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TA Resources Guide

TA Resources Guide

First Day of Class!

This guide is to serve as a resource for first-time TAs regarding how to conduct the first class period of the term. First impressions are always important, but this is particularly true in terms of teaching. The standards you set and the way you present yourself on the first time you appear before your students will set the tone for the remainder of the term.

The goal of the first class is to be proactive about any potential problems that can arise throughout the term. Should an issue arise at some point in the class, it is essential to have the standards explicitly set at the beginning of the term. In this way, the students will know what is expected of them from the outset. Should they then not live up to these standards, you have the benefit of referring them back to the syllabus and the expectations that were set at the beginning.

This resource guide will serve as an outline for some of the key topics you should address in the first class, as well as providing a few tips for the “intangibles,” such as your presence as the head of the classroom. Hopefully this will help first-time TAs in addition to serving as a “checklist” for returning TAs before that foreboding first class.

Presence

This section is the very first because it is perhaps the single most important thing to do well in the first class period. Before we begin, however, it would be useful to define what is meant by the potentially ambiguous term of “Presence.” This term is meant to imply the confidence with which you present yourself, and a complete lack of uncertainty as to who is in charge.

The goal is not to have the power just for the sake of having it, but because it is very important in establishing boundaries with your students and in making it clear that you will in fact hold them to the standards that you set. Many students think they can simply bend the rules because the TA will not actually live up the expectations they set (for themselves or their students). They need to know that you have expectations (see Section 2) and they WILL be held to them!

While you need to establish boundaries and expectations, you also need to establish a welcoming, enthusiastic environment and an approachable personality. You can accomplish this by being relaxed (but professional) and by stressing to them early and often that you are available if they need help and that you genuinely care about their success. When they know that you actually care (which hopefully you do!), they are much more willing to ask for help.

Table 1. The “Do’s” and “Don’ts” of TA Presence. See below for more detail.

Do!

Don’t!

Have a clear, confident voice when you speak

Shout at students, or sound too timid

Make it clear that you won’t even begin until everyone is quite and attentive

Let students get away with talking while you address the class

Move around comfortably when speaking

Stand in one place or pace

Make eye contact! Also, try and spread your eye contact/attention around the room

Stare at the screen, or only look at one place in the room

Speak at a good pace. Use inflections to emphasize importance. Repeat key words.

Speed through things as quickly as possible, or drag on forever saying the same thing.

Ask for clarifying questions after major transitions in content/subject matter

Assume that you were clear or that there’s no uncertainty about what you said

Be honest with your students and upfront about what you do and don’t know

Be afraid to say you’re not sure, but that you can check on it and get back to them

Play it cool! You are in charge and you know your stuff!

Let students know that you are nervous or uncomfortable, even if you are

A note on finding the balance:

In most of the “do” and “don’t” categories (Table 1), there is usually a balance between the good and the bad. For example, consider the skill of having a loud, clear voice (#1). You don’t want to be too quiet, because you will be perceived as timid and not everyone will hear what you are saying. You don’t, however, want to be so loud that you’re shouting at your students. There is therefore a balance between being too quiet and awkwardly loud. Over time these types of skills become natural, but when you’re first starting out, it’s simply important to be conscious of what you are doing and how you are presenting yourself in front of the class. Most of the “balance” is actually natural and common sense, it’s simply a matter of being aware and consciously thinking about it. If you do that you’ll be golden; over time it becomes second nature.

A note on body language:

Many of the suggestions regarding your presence have to do with body language. Your body language and how you speak is a fundamental component of your presence in front of the class. It’s incredibly important to establish that you are comfortable in front of the class, even if you aren’t (see #8). Letting them know that you are nervous can lead them to be more likely to feel like they can walk all over you when they want to get their way. It’s important that they know you are in charge and comfortable in your role as their TA. What you say goes, and they’ll be less likely to question your authority if they know that.


1. Have a clear, confident voice when you speak!

Make sure you have a clear and audible voice. Everyone needs to be able to hear you, and they need to know that when you’re talking it’s time to listen up (see #2). You don’t, however, want them to perceive you as constantly shouting at them. Essentially, just be comfortable and make sure you are speaking clearly and audibly to everyone in the room.

