Most fulfilling experience of my grad studies… (at McGill in Montreal)
TLDR Version : Being a TA!! See some of the student reviews here!!!
I am almost reaching the last bits of my masters program at McGill University. It has been a wonderful experience. The university, the city of Montreal, the people and everything about this experience has brought about a lot of cherish-able moments. However, if I am to pick just one of these experiences to be the most fulfilling of all; then it would be my experience as a TA (Teaching Assistant). The way you feel when you are able to help a student understand something new and see them go like “Wow, that makes so much sense, Shabir!” is just beautiful 😃. So, I thought I’d write something about it in the hope that it might be of use for myself and others (new TAs or people trying to help others) in future.
For those who don’t know, a TA is someone who is like an assistant to the main course instructor (a professor or a lecturer). The course instructor conducts the weekly (scheduled) lectures and the TA(s) are available for students to clarify their doubts and to get extra help to understand the content. Occasionally, the TA(s) do conduct tutorials. They are also responsible for grading assignments & exams. Usually, most grad-students are TAs for grad & undergrad courses.
Shy & Scared
Growing up, I was inclined to being more of a perfectionist. Thus, I have always been afraid of making mistakes and being called off by others. You would usually find me saying “I don’ know”, for things that anybody with the same understanding as myself would say “Yes, I know!”. I was more of a shy-personality when it comes to speaking of things that I am less than 90% knowledgeable of 😐. In addition, I think a lot (Like ALOT!! 🤔). This means, the idea of a TA is of great responsibility for me(unlike what most TAs would take it to be). For me it means that I have to give my best to ensure that the students get the best.
Thus, I was always hesitant of taking up the role of a TA since I was for the most part “scared & shy”, as to whether I will be able to deliver the best to the students. Now this is not how most grad students think when they apply for a TA position. “Its just good money whilst doing your research work”
If you are planning to be a TA, in the future you must make sure that you take it up with responsibility.
On the other hand, those who know me know that I like making new friends and connections. I like speaking to people, knowing their story and helping them. I also can be very patient with people (my name - Shabir - is derived from the Arabic term “Sabr” which means patience) even though my nuclear family members would disagree 😉. So I really wanted to try it. So I applied and got in. However, I said to myself I will ensure that I give my best to the students.
COMP206-Software Systems
So I have been the TA for the COMP206-Software Systems (sometimes called Systems Programming) class at McGill for the past 2 semesters. The class is 200 level, which means its either taken by 1st or 2nd year Computer Science students and students of various levels (some even from the final year) from other majors (who have Comp Sci as a minor). The class size is roughly 400–500 students with up to 9–10 TAs.
Of-course the course content is mostly basic stuff which includes - Intro to Linux Command Line & Bash, C Programming (with fork(), system calls, some shared memory and socket programming), makefiles, debugging, git basics and sometimes introduction to advanced stuff like semaphores, scheduling, etc.
Even though the content is very basic, I believe this to be an important course for any Comp-Sci student. It helps solidify most of the abstractions with higher level Comp-Sci stuff that will be taught later. If the student loses it here then the chances are that he/she will start disliking or fearing Comp-Sci. This course basically sets the stage for other higher level comp-sci classes. So, the most challenging part of being a TA of this course is understanding that these are fresh students with little or zero knowledge of most Comp-Sci jargon. Thus, it is essential to be able to talk to the students in a wavelength that they understand and be absolutely patient with whatever they have to ask/say.
What they expect from you as a TA?
From my experience of being a TA, I have learnt certain things that most students expect from you and what they really appreciate most. Here is an non-exhaustive list of them:
1. Be open for ANY question…
Students come to you because they don’t understand something and want to get a better understanding. If you are not receptive enough, then they might even lose the courage to ASK. Thus, you must be open for any question and be able to receive them with full enthusiasm. The objective here must be that you ensure that they leave after learning something new. Even if it something they should have known earlier, it is only right that they leave (after seeing you) with not having to learn it from elsewhere. The most common appreciation I have received from my students is that they can ask me anything without the fear of sounding stupid. If you start sounding condescending, it is not going to help the student and possibly stop he/she from coming to you again. They need to feel that you are VERY APPROACHABLE.
