A teaching assistant job description is generally influenced by the academic level of the students being taught. There are four main types of teaching assistants.
1. Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTA): A graduate student given a short term contract with a monthly pay as a teaching assistant, aiding the course professor. GTAs may be required to act as supporting teachers for a course, deliver lectures or preside over discussions-even assisting in labs in courses where it is required. These TAs could also be assigned invigilation duties for formal testing occasions. Their duties outside of structured lessons include tutoring pupils requiring additional help, giving students guidance and counsel when it comes to their assigned work and term projects. GTAs may, in some instances, also be granted permission to evaluate student performance.
2. Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UTA): A UTA is an undergraduate student assisting students taking a course that he or she may have previously taken and performed well in. The UTA may not be called on to teach the class in any capacity, but may usually be expected to prepare course material such as lecture slides or handouts. UTAs, much like GTAs may offer students counsel on their assignments. However, unlike GTAs they will not be encouraged to keep office hours. It is also likely that UTAs will be either paid on an hourly rate, receive credits in exchange for their services, or are perhaps volunteering their services to their teacher.
3. Secondary School Teaching Assistants: The position of a teaching assistant in secondary and middle school is less formal than the abovementioned positions. Either an adult or a student could take this job. If they are appointed by the teaching institution, they will probably get paid a certain amount. However, when the TA may be appointed by the teachers themselves, they will probably not be receiving monetary compensation, especially if they are students. The duties of secondary school TAs include assisting teachers in carrying out routine classroom tasks such as taking attendance, collecting homework, keeping the classroom tidy, distributing worksheets and handouts and in some cases tutoring children outside of class if they need extra help.
4. Elementary School Teaching Assistants/Teacher’s Aides: Adults are normally required to take on the large number of responsibilities associated with the role of elementary school teaching assistants. These responsibilities may include being able to use discussions and role playing-in addition to a bunch of other activities-to teach their little students, planning and executing course work and organizing the work that student’s do, giving extra time to children who need extra help, giving out and collecting homework and projects and putting up colorful bulletin board displays-all in addition to supervising the children during lunch hour, play hour and library classes, with use of audiovisual equipment and with computers. These teaching assistants are mostly contracted on a one semester or one year basis.
The teaching assistant job description entails similar responsibilities for different types of TAs since they all basically require an individual that provides support to the teacher and helps out the students. Specific TA jobs may require individuals to possess specialized skills or be able to handle special responsibilities. To be a UTA or a GTA, one must, obviously, be a graduate or undergraduate student.
If you’d like to be a TA, it is a good idea to have a conversation with the teacher you may be assisting about the responsibilities they will expect you to take on and what their expectations of you may be. This is essential since every teacher has different rules and methods he or she is comfortable with eg. What one teacher may ask you to do, perhaps another teacher would prefer doing that same work herself.
To find out more on teaching assistant job description as well as the different teaching assistant training available, check out this amazing online resource.