Teaching Assistant Teaching Evaluation Form Ta: Fill & Download for Free

YesI did an introductory session on OOP in MATLAB and solving differential equations for all first year bioengineering graduate students.I also prepared and taught 5 lectures in thermodynamics and one in transport processes for bio and chemical engineers (sophomores/juniors).I have had plenty of other opportunities (including teaching fellowships) that I have had to pass on, because the only thing that will get you anywhere in academia is "publishing good quality papers". Or so I am told.The easiest thing to do is to convince your advisor that you are (a) interested in teaching, (b) enjoy it very much and (c) are good it. Your advisor will either let you teach his/her class when he/she is not around or at a conference, and also let you know of other opportunities.But before that you have to TA first and establish yourself as someone who is good. In my program, all graduate students have to TA for one year. When you spend 5-6hrs a week, solving problems and interacting with 50-100 students for a year, people know if you are good. Students also get to fill out evaluation forms for TAs (at least in Maryland), so, if you make an impression, your department and other faculty members will know about it as well.Many schools award their best teaching assistants with distinguished/outstanding teaching assistant awards. Getting one of those awards will give you some recognition and credibility that you can build on.Graduate schools also offer teaching fellowships, some even let you prepare and teach summer courses. It might be a good idea to check your graduate school website for more details.PS: This answer is only applicable to (most or at least some) STEM programs in the U.S.

Imagine a scenario where there are over a hundred students in a sophomore (second-year) undergraduate class. The students, after a year in college, have formed their own academic and social circles, with self-asserted righteous beliefs or cynicism of the educational framework, oblivious to a senior professor who enters the classroom to teach.Now, in such a scenario, to whom would the students be likely to respond to more, a senior professor in his fifties, or a casual guy in his early twenties?My guess would be the latter, because, it is easier to bond with someone who is closer to your age. That’s human nature particularly when you are in your teenage or early adult years. Some students may be in awe of a professor, so much so, that they may be hesitant to ask questions. On the other hand, some may be prejudiced against the age, attitude and teaching style of the professor, which may not suit them. Certainly, it would take some time to break the ice.That is the major aim behind the IITs starting the Teaching Assistantship programmes: it is easier for students to bond with a younger person, and break the ice. This speeds up the learning process.Now that the major motivation behind a TA-ship is known, let us see some other rationale for a TA:In a large class size where it becomes difficult for a professor to give individual attention, having a good number of TAs with reasonably good knowledge and attitude are like direct extensions of the professor himself! In a class of 100, having 10 TAs means that one TA can mentor 10 students. The task becomes much simple, plus the students get individual attention.Suppose the same 100 students come to a lab for an experiment. The task of giving attention by a faculty becomes ten times tougher. Therefore, a lab needs more number of TAs because the work in a lab is somehow more demanding. While the TAs mentor and guide the students, the professor moves around to monitor if everything is going OK. Also, the grading and evaluations become simple!Many TAs have a passion for teaching in future. A teaching assistantship provides them training for a future job in academia. A teaching assistantship provides a monthly stipend to the TA, and also a tuition grant, providing him/her financial independence.Now, I will explain some of the work I did in my six-plus years of TA-ship at IIT Bombay, where I did my M.Tech and Ph.D degrees from.LAB TEACHING ASSISTANT:Design of experimentsExplaining the motivation and principle of that experiment to students allotted to me (usually six)Evaluate the pre-lab assignments, and mentor their progress during the course of the experiment. Provide help in troubleshooting, when something is not quite rightAnswer any doubts related to the experiment technique/principle/concept/equipment etc. that a student may askGrade the post-lab write-upsConduct extra classes/tutorials as and when needed; identify weak students and addressing their learning needsConduct lab examinations, and gradingConduct crib sessions where students beg/coax/shout/threaten/cry to have their marks increased; maintain sanity after that (:P)THEORY COURSE TEACHING ASSISTANT:Conduct problem-solving tutorial classes; fill in for the regular course professor to take some of the classes if he/she is on leave (happens rarely, I was one of the very few to have handled such responsibility)Design course term-paper projects and/or assignmentsEvaluation of assignments and examination papers; assistance in grading, identifying weak students and addressing their needsBrainstorming with professor regarding course structure and flow, design of examination questionsConduct crib sessions where students beg/coax/shout/threaten/cry to have their marks increased; maintain sanity after that (:P)On the whole, though IIT Bombay says that teaching assistantship per se is a six-hour-per-week job, it is nothing like that. While a vast majority of TAs take the six-hour-per-week-job attitude, I have spent, on an average, 10 to 18 hours per week behind my TA work. Facing some of the best students in the country is no laughing matter; I go over my class content at least twice, and lab experiments in excruciating details, so as not to cut a sorry figure when it matters the most.Largely a thankless job, it is indeed endearing when some of the students would come up to me and put in a good word about how well I explained a particular concept, or how well I troubleshooted a particular problem, and so on. Whether or not a person has a passion for teaching, a TA must take his/her job very seriously, mostly because they have been given the task of imparting knowledge to some of the best students of India.At the end of the day, what with all the overwork, insufficient stipends, largely-thankless professors, getting a few e-mails from students is indeed a reward. Can’t help it, I’m sharing some of my treasured feedback, as follows:We had a great time being TAed by you. Thanks for all the help and for being such a nice person.Thanks for TAing us! Indeed, we were fortunate to have you as a TA for the labs and as a friend as we learnt a lot from you.Thanks for always being with us in sheer need and as a guide/mentor for our projects. We perceive you as a great RA/TA but most importantly, as a wonderful person.Awesomest TA I ever had, Thank you very much for all the help with our project. I know you expected lot more from our group and I am very sorry we let you down. Being with you was a great experience.Really enjoyed the lab under your guidance. Thanks for helping us out lots of times.Indeed a privilege to learn how to work in the lab under you. And thank you for making lab more interesting/enjoyable than the theory courses!Thanks a lot for your guidance throughout the sem. I'm sure our learning was greatly enhanced because of you, and we could gain much more from the lab then we would have otherwise.Good luck to future TAs!DG

