Tips for teaching assistants

1. Familiarize yourself with the code of conduct.
2. Stay engaged and make yourself available to students. Keep a look out for students who aren’t asking for help but are suffering in silence.
3. If you’re helping a member catch up while everyone else is engaged with the teacher or slides (for example, if someone walks in late and you’re helping them download Python), keep your voice down so as not to distract others at the table. Do not leave the table until they are “caught up” and can engage with the lesson.
4. Admit when you don’t know the answer. Working toward a solution together, or summoning another TA to help, demonstrates to students that coding is about continuous learning.
5. Answer the question that is asked. Delivering lots of extra information sometimes does more to confuse students and pulls them away from the lesson.
6. Share your own experiences with students! You were recently in their position - if there is some trick or story that helped you understand the concept that new perspective will likely help others too.
7. If you want to speak to the whole group, raise your hand or wait until the teacher pauses.
8. Help students celebrate their learning and successes. Keep a look out for negativity and try to minimize or counter it. HMC strives to be a place where members do not disparage themselves or others.
9. Encourage members to help each other! If someone is finished with an exercise while you’re helping the person next to them, ask their neighbor to explain how they reached their solution. It gives the members good practice explaining their thinking, helps create bonds, and free your time up to address other questions.