Who is the person grading your essays, tests and projects? Is it your professor? In some cases, yes. But it is more likely you have a teaching assistant who does all of those things. This is particularly true at larger universities.
Not only is your TA the one grading you, many times they are in charge of teaching you most of the material as well. So it seems pretty important that you have a good TA, right? Right. If you get a bad TA, you may feel like there’s nothing you can do about it. Wrong.
Just because you don’t have the ideal TA doesn’t mean you’ll have a bad experience in the class. Here are some tips from students who have been in that situation, or still are.
1. Go to office hours.
Chastity Serrano, a sophomore public relations major, had a TA for discussion section for Introduction to International Relations who taught the class as if the students were political science majors.
“I honestly didn’t understand half of what was going on in discussion section because he knew so much,” Serrano said.
So she set up private meetings with him and went to his office hours.
“I just told him I didn’t understand,” she said. “It took me asking each question five times before he understood what I was trying to ask.”
She also recommends that if you feel uncomfortable going to office hours alone, go with classmates. It may make it easier for all of you.
“It’s easier to learn one-on-one or at least in a smaller group, such as going to office hours with friends,” said Ana Krsmanovic, a freshman finance major. It gives you a chance to ask more questions without feeling like you’re dominating the class with all your questions.
“By going to office hours, the TA will learn your name,” said Sarah Combs, a sophomore applied physiology and kinesiology and visual arts double major. “It will make you stand out, and at the end of the semester, the TA may be more lenient towards you. They sometimes share extra information when you go to office hours.”
2. Don’t panic or get overly frustrated, especially after just a few classes.
Many students have had difficulties with understanding their TA. While your first reaction may be to freak out, don’t.
Freshman microbiology major Brittany Behr said, “First impressions can be deceiving.”
If you are worried because you have trouble understanding your TA due to an accent of some kind, try to be considerate. Your TA is probably just as frustrated as you are about the difficulty in communicating.
“If you put yourself in their shoes, it may make you less frustrated,” Behr said.
3. Instead of panicking, be proactive.
Sophomore psychology and film major Alexa Cortez said, “Panicking will not help you. Find a study buddy or a tutor, and keep your cool. Do not leave classes with topics (and a bad TA) that are difficult for you until the last minute.”
Cortez had a terrible TA for pre-calculus her freshman year; she couldn’t understand him because he mumbled and had an accent. Further adding to the problem, he wrote certain numbers and math symbols differently than what students were used to.
“I immediately did everything I could to reverse the situation,” she said.
She found that staying on top of everything and not waiting until the last minute really helped.
Cortez also recommends finding someone in your TA class, who is naturally good at the subject and can help you, despite the bad TA.
“Sitting as close to the front as possible helps,” Krsmanovic said.
4. Utilize tutoring services.
There are plenty of resources on campus, such as the Broward Hall Teaching Center, that are free to students. You can also go to TutoringZone or Study Edge. To learn more about it, visit their websites, http://tzuf.tutoringzone.comand http://studyedge.com.
Cortez put stars next to the homework problems she couldn’t do; then, she took them to the Teaching Center in Broward Hall, where they would take her step by step through them.
The main office of the Teaching Center is located on the ground level of SW Broward Hall. It is divided into three sections: main office & tutoring center, math center study, private appointments/ writing & reading center. For more information, visit https://teachingcenter.ufl.edu.
5. Don’t be afraid to speak up.
And then there’s that TA who just really seems like they don’t belong in the classroom. They lack confidence and appear awkward, which makes you and the rest of the class feel uncomfortable to ask and answer questions in class. But if you don’t answer questions, you may lose participation points, your TA may get frustrated, and you may not understand the information as well.
So, what can you do to avoid these things from happening?
“Just talk openly,” Cortez said. “Even if a bunch of people don’t jump in [the conversation], it helps to break the ice.”
A lot of times, it’s not the student’s or TA’s fault. Most of these girls said their TAs have generally been very nice, but they have still struggled. By following all of their advice, you might have an easier time. It may even turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
Behr said, “In some ways it is better that I can’t understand my Pre-Calculus TA, it makes it harder for me to zone out, so I pay more attention in class now.”