According to the PhD Curricula Requirements, each student must be a teaching assistant for two semesters of a BME course. The TA requirement usually needs to be completed by the end of the student's fourth year. A TA survey, usually sent out during the summer, will have a list of available classes. Students must rank several classes according to their ability to teach each one. The list of previous TAs can be found at the bottom of the page.

Tips

Practices

• On your first day of class, set the rules, e.g. "Emails will only be checked on weekdays within the hours of 9am to 5pm, and will be answered within 24 hours." Otherwise, your students might get ornery.
• If you're teaching your own session or covering a review, it's a good idea to outline what you'll be covering at the beginning of each session. That way, students can also see where you're going, and add any other topics they need to know.
• Use the List of Previous TAs (see below) to find who else has TA'd your class before, and ask them for advice. This could include a previous gmail account, passwords, old tests, etc.

Technology

• Create a gmail address or account for the class. You can create filters that forward emails from the account to your own email address, but it'll be great for TAs in the future to see previous students' questions and your responses to them.
• Email all pertinent documentation to this gmail account for future TAs.
• You can create Google spreadsheets to keep track of grades; just create them within the Google account, and "share" them with your own account so that you can edit whenever you are logged in.
• A lot of classes use WebCT, which involves a Bulletin Board. You will need to check this at least once a day, especially when TA-ing the core classes.
• Many core classes need to be recorded, and the videos are posted online. You'll need to check with Marty or Cathy in Clark Hall to schedule or pick-up the equipment.

List of Previous TAs