3 Members of a Teaching Team

A course’s teaching team might or might not include one or sometimes more than one Instructor, Teaching Assistant(s), Lab Demonstrator(s), and Marker-Grader(s), and a Course Coordinator. This part is a general overview of the duties and responsibilities of each role.

Please note that the following is just an introduction to familiarize you with these titles and their roles and they can differ based on an employee’s contract. The roles and responsibilities are more nuanced and contextual than those mentioned in this unit.

Instructor

The responsibilities of an instructor can be many; these include scheduled contact time with students, preparation for lectures, student consultation, scheduled contact time with students, marking and grading, and course administration.

Teaching Assistant

Responsibilities of Teaching Assistants (TAs) include scheduled contact time with students, preparation of seminar material, student consultation, marking or grading, examination proctoring, attending lectures, holding office hours, and other course administration as may be required.

Roles, responsibilities, and rights of TAs are elaborated in detail in the next chapter Roles, Responsibilities, and Rights of TAs, and throughout this book.

Please note that TA can be an umbrella term for Seminar Leaders, Marker-Graders and Lab Demonstrators.

Marker-Grader

The Marker-Grader is expected to mark assignments, term projects, case reports, midterms, progress exams, and final exams. They must be prepared to provide written feedback to students that will clearly identify learners’ strengths and areas for improvement. The marker-grader may be expected to invigilate mid-terms and examinations or enter grades into databases, at the request of the course instructor.

Lab Demonstrator

A Lab Demonstrator’s duties may include: preparing the lab; preparing and presenting an introduction to the lab; overseeing the lab for safety matters; teaching and assisting students during the lab; cleaning up after the lab; grading lab reports; and, in some cases, grading tests and exams from the lecture. Participation in one or more health and safety workshops for Lab Demonstrators will be required by the Department.

Course Coordinator

The duties and responsibilities of the Course Coordinator include overseeing the seminar/tutorial/lab sections for a particular course; coordinating Teaching Assistants, Lab Demonstrators, and Marker-Graders and holding meetings with them; assisting in the preparation of marking schemes and coordinating the marking of course assignments and/or midterm, progress and final exams; and any other related duties as may be required by the course instructor.

In the next chapter, Roles, Responsibilities, and Rights of TAs, you will gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a TA.