I got admitted to IITB CS this year, so I can explain everything in detail :) (And this is going to be a lengthy answer :P)For IIT Bombay:After GATE, the application process begins where you upload forms etc. During this, you've to specify your preferences of engineering discipline. If you did your bachelors in CS/IT, then you're allowed to opt for CSE, and some other Inter-Disciplinary courses like IEOR etc.Your application is then evaluated and then you might get a call if you clear some threshold.Assuming that you want to be in CSE, there are 2 options (and the option is to be specified in the application):1. M.Tech as a Teaching Assistant (2 year programme) :This is a 2-year completely course-oriented programme. In the first year, you'll have normal courses - lectures, assignments, projects and stuff. And in the second year, you get to work on your thesis (and one normal course), or M.Tech Project as it is called.Admissions to CSE with TA is based directly on your GATE Score/Rank. There are no tests/interviews after GATE.This year, there were 5 rounds of direct admission and the cut off was around AIR 110 (Gate Score 865/1000) for the Open Category. So if you get a rank in the top 100, you're sure to get in directly as a TA.TA duties entail assisting some professor with their work. This might include managing lab sessions for Undergrads, exam supervision etc.2. M.Tech as a Research Assistant (3 year programme) :I got admitted to this in this academic year (AIR 129, but that doesn't matter for RA).This is a 3-year programme. It is exactly the same as the TA one except: You get to work on a funded research project (headed by some professor) from the very beginning. You're supposed to work 20 hours per week on this project. And because you've to work 20 hours per week on a research project, you get 1 additional year to complete your M.Tech course work. This addition of 1 year is simply because you've 1 extra project compared to your TA contemporaries. This is a more relaxed programme course-wise, and the work is also really exciting.Both TAs and RAs, have to complete the same amount of minimum credits to get an M.Tech degree, but RAs get one more year to do so.Admission for this is highly competitive. Around a 1000 students are called for this process (hence, being AIR 129 didn't make any difference. There are RA guys who had ranks beyond 700 in GATE, but did really well during the tests and interviews). And also, the number of RA positions available is dynamic, and entirely depends upon the faculty leading the research. This year, there were 34 positions available, but they eventually selected only 25. So, 25 students out of roughly 1200 applicants. The process consists of:A CS testAn interview if you manage to clear the test.The test can consist of questions from the entire GATE syllabus (few questions from each topic). It's an objective test similar to GATE. If your basics are solid, you can easily get through this. It certainly helps if you studied well during your bachelor's and for GATE.If you clear the test, you're then given a presentation of all the available research projects in the institute. Each presentation is given by the faculty member leading that particular research area.After listening to these descriptions, you're supposed to give your research preferences from the options given.You'll then be called for the interview depending on what preferences you've given. Each interview is held by the faculty member heading the particular research project.In the interview, they basically judge if you're capable of working on their project. There are both technical and personal questions. If you already have some background in that particular research field, then you'll be asked questions based on your previous projects in that area.This is a very grilling interview process, as the professors are really good at what they do and they ensure you have a strong foundation in that area.(I interviewed for 3 different projects with 3 professors).A strong grasp of the basic concepts and a good programming background is a must.A few weeks after the interview they put up the list of who they've finally shortlisted.(I got selected for Formal Verification of Chip Design, under Prof . Suptratik Chakraborty - an Intel-funded project)After admission:First thing: It's totally worth it. IITB CS is really awesome and has some brilliant people.After admission, you get a plethora of courses to choose from. There are around 20 courses in the first sem, and you're given around 2 weeks to try them out and select 3 (RA) or 4 (TA) courses. Remember, RA folks have 1 extra year, so they can spread all their courses over 3 years instead of 2.Most of the faculty is really good, and stand up to their reputation. Some are truly brilliant and awesome. There are a few who're not that good, but then every university has pros and cons.The institute itself is amazing and has an eccentric aura to it. I'm a Mumbaikar ,and have been visiting IITB since my school days. So I've been absolutely in love with the campus since long. And after being admitted here, it really stands up to all the expectations.Sorry for the really lengthy answer, but I hope it helps you!