Tips for TAs

The two biggest keys to teaching are preparation and caring for the students.  You have to prepare and know exactly what you are planning to teach, in lecture or in lab.  If you care about the students you will make the material accessible.  Students learn in different ways, so if you motivate the topic in two or three different ways you will make it accessible to most students. Inaccessible material turns students off.

I try to be enthusiastic and energetic about what I am teaching. My level of enthusiasm and energy determines how well the lab goes. Of course, it's pretty basic that the better you prepare your lab, the better it goes. One year I planned labs with another TA. By working together and sharing ideas, both of us were able to teach better.

Julia Hsu, Epidemiology

When I teach I try to put myself in the position of someone who is seeing the material for the first time. What are some things that could be confusing at first glance? How does it relate to what we've seen in the past? What other questions would I have? Instead of directly presenting this material, I've often found it helpful to guide the discussion by asking questions. If the answers are obvious, then they help build confidence in the listener; if not, they help diagnose the level at which the given concept should be presented. An added benefit is that I've learned quite a bit myself from listening to approaches I hadn't considered.

Megan Othus, Biostatistics

I view teaching as an ongoing process rather than as a specific method.  Public health is by definition a multi-disciplinary field and as such students of public health come from many different backgrounds, experiences and styles of learning.  When students ask questions about a specific topic or classroom exercise, be explicit about your goals but be open to different approaches and ways of thinking.  Be open to student comments and criticisms, and in return, be sure to give lots of constructive criticism when people express ideas or ask questions in the classroom.

                   Michael Reddy, Parisitology

One of the things that I find helpful in communicating a new idea is to try to remember how I learned it: the process that I went through in piecing together different aspects of the concept or fitting it into context.  I try to delineate step by step how I came to understand the material; this gives a natural outline for how to present it to others

The teacher's manner in the classroom is obviously very important. Leave a lot of time for questions, and make sure you fully understand the questions. Once you give an answer, it is often helpful to check back with the student by making eye contact and asking, "Does that make sense?  Do you understand now?"  This gives good closure to the question and informs you about the student's understanding of the material.

Also, bring your personality to class.  A sense of humor, some interesting thing that you did over the weekend, or something like that helps you appear more human and makes people more comfortable in the classroom.

Contrary to what most students think, very few teachers know all the answers. Be comfortable with saying "I don't know" or trying to think about a question on your feet. Often students can learn from the

process you go through in addressing a question to which you do not immediately know the answer.  It is also perfectly acceptable to tell a student you will get back to them later with the answer.

The best part of TAing was getting to know the students in our class. They all were extremely bright, had exciting interests in public health, and were very proactive and friendly people. I always looked forward to office hours because it was wonderful to get to know many of them personally. Another great pleasure in teaching at HSPH was the opportunity to work with David Hemenway and my co-TA, Kate Stewart. I learned so much from both of them and they made teaching fun!

For me, the most important part of teaching was listening and making time for students outside of the classroom. A lot of the students came into the class with specific expectations as to what skills and knowledge they wanted to walk away with when they finished the course-I felt that it was important to work with them one-on-one or in groups outside of the classroom to meet those goals.

Rachel Shelton, Society, Human Development and Health