“The classroom remains the most radical space of possibility in the academy.” ~bell hooks, Teaching To Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom
This semester saw the completion of my year long endeavor as an undergraduate teaching assistant for the online course of Professional Science Writing. This experience in its entirety has been challenging, surprising, and rewarding in every capacity. The following reflection will address some of the salient highlights of this internship including an analysis of the individual semesters, a comparison of both semesters, and a summation of what this experience has left me with in terms of being both a more informed student and mentor entering the professional work field.
My first semester of UTAing was an orienting experience. I found that the greatest comfort was Lyra Hilliard’s 388V course, which provided the stability and guidance I desperately needed and appreciated at this time. Being a first time UTA, especially in a field that was not of relation to my Biological Sciences major was daunting to say the least. I was unsure of how to approach this new position. Many questions flooded my mind related to how students would view me, how I should view them, what value I would provide them with, etc. However, I leaned heavily on the modules and assignments in Lyra’s class which included discussions on building a classroom community, engaging with students to provide valuable feedback, setting student/UTA boundaries, and delivering effective lesson plans that spark interest in students. From a student’s perspective, a teacher’s duties seem relatively straightforward. However, when placed in the position, I found that every item in conducting a classroom is much more involved than it seems. Infused into this internship were practices and documents that thought of teaching as more than just giving lessons and expecting students to do well. Readings like Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson’s Seven Principles For Good Practice in Undergraduate Education taught me the importance of, “…addressing the teacher’s how, not the subject-matter what, of good practice in undergraduate education.” Although subject matter varies, the attention we pay to students, the support we provide them, the tone with which we speak to them, and efficiency with which we handle their concerns all play into their learning experience and ultimately, their success. Additionally, documents like Bloom’s Taxonomy taught me the importance of specific practices like using appropriate verbiage to construct lesson plans. These more tangible and actionable lessons proved useful in creating learning objectives that would provide students with concrete writing skills they can carry into their professional futures.
In terms of growing as a mentor, I found myself building my confidence throughout the course of this internship. Reading and writing are passions of mine, which provided the basis for my interest in this internship in the first place. I assumed that if I were to participate in a leadership position, it should be one in which I would gladly immerse myself. Unsurprisingly, I still had anxieties about being in a place of authority in the classroom, especially considering the fact that the students were my direct peers. One particular concern of mine was providing valuable feedback to students, without undermining their abilities or thoughts. I found readings like Nancy Sommers’s Responding to Student Writing to be exceptionally helpful in guiding me toward providing constructive commentary for my students. Rather than reaching for low hanging fruit by addressing sentence structure and grammar, I learned to provide more substantive feedback on crafting strong arguments. In fact, I found one of her statements to be most powerful as she noted, “We need to show our students how to seek, in the possibility of revision, the dissonances of discovery-to show them through our comments why new choices would positively change their texts, and thus to show them the potential for development implicit in their own writing.” This really struck a chord with me as both a student and a mentor. I know how daunting it is to tackle a long paper and question every step of the argument. Is it up to the standard it needs to be? Am I even making sense? What is worse is receiving feedback that tears down your arguments and leaves you in chaos. However, keeping Sommers in mind, I always made a pointed effort to show students the potential for development in their writing, rather than explicitly focusing on only the negatives. In fact, I often would point out for students patterns they have in their writing which if addressed would elevate their work. I think this positive form of criticism is much more constructive and easily transferrable in any profession when considering giving feedback to and collaborating with a colleague.
Regarding this past semester in particular, I would say that my expected challenges, and my actual challenges were much more different than I had anticipated. For one, I did not return to UTA with the same professor. As such, it took a bit to orient myself to working with a new professor, even though the syllabus and assignments were largely the same. Thankfully, Professor Wilson is a wonderful instructor who also genuinely cares about the success of her students and her UTAs. It was simple to build a professional relationship with her and she was always available for our back up and guidance as needed. Additionally, I found that I had more confidence this semester when handling student inquires. Professor Wilson made it a point that Lauren, my fellow UTA and I were the primary points of contact for student concerns. As expected this meant lot of student questions daily. Though I found myself sometimes struggling with how much time I devoted to these questions, it was incredibly rewarding that numerous students would come to me consistently for guidance. Additionally, 388V was exclusively online this semester, but somehow we maintained the same classroom community environment and inclusiveness that I felt in the prior semester. We participated in weekly teaching logs, that helped us keep in contact with each other as we navigated the challenges of UTAing our respective courses. I was surprised at how much I looked forward to these prompts and reflections. When creating lesson plans, or delivering them, we shared out experiences with each other, making the whole endeavor seem like a team effort. As others mentioned in their teaching logs, I would often turn to these discussion boards at various points to validate my frustrations and triumphs. I’m thankful for our instructors who facilitated such an open, active, and inclusive community dynamic in the online space.
In summation, this year long experience as a UTA has been deeply affecting for me, for multiple reasons. For one, it was one of my first real experiences being in a place of authority in academia. It gave me a whole new perspective of teaching, learning, and higher education in general. Though my primary life goal is to pursue a career in the sciences, I find myself drawn to Academia, even more so after this experience. I think this is in part due to instructors like Lyra Hilliard, Rosser Matthews, and Katherine Wilson who consider teaching the art of writing as more than just getting through a syllabus. They focus on teaching students how to express individuality in their writing, how to elevate their thinking, and how to articulate important expressions into the world that otherwise would be left unsaid. It makes me optimistic that higher education has a place for this form of teaching that is so immersive and valuable to not just a student’s learning, but also to their character. To quote bell hooks, “ I have been most inspired by those teachers who have had the courage to transgress those boundaries that would confine each pupil to a rote, assembly-line approach to learning.”
I am exceptionally grateful to have been able to participate in this experience as an undergraduate teaching assistant. I thank my instructors that supported me along the way, and my students whose enthusiasm and consistent effort made mentoring them a privilege.