2. Talk to them with NO JARGON…
The problem with most Comp-Sci (I am not sure about other disciplines) conversations is the amount of jargon used. People assume that their audience know a lot of things and swallow many important details. Now, this is reasonable & acceptable in conferences and talks of different industry settings. But when teaching something to someone, I believe in the least use of jargon. I have many students who come to me saying things like, “The prof keeps on using server for many things. Is it a physical thing or a software?”. Now the answer is that it can be both. So you must be able to think in terms of their level of knowledge and break-down every most tiny detail.
3. They want reasons FOR EVERYTHING…
Students are curious about everything. If their code does something weird they want to know “WHY?” even if it is not part of the assignment. It doesn’t matter that what they did was wrong. It only puts them at ease when they know why it behaved that way. Now, this is hard but this is essential in order to solidify your understanding about something. It is such critical questioning that helps you properly understand the inner workings of anything. Being able to fight with this and provide a solid explanation not only helps the student but also you. Most TAs get put away by such a scenario and as a result fear confrontation. I have also sometimes faced with questions that I didn’t have an answer for. So the best thing you can do is ask for some time and make sure you definitely get back after doing your research. This helps!!! you and the students.
4. They want you to walk them to solutions with THEIR APPROACH…
Students usually come to TAs with partially done work which does not work as expected. Even-though the approach taken by the student might not be the most efficient way (or the way you know) to the answer, it might definitely be one possible approach. The easy way out for the TAs is to just tell the student that what he/she has done is wrong and show them to the method you feel is most suitable. But, the student has already put a lot of thought and effort in getting to where they are. Unless otherwise they are absolutely wrong, you must walk through their work and try to show them the way to get to the answer with what they already have (in addition to telling them the correct method). This gives them confidence in the effort they have put in and also helps them better understand why one approach is better than the other.
5. Take a slot off to do the Assignments yourself…
In order to be able to answer student queries you need to have a sense of what the problem is. I always make it a point to take an hour or two off to actually try the assignments myself. This enables me to understand what exactly are the problems faced by the students and also revise certain things I myself might have forgotten. Most importantly, I am able to help students swiftly when they come to me, since I already know why and where it is. Also, makes grading assignments a lot easier and faster.
Summary: Help them with your most valuable asset TIME!!!
In summary what is common about all of the above is that they require you to dedicate extra TIME. This is not easy with everyone, but it depends on what your priorities are. For me, I have great satisfaction in being able to help someone and knowing that they benefitted from me. In addition I also believe that the best form of knowledge is attained by teaching. Thus, for me spending time to help someone understand something only means that I help myself better understand it. This has helped me be available for students almost all the time (even out of my usual office hours)!!!
I have followed my role as a TA with absolute passion and have numerous fun-filled memories. Some students have taken me out for dinner/coffee, some have brought be desserts and some have given feedback about me which I will not share in public 😃. I have made equally as many friends with my students as with the graduate students who work with me. For me I am ever thrilled to see that “Eureka” moment in the face of a student when I am able to help them out of a problem or doubt.
I am looking forward to spending more time as a TA, given that I extend my grad studies further 😉.
Submission #1475502: Shabir is the best TA I have ever had. He is great at explaining and should be a professor one day!! - I will try…
Submission #1487960: If there is someone who absolutely loved their job and put everything they have into this job just to make sure his students can ace this course, this man must be Shabir. He is by far the best TA I have ever had in this school and he is mainly the reason we can survive this course. Many thanks to him as I know I won’t have any TA as good as him or even anywhere close to his passion and devotion to his work in the future. - Thank you 😃
PS: To all students - know that the TAs are also students and they tend to not know everything. If you are patient and humble in the way you approach them, they will feel more free to help you.
#shabirmean
Shabir Abdul Samadh
