Guidelines for TA's

Guide for TA’s

1) Respect students

Treat students as you would like to be treated.

2) Listen

Pay close attention to students and try to understand their thinking. Shift your focus from, “How can I explain X” to, “How can I find out what the student understands about X.” Some of the questions in #4 can help you probe student understanding. When you see a student struggling, it will be tempting to jump in and tell the student what to do. Resist this temptation. Your explanation will not be helpful if it is based on incorrect assumptions about student understanding or if it prevents the student from making his or her own intellectual connection.

3) Give Students Time to Think

Don't hover waiting for an answer, and don’t answer your own questions. Sometimes it's good to leave for a moment (you can get a drink, go to the rest room etc.) so that students can work without feeling that you’re hovering over them (even if you’re not really doing that).

4) Ask questions

Asking questions helps make the student's thinking clearer for both you and the student and can help students discover their own mistakes. Here are some good general questions:

How do you know that?

What would happen if ....... ?

Why did you do _____?

How do you know you're right?

How could you convince someone else?

Explain to me what you are doing...(this isn't a question, but it’s a great opener)

Explain to (someone else in the group)….

Can you draw a picture (make a chart, a graph etc.) to make this clearer?

5) Remember that there are many ways to solve problems

You are not trying to teach students how to do things the way you would do them. Teachers need flexibility different students find different approaches more accessible.

6) Provide support

Many students have lost confidence in their ability to do math. Help students believe that they can do math. Compliment good thinking. Remind students of past successes. Tell them they can do it. Help them persevere: often a student's biggest problem is quitting too soon. If appropriate, share personal experiences with struggles and triumphs in mathematics.

7) Admit when you don't know something

Even very "simple" math can be quite deep and complicated. It is very easy for students to ask a question that you can't answer. Do not try to cover your ignorance by giving a vague answer that gets students to say they understand when you don't even understand.

After admitting you don't know something, you can work together with students to try to figure it out. If you get too frustrated, you can go on to something else. After study group you can think some more yourself, put the issue in your written reflection, talk to an instructor or another TA, etc. Then you can return to the issue the next study group. You will be modeling persistence.

8) Understand that teaching is complicated and you can’t be perfect at it

Sometimes study group won’t go well; sometimes it’ll seem that nothing you try works. Other times, unexpectedly good things will happen. The same thing that works one day or with one student may not work on another day or with another student. Even the best teachers are nowhere close to perfect, and they never will be. Teaching is just not that kind of work.

9) Reflect

You learn to teach by reflecting honestly on what did and did not work and why. Good teachers reflect constantly by taking some time for themselves, by writing, by talking to colleagues, etc.

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