ΠInstructor: You will be teaching undergraduate students in classrooms or marking student work. Although you are knowledgeable in your field, some aspects of the subject will be new and you will be expected to prepare carefully for each session. Don't underestimate the amount of work it takes to be well prepared. Allow yourself time to plan carefully; pay close attention to detail and check everything before you begin. The best teachers are usually the ones who make the greatest effort. However, no teacher is perfect or knows everything, so don't be afraid of being wrong sometimes and admitting it to students.

� Representative from your Department: Each discipline has its own methods and standards. Chemistry, for example, operates on different kinds of premises than does Philosophy. You are re sponsible, with the professor, for establishing reasonable standards for the students, and for helping them meet these standards. This is a difficult job at the beginning as you try to understand what you can reasonably expect of others.

Ž Teacher: Whether you instruct in labs or tutorials or mark essays, you are a teacher and must help the students learn. This involves much more than knowledge in your specific discipline. Teac hing can be an exciting and interesting process, and there are many ways of doing it effectively. Try out new ideas, watch the results, discuss them with your colleagues, and make further changes to accommodate what you have learned.

One of the most important (and underrated) things teachers do is provide feedback. When students reach university, they should be taking control of their own learning but they can do this effectively only if they have good feedback: "Learning is fac ilitated when the student participates responsibly in the learning process. When he (sic) chooses his own direction, helps to discover his own learning resources, formulates his own problems, decides his own course of action, and lives with the consequenc es of each of these choices" (Gibbs, 1981).

If you see your job as helping students develop their ability to learn, you will give them a different kind and quality of feedback than if you think you are just presenting a subject or determining a mark.

� Role Model: Graduate and senior undergraduate students can be excellent role models for undergraduates: they are often just a little older, they have clearly been successful at
university, and they show the undergraduate students what they can aim for. TAs should take their positions as role models seriously. The most important assets of graduate students are their idealism, enthusiasm, and high standards. TAs will be ideal role models if they display these traits in their teaching.

� Friend: All teachers must show respect for and interest in their students as well as enthusiasm for their subject. TAs are still aware of what it is like to be a student; they appreciate the f rustration involved in having to live by the rules of others, in being forced to meet deadlines even when they seem arbitrary or unrealistic, and in being judged by others when they are not in a position to criticize in return. Therefore, TAs are in an id eal position to treat each student as a unique and worthwhile individual. Both in the classroom and while marking assignments, you will be creating the learning atmosphere for students. If you are enthusiastic, helpful, knowledgeable, and fair, you will b e serving your students well.

‘ Intermediary: Teaching Assistants are perfect intermediaries between faculty and students because they understand, ideally speaking, both sides. You can explain the rationale of the facu lty member to the students, but you can also provide an early warning system when things are not going well by telling faculty members what the students dislike.

The TA and the Department

The TA works as a member of a department and a faculty at Dalhousie and is obliged to follow the policies and regulations within the department and meet its standards and expectations. Make sure you understand these departmental requirements.

The TA and the Professor

Generally, you will be working under the direction of a professor in your department who will determine the content and methods used for your teaching assignments: make sure you understand the faculty member's expectations. Once you accept your teachin g assignment, you share responsibility for this class.

The TA and the Students

Although you are hired by the University, you are ultimately responsible to the students. You must do your best for them, and accept responsibility for your own success - or failure.

Professional Ethics

As a representative of the University, you are expected to maintain the standards of the University. This includes following all guidelines and rules established by the University. If you disagree with the policies of the University or the professor yo u assist, you are obliged to discuss these privately with the professor or an appropriate University administrator rather than doing so in front of students or simply refusing to follow the University guidelines.

You also have responsibilities as a teacher to help students learn your discipline and improve their ability to learn. You must be fair and honest and do nothing to exploit your position of power over the students. All students must be treated with equal respect. Private bias and disparaging remarks should never be tolerated within the classroom (see section on Human Rights).