Teaching Matters
Welcome to the McMaster University TA Guidebook!
Teaching assistants, or TAs, are essential to undergraduate education at McMaster. Working as a teaching assistant also offers you unique opportunities and experiences that will contribute to your personal and professional development.
Teaching assistants are individuals who are paid to help McMaster faculty and sessional course instructors with their teaching duties. Teaching assistants may be graduate or undergraduate students, and may be offered a TA position as part of their funding package or may apply to positions within specific departments or programs.
Teaching assistants at McMaster fill a number of important roles. You may lead class discussions, supervise a lab group, mark assignments, meet and correspond with students, or facilitate study sessions. Whatever role you fill, your work is very important to the success of the students and the instructors you work with. This guide aims to provide you with some strategies for fostering an inclusive and dynamic teaching environment and to familiarize you with McMaster policies so that you may confidently fulfill your role.
As important as teaching assistants are to undergraduate education, the opportunities and experiences that come from being a teaching assistant are also very valuable for you. Whether you plan to pursue an academic career or intend to enter a field that does not involve teaching, the skills you acquire as a teaching assistant are sure to benefit you. These skills may include, but are not limited to, facilitating discussions, planning and delivering oral presentations, evaluating the work of others and offering constructive feedback, problem-solving, communicating with the teaching team, handling administration and organization, and designing and assigning projects.
This is an introductory guide and is not intended to be comprehensive, but rather is meant to provide suggestions and ideas for you to test out and refine in ways that respond to your students and satisfy your goals as a teacher. We hope that you find your teaching experience engaging and rewarding and that you will take advantage of the resources and professional development resources at the Paul R. MacPherson Institute for Leadership, Innovation and Excellence in Teaching, which offers a variety of opportunities for teaching assistants to improve their teaching skills and connect with other educators.