Am I Doing What I'm Supposed to Be Doing?

[Lola Wants]

I started TAing this semester for an introductory History course at a small liberal arts college. I'm in a MA program and this is my first time TAing. I attend the class twice a week and it's a small class, around 26 students. I am in charge of recording attendance and grades and keeping them on a spreadsheet. I taught once (only because the professor was ill) and I did okay. I've graded papers only once and when I did the professor told me that I did it perfectly but I haven't done any grading since. I give the professor articles and other information that I find relevant to the material being taught and they are given to the students and discussed in class. I feel like I should be doing more though. My school doesn't have separate discussion sections so I don't lead any discussion sections or hold office hours. Should I be doing more than this or is this it? I would love to hear some advice because I'm worried that I may not be pulling my weight.

[blankslate]

I've TAed for almost two years now, and when I first started I felt the exact same way. Also, I was kind of anal about making sure that everything I did as a TA I did as perfectly as possible. I would go as far as recording entire precepts beforehand to make sure I worded everything in a clear and understandable way. This was in addition to grading, holding office hours and answering e-mails. I felt like I was spending far more time than my colleagues on TAing.

My advice after going through that is not to stress out about it. It sounds like you're doing fine. Get your responsibilities done, but at the end of the day remember that after your two years there what's going to count is the research that you did. You need to be a little selfish as a TA, otherwise it's possible to get sucked into doing too much. Now, it sounds like you're actually not doing too much at all, but I say enjoy it while it lasts - not all TA gigs will be as awesome. If you REALLY feel you're doing too little, just be direct and ask the professor what responsibilities he wants you to have.

[Lola Wants]

Now, it sounds like you're actually not doing too much at all, but I say enjoy it while it lasts - not all TA gigs will be as awesome. If you REALLY feel you're doing too little, just be direct and ask the professor what responsibilities he wants you to have.

Thanks for responding. I'll definitely ask the professor if there's more that I can do. Maybe my duties will pick up at the end of the year. I do enjoy that I have limited responsibilities because it gives me leeway in balancing my studies.

[robot_hamster]

It can really depend on the professor, what they want from a TA and whatnot. I had one class where I did nothing but grade. I had another class where I was supervising the lab sessions and doing some grading. If what you describe is all the professor wants you to do, then I wouldn't worry about. It sounds like you're fine.

[msafiri]

The only person qualified to answer the question of whether you're doing enough or doing it right is the professor that you are TAing for. Ask this person to go over your performance with you in an evaluative sense. It's the middle of the semester so it's a good time for that anyway.

[Lola Wants]

It can really depend on the professor, what they want from a TA and whatnot. I had one class where I did nothing but grade. I had another class where I was supervising the lab sessions and doing some grading. If what you describe is all the professor wants you to do, then I wouldn't worry about. It sounds like you're fine.

Thanks. Your advice takes a load off of my mind since I know that other TA's do somewhat of the same thing. I don't want to be seen as useless. I'm only a master's student so I didn't know the extent to which I was supposed to be contributing to the class.

The only person qualified to answer the question of whether you're doing enough or doing it right is the professor that you are TAing for. Ask this person to go over your performance with you in an evaluative sense. It's the middle of the semester so it's a good time for that anyway.

Thank you for answering as well. I will ask my professor the next time I have class.

[Rachel B]

As someone who is attending a small liberal arts college, I can tell you that they value the amount of face time students get with their professors. This could be one of the reasons why your duties currently seem kind of minimal. I don't know if this is an option, but maybe you could ask the professor if you could lead study/tutoring sessions, especially around exam time, and make yourself available in the evening or at night, which is something many professors aren't able to do. Just an idea!

Edited March 13, 2012 by Rachel B

[Lola Wants]

As someone who is attending a small liberal arts college, I can tell you that they value the amount of face time students get with their professors. This could be one of the reasons why your duties currently seem kind of minimal. I don't know if this is an option, but maybe you could ask the professor if you could lead study/tutoring sessions, especially around exam time, and make yourself available in the evening or at night, which is something many professors aren't able to do. Just an idea!

Thanks. I agree with you in terms of small colleges valuing the personal atmosphere of small classrooms. My school likes to advertise the personal interaction students have with professors that they wouldn't get at larger universities. But I will definitely ask if I can lead discussions on the articles I find for class. The professor thinks they are relevant enough to use so I know I shouldn't feel that I hardly contribute anything.

[new_to_kin]

I think it would depend on the discipline. I would guess that you're grading all the papers that come in - there just aren't that many assigned. In my previous field (music), TAs would often grade over 100 quizzes a week, every week. Brutal.

[Dal PhDer]

It sounds like you're doing a great job!

As everyone has said, TA duties and responsibilities will differ between professors. My department has set up an "expectations & objective" sheet for all TAs and markers. Basically, the student and professor sit down together at the start of the semester and outline exactly what is expected from the student for that term. You go over all the assignments, the rubrics, and the number of hours expected per week on your duties. This has been really helpful for me, as I can be sure that I meet my professors expectations.

I would recommend doing that for your next position!