline, but you know from experience that the classroom environment matters.

What strategies can you use at the beginning of the term to create a positive learning environment that sets students up for success?

Establish guidelines and expectations

Collaboratively establish classroom protocols/guidelines/expectations for your learning environment.
In online courses, ensure students have access to Zoom etiquette guidelines
For in person courses, decide together on classroom norms such as a policy on cell phone use, food consumption, attendance, etc.

Review the course outline

Review the course outline together, highlighting areas of importance such as assessment, late assignment policy, course schedule, etc.
In online courses, this can be done by recording a video and posting on the D2L site or by creating an ungraded quiz on key information in the course outline
For in person courses, you can create slides of course outline highlights and review on the first day of class or you can create a short ‘treasure hunt’ where students race to find answers to important questions about the course.

Commit to office hours when students can contact you

For in person courses, include the location of your office and days and times available
In online courses, set up virtual office hours and indicate days and times when you will be available in Zoom

Scenario 2 – Facilitating discussion

It is the fourth week of the semester and the students are engaged and attentive during your lab sessions. However, lately you find that one student is becoming more confident and tends to dominate during discussions. The student consistently jumps in quickly to be the first to comment or answer questions. When this occurs, the other students are becoming increasingly frustrated – they variously fall silent, talk among themselves, or roll their eyes.

What strategies might you implement to turn this around?

Explore different perspectives

Develop a strategy and let students know that you will call on different students to explore diverse perspectives
Choose randomized student names from the class list
For in person courses, ask for student volunteers from different areas in the classroom to share (i.e., left side, right side)
For online courses, use the Chat function to encourage quiet students to share their ideas