Teaching Assistants’ Workshop designed to encourage active learning

Teaching Assistants’ Workshop Auckland University of Technology, (offered by) Learning and Teaching Unit
There is a scene in a Harry Potter film where Severus Snape acts as replacement teacher for the Defence Against the Dark Arts class when Professor Lupin is feeling a little under the weather (it’s full moon, he’s a werewolf and thus unable to teach young adults anything except how to run very fast to avoid being eaten). Snape sees that Harry is writing rather than looking at him and makes a remark about students who think they’re too important to pay attention. The ever attentive Hermione elbows Harry who abruptly puts down his quill. The film then cuts to a shot over Harry’s shoulder looking down at his parchment. He has been writing down everything Snape has said.

This scene ran through my mind on a number of occasions during the Teaching Assistants’ (TAs) Workshop I have just completed. But not because the teachers were like Severus Snape! The facilitators Julia Hallas and Jennie Swann encouraged us to consider the responsibilities of the role of TA- what assumptions might we bring to our teaching? How might we bring out the best in our students? Snape had assumed that Harry was arrogant because he had prior experience of Harry’s Dad James who could (let’s be frank) be a bit of a showoff. Throughout the films as Harry and Snape clash, there are a number of assumptions being made by both of them about each others character. Harry lives up to Snapes’ worst expectations, and is belligerent to him on many occasions. Both have responsibilities as teacher and learner but ultimately Snape is the teacher and he has must move beyond his own prejudice to support his students (I’m sure you’ve all seen the movies and know that actually in his own way in the end he does).

Julia and Jennie provided a platform for us to discuss and explore our ideas around teaching – how do we bring out the best in our students? How do we avoid making assumptions about their learning? How do we encourage many perspectives while still keeping to time constraints and following a lesson plan? More to the point what is a lesson plan and why would we need one?

Four half days is a not a lot of time to prepare Teaching Assistants for their first semester, so the content of the workshop concentrated on some basic skills – communicating clearly, being well prepared, being open to feedback and giving good feedback as well as the basics of lesson planning and teaching. It felt that we were being opened to the potential of the Teaching Assistant role. There was time allowed for critique and analysis, and opportunities to discuss issues and ideas informally with other students.

This workshop was the most multicultural I’ve ever attended, reflecting the great diversity that is the strength of AUT. Hearing how it is to be a student learning in a second language and the process of translating the teacher’s words into another language, then having to translate ones own thoughts back into English in order to ask a question in class was a great example of the challenge many students face in the classroom every day. A student may be quiet not because they don’t care, but because they’re working really hard just to keep up. Rule number one – when you ask the class a question count to 13 before assuming they don’t know the answer.

In the spirit of the workshop, I offer feedback on how I found it in the ‘sandwich format’ (positive, options for improvement, positive): I really enjoyed the opportunity to work closely with other TAs and potential TAs from across the disciplines at AUT; I would have liked to see a Treaty of Waitangi section for the benefit of all and more mention made of the Te Tari Awhina Student Learning Centre which as TAs we can all refer students to; I loved the passion and enthusiasm for motivating good teaching which Julia, Jennie and their team showed.

If you are thinking about becoming a teaching assistant at AUT or more broadly if you have ambitions to be a lecturer, I recommend this four half days course as a great introduction. If you are a lecturer please actively encourage your students to attend. It is not helpful for a lecturer to say to a student ‘oh, teaching is easy’ – it’s not! The course runs twice a year – book your place (or recommend your students book theirs) for next year now!

Emma Jean Kelly, PhD Candidate, Communications School