A teaching assistant or teacher's aide (TA) or education assistant (EA) or team teacher (TT) is an individual who assists a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

with instructional responsibilities. TAs include ''graduate teaching assistants'' (GTAs), who are graduate students; ''undergraduate teaching assistants'' (UTAs), who are

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

students; ''secondary school TAs'', who are either high school students or adults; and ''elementary school TAs'', who are adults (also known as ''

paraprofessional educator A paraprofessional educator, alternatively known as a paraeducator, para-pro, instructional assistant, educational assistant, teacher's aide or classroom assistant, is a teaching-related position within a school generally responsible for specializ ...

s'' or ''teacher's aides''). By definition, TAs assist with classes, but many graduate students serve as the sole instructor for one or more classes each semester as a

teaching fellow A teaching fellow (sometimes referred to as a TF) is an individual at a higher education institution, including universities, whose role involves teaching and potentially pedagogic research. The work done by teaching fellows can vary enormously fr ...

or graduate student instructor, although in some states, such as Florida, they are called "teaching assistants". Graduate and adult TAs generally have a fixed salary determined by each contract period (usually a semester or an academic year); however, undergraduates and high school students are sometimes unpaid and in the US and other countries with the credit system, receive course credits in return for their assistance. Teaching assistants often help the main teacher by supporting students with learning disabilities, such as ADHD, Autism, or physical disabilities, such as blindness or deafness.

Graduate

Graduate teaching assistants (often referred to as GTAs or simply TAs) are

graduate student Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and s ...

s employed on a temporary contract by a department at a

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

in teaching-related responsibilities. In New Zealand, Australian, and some Canadian universities, graduate TAs are known as

tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in ...

s. North American graduate TA positions provide funding for postgraduate research—although the main purpose is to provide teaching support—and it often serves as a first career step for aspiring academics.Park, C. (2004). The graduate teaching assistant: Lessons from a North American experience. ''Teaching in Higher Education'', 9 (3). 349–361 TA responsibilities vary greatly and may include: tutoring; holding office hours; invigilating tests or exams; and assisting a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

with a large lecture class by teaching students in

recitation A recitation in a general sense is the act of reciting from memory, or a formal reading of verse or other writing before an audience. Public recitation is the act of reciting a work of writing before an audience. Academic recitation In a ...

, laboratory, or discussion sessions. Professors may also use their teaching assistants to help teach discussions during regular class. This gives the graduate student opportunity to use their teaching skills, as many are in pursuit of teaching careers. Some graduate students assist in

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

courses by meeting with the students as professors are not able to. Graduate TAs should not be confused with

s (TFs) or graduate student instructors (GSIs), who are graduate students who serve as the primary instructors for courses. However, at some universities, such as those in the

Florida State University System The State University System of Florida (SUSF or SUS) is a system of twelve public universities in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2018, over 341,000 students were enrolled in Florida's state universities. Together with the Florida College Syst ...

, there are neither teaching fellows nor graduate student instructors, and "teaching assistant" is the only title used.

Tutorials

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, Australian,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and some

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

universities, a ''tutor'' is often, but not always, a

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and ...

student or a lecturer assigned to conduct a

seminar A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some parti ...

for

students, often known as a

tutorial A tutorial, in education, is a method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of a learning process. More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture, a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete ...

. At the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, tutors are known as ''supervisors'', and tutorials are ''supervisions''. The equivalent of this kind of tutor in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and the rest of Canada is known as a graduate teaching assistant or a graduate student instructor (GSI).

Undergraduate

UTAs or JTAs (Junior Teacher Assistants) usually serve as true assistants to a class; they typically have taken the course with which they are assisting, often with the same professor, and have performed well in it. This case is less common for GTAs, since many would have been undergraduates at other institutions. Unlike professors and GTAs, UTAs generally do not have a fixed salary but instead are paid by the hour, earn credit hours, or volunteer their time.

High school

The term ''teaching assistant'' is used in a school setting for students or adults that assist a teacher with one or more classes. The responsibilities, situations, and conditions of these individuals' involvement differ from those in higher education. A less formal position, a TA job in

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...

is generally determined by the supervising teacher. Common tasks include assisting students with their work, and taking attendance. Most of the responsibilities of Teaching Assistants do not require the academic expertise of the professor in charge. Some teaching assistants at this level may teach portions of the class lessons, or teach lessons to small groups of students who need extra instruction. Many TAs work "one-on-one" with special needs students; these TAs shadow their student and assist with classwork, organization, and behavior management. In some parts of the United States it is customary or even required that each classroom have one certified teacher and one or more co-teachers or teaching assistants. Students attending high school and middle schools can take a course, usually an elective, and perform tasks such as grade and record scores on homework or tests. The teacher in this setting reviews the grading to assign partial credit on tests and uses discretion.

Elementary school

An elementary school teaching assistant is an adult who is hired to help a

with class-related duties, which are similar to those encountered in middle and

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

settings. They are sometimes referred to as

paraprofessional Paraprofessional is a title given to individuals in various occupational fields, such as education, librarianship, healthcare, engineering, and law. Historically, paraprofessionals assisted the master professional of their field. In more recent tim ...

s ("paras" for short) or teacher's aides. Elementary school teaching assistants are generally hired on a contract that lasts the entire academic year. Teaching assistants aide with multiple duties within schools and can be hired in special education as well.

References

External links

The Art of TAing

What are TA, RA and GA? Funding ?

National Career Service profile of a Teaching Assistant

Teaching Assistant Resource for Jobs and Courses

Changing career to a Teaching Assistant
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teaching Assistant Education and training occupations Teaching