2. Make it clear you won’t even begin until everyone is quiet and attentive.

This is a perfect example of how to avoid problems later in the term and one of the most important things you can do right at the beginning of the term to quell the assumption that it’s OK to talk over the TA. If the class won’t quiet down when you tell them it’s time to get started, you should explicitly say “I’m not going to begin until everyone is fully quiet and attentive.” If you have a nice, relaxed presence, you can do this without it being terribly awkward. It has a lot to do with the tone of voice when you say it. Don’t be afraid to take command of the class and let them know, without sounding upset or annoyed, that you expect them to listen when you talk. If you let this slide the first class, you will have a really difficult challenge with it over the entire term. Let them know right from the start that it’s not going to fly.

3. Move around comfortably when talking.

Move around comfortably, but don’t pace frantically or stand in one spot. Each of the latter demonstrates that you are nervous or uncomfortable up in front of the class (that’s bad). In addition, moving around helps keep students’ attention more than if you just stand in one spot speaking the whole time. It helps make you more engaging.

4. Make eye contact!

This is another way to keep engaging your students. It lets them know that they are a part of the educational experience and that participation is required. It helps establish rapport with your students and a relaxed, conversational attitude in the class. It is another way to demonstrate that you are comfortable in front of them. You absolutely don’t want to have your back to the class or stare solely at the projection screen. This serves to disconnect you from your students, when you want to let them know that you are there and invested in helping them learn.

5. Speak at a good pace and emphasize key points.

You don’t want to go so fast that your students won’t be able to follow, but you also don’t want to drag on forever or unnecessarily belabor points you’ve covered extensively. You do, however, want to emphasize the major points. This allows the students to identify the take-home messages and key points within what you’re saying. It would be naïve to say that you aren’t going to need to repeat yourself, but some students will get frustrated if you continually “beat a dead horse,” as they say. Finding a “good pace” can also seem a little subjective, but polling your students or using mid-term feedback can help establish whether you are going too fast or too slow. However, keep in mind that the students shouldn’t be the only judge of this because they differ tremendously in their opinions of how fast you should go. You can ask an experienced peer or your assistant TA for input regarding pacing. Another good tip is to use inflections and changes in tone when you speak for emphasis. Don’t speak in a monotone because the students will tune that out incredibly quickly and get lost because they aren’t paying attention.

6. Ask for clarifying questions at transitions in content.

A good way to get around being too redundant is to ask for clarifying questions when you’ve finished a subset of the content and are ready to change gears. Students will often be hesitant to ask questions even when they have them. It is our job to really make sure they actually do understand what you’ve said before you move on. A good thing to do is to be very explicit in the first class session that you really do care about them understanding the material, so never to hesitate if they have questions. This is a big thing to really stress to them early on to set the standard that they need to ask for help if they need it!

7. Be honest with your students and upfront about what you don’t know.

It is absolutely O.K. to say “I don’t know” in science. In fact, it is absolutely essential for efficient and clear research to occur. If you come across a question you can’t answer, don’t try and make up an answer on the spot. Just simply tell your students: “that’s a great question, I’ll find out and let you know!” Tell them that a key skill of science is knowing how to find the answer. Now, at the same time, this doesn’t mean that you don’t need to be prepared for the content you are expected to know. You need to come to lab prepared and you need to have a firm understanding of the material being covered in the course! However, when faced with other tangential questions that you’re not necessarily expected to know, don’t be afraid to tell them you don’t know. You can also turn it back around on them, and ask them how we could go about finding out the answer based on what we already know or the resources we have available.

8. Play it cool!

There are obviously a lot of nuances that contribute to the overall style and presence of a TA, as well as the atmosphere of the room. The biggest advice is to just relax and play it cool. Don’t let them know you’re nervous, even if you are. If you’re stressed, they’re stressed. You are qualified to be here, and you’re not expected to be the absolute authority on everything. You know your stuff better than they do, so as long as you are comfortable with your role, honestly invested in their learning, and honest with yourself and your students, everything will go great!

Also, just like you should tell your students not to hesitate to ask for help, don’t ever be afraid to ask for help from more experienced teachers or the support staff we have for our TAs. If you feel you are getting in over your head, or things aren’t going as well as they need to be, don’t let it slide! Ask for help or advice before the problem gets worse and harder to correct!


