How Do I Work with Teaching Assistants Effectively? : Center for Teaching & Learning : UMass Amherst

This resource was created by Neena Thota, Senior Lecturer II and 2024-25 Chancellor’s Leadership Fellow.

You gain many benefits from investing in your working relationships with your Teaching Assistants. In addition to helping you run your course smoothly, your TAs can help to create a supportive student learning experience in a variety of ways.

The strategies and examples below are some ways you can involve your TAs in your course and help them collaborate effectively as a teaching team. Keep in mind that you may not be able to integrate all of the examples (given the number of hours your TAs may have), so it’s best to pick and choose the examples that make sense for you and your TAs’ backgrounds, skills, and interests. 

STRATEGIES & EXAMPLES

How Can My TA Support Me in My Teaching? 

Reviewing your Canvas course. In the first few weeks of the semester (and ongoing as you add more content), you may want your TAs to review your Canvas course. Their review can be helpful both for them to become familiar with how it is organized (so they can explain to students where to find content) but also to give you feedback on whether it’s difficult to find material, if links are broken, and to double-check that deadlines and due dates are correct.

Facilitating review sessions. Closer to any upcoming assessment, your TAs may wish to conduct a separate review session (in-person or online). Alternatively, they could record their own short videos to serve as review to help students prepare for the assessment and oversee a discussion board to answer any student's questions in response to the videos.

Managing FAQs. Students often have the same questions but choose to email the instructor or TA directly. Instead of repetitive responses, consider having your TAs create a FAQ document that they display in your LMS and update frequently throughout the semester. You can then address some of the answers to the class in your class.

Checking in on group work and discussions. Consider having your TAs monitor and/or support collaborative work by checking in with groups. Similarly, if you are using asynchronous discussion boards, your TAs could jump in to clarify any misconceptions and/or contribute or advance the conversation. Also consider whether your TAs could support you by addressing any technical issues students may experience while participating in synchronous or asynchronous activities, so these issues don’t delay the class.

How Can My TAs Help Me Track Student Learning?

Your TAs are an amazing conduit for learning about the student experience in your course and can help you align your activities, assessments, rubrics with student needs through their feedback and sharing information based on their observations of students. This can be accomplished by:

Holding frequent meetings. Holding frequent (weekly, bi-weekly) meetings with your TAs can provide you with a sense of how students are engaging with course material, what they are stuck on, and what might need further review. Throughout the semester it’s always good to check with your TAs on what they’re doing in their discussion sections, any challenges they’re experiencing with students or technology, and any successes they’ve had that their peer TAs could implement. You can also use meetings to show support for your TAs by checking in on how much time they are devoting to your course and helping them balance their workload.

Monitoring discussion forums. If you are using discussion forums, small group discussions or in-class activities, you may want your TAs to scan the forums and provide you with summaries of student contributions. You can then take that information and craft group-level feedback for the class, emphasizing quality posts that advance the conversation and suggestions for further improvement.

Reviewing instructor-developed assessments. If you have developed your own assessments (e.g., exam, quiz, writing assignment), ask your TAs to review the instructions for clarity before you administer them to students. Likewise, have your TAs take a quiz or exam, well before you administer it, so they can help you determine if any of the questions need revision. TAs can also develop additional test items throughout the semester as part of their regular work responsibilities.

Creating and/or reviewing rubrics. One of the typical TA responsibilities is grading but consider involving your TAs in co/developing rubrics before they use them, so they are fully in agreement and understand the expected criteria.

How Do I Coordinate and Communicate With TAs?

Communicating and coordinating with TAs ensures a productive and transparent working relationship, and can be accomplished by:

Sharing your expectations. Early on, it is useful to share your syllabus with your TAs, explaining your course goals and how your assessments tie into those goals. If your TAs are holding discussion sections, it would also be beneficial to talk about your expectations for these sessions (e.g., are the sections meant to elaborate on the content students already learned for the week, help build personal connections to the material, and/or provide practice with concepts, etc.?). Ideally, you would want TAs across discussion sections reinforcing similar content and providing students with similar opportunities to apply concepts and practice skills—all to help them prepare for upcoming assessments. Also share your expectations and resources for academic integrity and what your TAs should do if they suspect cheating or plagiarism.

Clarifying responsibilities. Confirm with your TAs the number of hours they should be devoting to your course each week, including attending regular meetings with you. In addition, clarify their role in the teaching team, and communicate any expectations you may have for them with developing course content, holding office hours, facilitating discussions, attending class sessions, monitoring student involvement, grading assignments, and completing tasks in a timely manner. In clarifying expectations, consider developing a contract or guide that lays out your responsibilities as instructor and your TAs’ responsibilities.

Checking for access and familiarity. If you want your TAs to assist you with any of the technology tools you plan to use (e.g., Canvas, Zoom, etc.), ask them about their familiarity and comfort with these tools. You may even be surprised at the technology expertise they have and what tips they can share with you. Still at times you may have to show them how to use certain features or direct them to the Instructional Media Lab team ([email protected]) for additional support. You’ll also want to make sure your TAs have certain permissions (e.g., Grading and Building permission in Canvas or a co-host in Zoom) before your classes begin.

How Do I Help My TA To Build Connections with Students?

To foster effective student learning, instructional teams should build connections with students. Your TAs are a valuable asset to help students engage and interact with the course content and with their peers. Some effective practices may include:

Building connections with students. At the beginning of the semester, encourage your TAs to introduce themselves and share their research and/or hobbies. Ask your TAs to focus on creating opportunities for active engagement and interaction. This includes being available during office hours, checking in on group work and discussions, and reaching out to students when appropriate.

Holding office hours. Having office hours gives your TAs an opportunity to connect with students in another venue that can develop a supportive class climate. Think about the best configuration (individual drop-ins, group meetings, in-person or online) and timing for office hours. Discuss the plan with your TAs and make sure they have access to a private space to meet with students. You may also want to talk about alternative office hour formats (discussion forums or emails) TAs can use to engage with students who cannot attend office hours. You may encourage TAs to reference videos, readings, or other materials when talking to students to reinforce what is available.

Reaching out to students. TAs can foster connections by creating a welcoming and inclusive classroom environment through being responsive to students. Work with your TAs to develop guidelines for responding to student emails in a timely manner. Additionally, talk with your TAs about expectations on whether they participate in class discussions and what to do if they notice that a student is not attending discussion sections, turning in assignments, or accessing Canvas. For example, they could proactively reach out to the student directly and check in, while keeping you in the loop if further action needs to be taken to support the student.

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