Being an undergraduate teaching assistant is one of the best experiences I have had as a student at the University of Washington. I held teaching assistant positions for CSE 417 Algorithms & Computational Complexity three times, and once for CSE 421 Introduction to Algorithms. Our computer science department, the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, is largely powered by undergraduate students. Being a teaching assistant is not something that is available at all universities, so if you are a UW CS student, I will give some reasons for why it is such an invaluable experience.
#1 An easy way to build friendships with students
You will see the same faces every time you hold office hours. Computer science classes are hard. You are forced to seek help from your peers or the course staff when you hit a roadblock. Because you see the same people each week come for help, you will create bonds with your fellow classmates/students. They will in turn become your peers in other classes you take as well. If you are introverted at all but want to make acquaintances or get your daily dose of human interaction, it is an easy way to get to know many students without much effort on your own. But make sure you are a star teaching assistant! You will attract more students to your office hours if you are prepared, helpful, engaging, and approachable! Know your stuff! During my final quarter teaching, my office hours at its peak had anywhere from 15 to 20 students at once in a small room.
#2 You will hone your ability to explain difficult concepts
It is not easy to explain concepts. You will try to dumb your explanations down, but unavoidably use words that they have yet to entirely grasp. Then you will find yourself pivoting to explain those words that are contributing to further confusion. It is important to figure out how to teach effectively. It is a combination of constantly probing the room for confusion and trying to weave together a story that is convincing and easy to follow. Teaching demands us to practice our public speaking and our ability to answer questions on the spot. You want to find a pace that is not too fast and not too slow. You do not want to gloss over important details, nor do you want to relax your voice on important details. Students get confused easily (source, was a student too!), so you don’t want to add to their confusion. Everything matters. Teaching is not easy, but you will learn to appreciate how hard it is to teach a group of students.
#3 The freedom to create your own experience
I love holding office hours. You have a lot of freedom (in the non-intro classes at least…) on how you do your office hours. Some teaching assistants will have a queue to help one student at a time. Other teaching assistants will have a room filled with students taking turns shouting out questions. I am the latter. I love having a room filled with students trying to absorb what I say. It is great for me because sometimes a student that did not ask the question would find something I said confusing. It gives me an opportunity to clarify, which may not happen if it was a 1-on-1 with a student. I prefer it because you can also gauge whether the students are confused about the problem or answer. In such a format, students can also collaborate easier on the problem sets. I also like whiteboarding the ideas out to teach and so I think having all the students watch and chime in is beneficial for them.
#4 In the process of teaching, you end up teaching yourself
While trying to isolate lessons to students in seemingly difficult problems, you find yourself chasing what might seem obvious to you but confusing to students. You will think you have a complete grasp over the material, but students will ask questions that will make you question your own understanding. This is important! I’ve been asked questions regarding proof techniques, different algorithmic approaches, and more, that I felt uncomfortable with. In these moments, you are to either realize you have a gap in knowledge and redirect their questions or improvise and figure out the correct response to their inquiries. On a more fundamental level, you will be digging at every detail of what you thought you knew entirely. This will reveal a lot that you did not know you didn’t know. I don’t want to be dramatic, but you need to try teaching it to demonstrate to yourself that you know it.
#5 Connecting with your fellow TAs and professor
Self-explanatory. I was never the type to go up to professors after class to ask questions. But being a teaching assistant made me interact and build relationships with my professors. There are plenty of opportunities to get to know your staff, whether that be grading parties or weekly TA meetings. For one of my quarters, I had a co-TA for my office hours, which I highly recommend trying at least once (you can also do this with teaching section). If one of you guys don’t know the answer, the other TA would likely have an answer.
#6 Opportunity to contribute to the class content
I had the opportunity to design homework problems for CSE 417 Algorithms & Computational Complexity. My professor that quarter was developing homework problems on the fly. I was a part of his content development team. I would suggest homework problem ideas, draft the problems, create solutions, and write grading rubrics. My other friends who taught other classes participated in maintaining course infrastructure and building autograders. There is a lot of behind the scenes work that must be done to keep a functioning class. Sometimes it isn’t fun (like grading), but other times it is really exciting (like creating homework problems).
#7 The chance to advocate for students
During staff meetings, you can voice concerns about the course. In my experience, the professor’s office hours tend to be a bit quieter than an undergraduate TA’s office hours. I think this is because TA’s are more approachable and less intimidating. Because of this, you are likely to have a better idea of what the concerns and worries are from the students. As a TA, you have the ability to advocate for your students and represent their sentiments during staff meetings.
#8 Another challenge that may benefit yourself and your own credentials
It’s not necessarily easy being a teaching assistant. You have to be on top of your game, especially if you aren’t as familiar with the material going in. You have to constantly review, make sure you understand the homework problems inside and out, and more. It will be an addition to your responsibilities in university. If your goal is to gain a career in the software engineering profession, being a teaching assistant is a massive plus. The software engineering interview process hinges in part, on your ability to convey your thoughts with clarity. This is very similar to the skill of being a teaching assistant. I’ve had recruiters instantly give me interviews because I was a teaching assistant for algorithms.
#9 Getting paid
Rent is not cheap! The money I made from being a teaching assistant was enough to pay my monthly rent. I recommend it. You will get a dollar raise every other quarter that you teach.
#10 It’s fun and rewarding
Half the point of university is to become educated. The other half is to have a good time. It’s a moment in your life where you can try things out and see if you like it. Being a teaching assistant is an opportunity you will only get while in university.
After holding my final office hour, I had around 15 students congratulate me on graduating. They told me that I carried them through that quarter and that they were so thankful. Each week they came to my office hours and asked questions, so I ended up becoming acquainted with them in turn. It is an incredibly fulfilling sense when you know you’ve helped someone every week. And students in this department show immense gratitude towards the teaching assistants. One student told me my response time on the question board was insane (I have email notifications turned on). The compliments and gratitude I got from my students made my day. It sincerely makes me wonder what it would be like to pursue teaching as a career. But like all great things, they don’t last forever. I am happy that it happened. Seeing the moment a student understands a concept is one of the best feelings ever.