Some pointers for practicing your presence

  • Try practicing a run-through of your pre-lab introduction to the course (or presenting some lab content, like your introduction) in front of a mirror. You can also film yourself and watch it later. This is a great way to see how you actually look and pick up on some of the quirks that you have that you may not have noticed.
  • You can also have a friend watch you and give feedback on a practice run of your intro
  • Think about what characteristics the really great teachers/lecturers you’ve known have had and emulate the positive aspects of their style!
  • Practice makes perfect!

Student and TA Expectations

Establishing your expectations for your students in the beginning of the term is absolutely essential to making sure things run smoothly over the course of the term. If you haven’t explicitly established some expectation as the standard clearly at the beginning of the term, you won’t have as much ground to stand on should a student not comply with your expectations later on in the term. You can view this time in the first class session as your contract with your students. It makes it clear that in continuing the term from that point forward, they have agreed to behave in the appropriate manner.

You also want to make it clear that while you have expectations of your students, you will also hold yourself to your own expectations as well, in an effort to be the best TA you can for them. Below are some key points about the types of things to set as expectations for yourself and your students, as well as some examples to adopt.


Student Expectations

You will want to write your own expectations as you see fit and based on what you specifically value. Think about the things that you would specifically want to have in your “contract” to fall back on later if need be. Below is an outline of the major categories of things to address.

1. Behavior in the Classroom

Acceptable forms of behavior in the classroom need to be clearly outlined. If it should ever stray from what was established as acceptable, you can simply say, “we discussed what was expected of you in terms of _______ at the beginning of the term and you are not living up to that standard.”

Some things to think about explicitly stating (word these how you will if you do use them):

  • Be attentive during introductions and when the TA is addressing the class
  • Be respectful of fellow classmates and your instructors
  • Be respectful of lab equipment and materials
  • Apply yourself to the full extent of your capabilities

You also want to consider a more detailed statement about respect of diversity, e.g. below:

“The Inclusive Classroom: My classroom is an inclusive environment. No individual should feel awkward, embarrassed, uncomfortable or unwelcome by the actions of another. I expect myself and my students to uphold this standard. What this means in practice is being conscious of both your language and behavior to ensure the respect of the others around you. If at any point you feel that the environment has become less inclusive for you, please do not hesitate to talk to meabout the problem. If the situation is not addressed, the parties involved may not be aware that it even exists and it therefore can’t be corrected.”

2. Adherence to Course Policies

You want to be very clear about what the policies are for the logistics of the course. Make sure you are clear on the policies yourself before teaching your first class. For example, you will want to think about:

  • Policy on late work
  • Lab make-up policy
  • Switching lab sections
  • Academic honesty
  • Individual work on assignments (despite group work in lab)
  • Students with disabilities
  • Amount of time of lab (i.e. this is a three-hour lab, it’s expected to go that long)
  • Cell phones/electronic devices
  • Food/drink in the lab

In all of these, you also want to be explicit about what the consequences are for when the policies are not adhered to. Again, should someone break them later on, you then have a standardized procedure as to how you are going to handle it. It will have been clearly laid out to the students so they understood the consequences of their actions.

3. TA Expectations

Again, as this is a “contract” between you and your students, you want to make it obvious to them that you do care about being the best TA you can be. You want to state the expectations you have for yourself to be clear what is and is not your responsibility. Having done this, you can also say that if at any point anyone feels you are not living up to your end of the bargain, to please address it with you in a respectful manner. Now, just to be clear and speak frankly: you should expect a good amount of student whining over the things that are perfectly fair, even when you are doing a great job. For this reason, you don’t want to open up the floor to mutiny simply because they don’t like the things that are expected of them in a college classroom. You don’t want to make it seem that you are willing to just do whatever they ask of you.

Again, you do also want to demonstrate to them that you are approachable and willing to make accommodations to your teaching as long as they are founded and reasonable. Setting this standard of being approachable and available is very important at the very beginning of the term. This way, you won’t lose the students that would want to ask for help but don’t feel comfortable coming to you for it.

