Open AccessREFLECTIONS FROM TEACHING ASSISTANTS IN COMBINED LEARNING ASSISTANT AND COURSE GRADER ROLES
Author(s) -
Natasha Lanziner,
Hannah Smith,
David R. Waller
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
proceedings of the ... ceea conference
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2371-5243
DOI - 10.24908/pceea.v0i0.10401
Subject(s) - teaching assistant , course (navigation) , perspective (graphical) , reflection (computer programming) , medical education , psychology , computer science , pedagogy , medicine , engineering , aerospace engineering , artificial intelligence , programming language
– Integrating the roles of learning assistants and course graders into a single teaching assistant position can be beneficial both to students and to teaching assistants. A critical reflection of teaching assistant experience in undergraduate design courses was undertaken. Benefits to students include meaningful, individualized guidance in assessment, the communication of expectations and concepts from a unique perspective, and increased approachability.
The teaching assistants also benefit from practical experience in teaching and mentoring, gaining skills in leadership and communications. However, integrating learning assistant and course grader roles creates a more challenging position, requiring deep understanding of course content and communication strategies to be successful. This insight may be used to improve or develop design courses using the combined model and to help prepare teaching assistants for this demanding but rewarding role.