James Lucania, a student in the M.B.A. program, doesn’t
plan on pursuing teaching as a career. He is not required to spend
time as a teaching assistant, as some graduate students are, and
his background is in investment banking.
But Lucania said that in the two years that he has been a TA, he
has gotten hooked.
He now regularly checks Facebook, eager to see whether any of
his students have added him to their friend lists, and is excited
when he hears that former students have recommended his
classes.
He says he continues to be a TA simply because he likes to do
it.
Many graduate students, some of whom are required to, and some
of whom choose to, spend time as assistant teachers. This is
another item on their lists of activities, which also include
studying for their own classes, writing papers, conducting research
and often working.
“I found out very quickly that it is impossible to do it
all. … Invariably something is going to suffer,” said
Daniel Song, a doctoral student in computer science.
“You’re on your own. … You have to work hard to build
your own social life.”
Many departments require graduate students to be TAs, and most
of those require students to teach three classes.
But some students, such as Lucania, say they decided to be TAs
just because they enjoy the work.
Breeyawn Ririe, a graduate student in chemistry who wants to go
into industry but has not ruled out teaching, said simply that she
has found being a TA to be a rewarding experience.
“I like being a TA, and having this interaction with
students has been great,” she said.
Teaching assistants also say they see benefits to being a TA
that are applicable beyond the classroom.
“No matter what you do in life, you have to be able to
organize the material and present it to others,” Song
said.
Often TAs teach subjects that are outside their areas of
expertise. Sam See, an English TA, said can be an additional
incentive, as it makes graduate students more well-rounded.
“Being a TA increases the breadth of your
experience,” he said.
As an undergraduate, Chun Ly, a doctoral student in astronomy,
attended the University of Arizona, where graduate students were
not required to be TAs.
He said he believes having TA experience can help a person
develop a better teaching career in the long term.
“People who don’t TA … end up going straight from
research into teaching, and I believe they struggle more,” he
said.
Lucania said it can actually be a benefit for students to work
with TAs who have a background in the subject area they teach.
“Students appreciate that we know the subject but also
that we have pertinent work experience,” Lucania said.
But Song also offered up another reason graduate students choose
to become TAs.
“I really think the vast majority of TAs need to teach for
the money,” he said.
Andrew Forrester, a doctoral student in physics, said teaching
undergraduate survey courses help TAs review foundational knowledge
in their fields.
TAs are required to spend extensive hours reviewing and helping
undergraduates understand material they themselves had learned
years earlier.
“Students who come here to get Ph.D.s are trying to learn
their field very solidly … and teaching the material is a good
way to know it thoroughly,” Forrester said.