Some good expectations for yourself to think about including:

  • Being available outside of class via email and regular office hours
  • Returning graded material quickly (i.e. in the time expected of you by the course)
  • Be respectful of all students
  • Explain things in different ways to help those with different learning styles

Let them know that you will make yourself available to them (within reason), but that they should utilize the in-class time efficiently and attend office hours as much as possible.

It is also a good idea to really stress to them in the first class that you are there to help them learn and that you are genuinely invested in their learning. You should make this very clear to them, as classroom behavior and overall effort levels really seem to increase when students think their TA genuinely cares about how well they are doing. An example of something you could say:

“I really, genuinely care about you doing well in my class. I want each and every one of you to come out of here with as good an understanding of biology as possible. If you have any ideas about how I can help you do that, please let me know, but a lot of this depends upon the effort you put into your education.”

You should also ask your class to think about their particular learning style. You can even include this as a student expectation. Ask them to constantly reflect on how it is that they learn most effectively and to ask for help in explaining things to them in another modality if they are not comprehending the content. An example of something to say:

“I’m very aware that people learn in different ways, so I’d like to ask you [the students] that you consciously reflect on how it is that you learn best. Don’t ever hesitate to say, ‘I’m not quite understanding, could you try explaining that in a different way?’ If you have suggestions for ways that I could incorporate other techniques for different learning styles, please let me know.”

You should definitely reflect upon what standards you want to hold yourself to. Put some serious thought and effort into your student and TA expectations, as they can really help the rest of the term flow smoothly if they are well thought out and clear.

Covering the Logistics of the Course

You want to be very clear about what is expected from your students (above), but also very clear about the logistics of how the course is going to work. This includes: (1) a day-to-day description of how lab is typically going to work, (2) an overall timeline of the different weeks of the course with what is due each week, and (3) how the points are going to be allocated.

1. “A Day in the Life” of Biology Lab

You should provide a framework for the general outline of how each day of lab is going to unfold and what the general timing will be. The exact specifics are likely to vary between different terms, but an example of a typical day in BI 22x lab can be seen below.

Be sure you are very clear on this for the specific term you are teaching!

  • Post-lab quiz (30-40 minutes)
  • Pre-lab discussion (5 minutes)
  • Introduction to the lab topic (~20 minutes)
  • Lab activities (rest of class)

2. Timeline of the Term

You will want to include a chronological outline of the labs to be covered each week, as well as a description of what is going to be due at the beginning of that lab. You should include this in your syllabus so that the students have a permanent record of what will be covered in the lab from week to week.

3. How the Points are Allocated

This will also differ from term to term, but you should establish exactly how the points will be broken down between the different assignments. You should also include this in your syllabus so your students can refer back to it over the course of the term for clarity.

Be sure you are very clear on this for the specific term you are teaching!

Potential Problems and How to Avoid Them

(and how to deal with them if they do occur!)

As stated before, establishing the expectations of appropriate behavior in the first class is essential to ensuring that things run smoothly over the course of the term. This section will cover some common problems and things you can do in the first class session that can help avoid them.

1. Students constantly talking and not paying attention when the TA is addressing the class.

This is a common problem, and (as with most of these) can be avoided more often than not by setting very clear expectations about what isn’t acceptable. More importantly than just saying it’s an expectation, however, is actually setting the standard in how you teach. Don’t list is as an expectation and then let them get away with it all the time. It will be very hard to get them back! On the very first day, just simply tell them that you won’t start until everyone is quiet and attentive. If students become disruptive after a while of being good, don’t let it slide. Just calmly stop and ask them to please quiet down and pay attention again. Whatever you do, don’t just let them get away with this because it is very distracting to the students who are trying to actually pay attention.

Another good way to substantially cut down on this is to randomize seating in the beginning of the term. After everyone sits down where they think they would be most comfortable, have them count off by the number of tables that there are in the class and then reorganize them based on this. This strategy has worked very well for numerous TAs in the past, as it breaks up the groups of more similar students or those that know each other and are more likely to distract one another. You can then pass around a seating chart for them to fill in so you can learn their names more easily as well. It works great all around. You should also tell them that you reserve the right to re-randomize later in the term if things aren’t working out great.

2. Disruptive students or poor student attitude towards the course (general negativity)

There are myriad opinions on the best way to handle this situation. You should ask more experienced TAs and your supervisors for advice or assistance if the problem is particularly bad. In general, the expectations you set at the beginning should include something about “applying yourself to the full extent of your abilities.” If students have particularly bad attitudes towards the course, you can stress to them that you discussed this with the class and that they agreed to live up to these standards at the beginning of the course. You can also tell them that if they have valid concerns, they can have a forum to voice them to you outside of the class (if it is constructive criticism), but that the time during class is not the appropriate venue to do so. In the heat of the moment, a key bit of advice is to take a second to step back and think about what you are going to say to best handle the situation. Don’t react rashly based on emotion, try to disconnect and reply with a civil and logical response.

3. Any deviation from course policy (i.e. cheating, wanting to turn in overdue assignments, etc.)

As always, the expectations of the policies were discussed with the class at the beginning of the term, so they have been set as the standard the student has agreed to uphold. Without explicitly setting these as the standards at the beginning of the term, it becomes much more difficult to enforce the policy with a student that has deviated from it, because they can say they “didn’t know that was the policy” beforehand and it therefore doesn’t apply. Along with setting the expectation, you need to be clear about what the consequence is for certain behaviors (like cheating, for example) so that the student is presented with the full outcome of the policy before it is applied to them.

4. Complaints about course policies

Generally, we as TAs are not the ones who set the actual course policies. If they have valid concerns, they can set up a time with you outside of class to discuss them, or they can be discussed with the course coordinator (probably the best option).

5. Rushing through the lab as quickly as possible

You should clearly state at the beginning of the course that it is scheduled as a three-hour lab and that they are expected to be there that long every week. You can tie this back in to you “being invested” in them getting the most out of the lab. You can say, since we are expected to be here for the full time, we might as well use this time to the best of our ability and get through this content as thoroughly as possible. You should stress that not only does spending time in the lab help them understand the material for the lecture better, and thus they will do better on the midterm, it will also lead to an increase in their knowledge base. The former is a tricky way to let them know how it is immediately advantageous to them (unfortunately what most of them are solely interested in), but the latter reminds them of the overall purpose of us being there at all.

6. Disrespectful behavior towards other students or the TA

In this case, it is really helpful to have a statement of the “Inclusive Classroom” at the beginning of the term. Once again, if this policy is violated, it had been clearly outlined and the student has no ground to stand on. In the moment, however, never hesitate to tell a student that certain behavior or language is not appropriate for the classroom.

7. Not participating in group work or working in groups on individual assignments

You should stress to them that the absolute best way to know the material is to participate! The point of lab is to actively engage in the learning process, and not participating results in them not knowing the content as well as the rest of the group. You should also emphasize in the beginning that, while there is a lot of group work in lab, take-home assignments and quizzes are to be done by themselves. If not, refer them to your Academic Misconduct policy.

Checklist and Timeline for First Class

  1. Syllabus prepared and printed out before class: (http://oregonstate.edu/admin/aa/apaa/syllabus-minimum-requirements )
  2. See sample syllabus with required elements in next section
  3. Canvas site published (do you want to send a welcome note?)
  4. In-class time
    1. Introduce yourself and what you work on, do the same for assistant TA and, if appropriate, TI (~5 minutes)
    2. You should do a more formal introduction, a fun slide with a picture of you and the system you work in, or even just the organism you study. This will introduce you as an actual person and not just their TA, and also as a fellow biologist.
    3. Go over the syllabus (~20 minutes), specifically highlighting:

i. Contact Info

ii. Course Objectives

iii. Student and TA Expectations (really want to do this and make them explicit)

iv. Probably want to highlight your genuine interest in their education

v. Really try to stress approachability and willingness to grow as a teacher

vi. Also, probably want to ask them to think about their learning styles

vii. Grading Breakdown

viii. Term Projects

ix. Pre-labs

x. In-lab signatures

xi. “A Day in the Life” of Biology Lab (see Section 3)

xii. Statement of the Inclusive Classroom

xiii. Statement of Academic Honesty

  1. LAB TIME! Get off to a great start!

Remember throughout all of this to have a confident, comfortable and “in-charge” presence about you. You also, however, want to maintain a friendly and approachable attitude so that students feel very comfortable asking for help.