• Some teaching assistants have unique, stand alone roles while others have the traditional role
• The TA selection process varies depending on the college
• Some TAs have good, direct relationships with professors, while others have poor relationships with little communication
• Certain qualities and characteristics determine a good or a bad TA

The stereotypical teaching assistant's job description consists of handling the professor's dirty work: sifting through stacks of papers, grading tests following an answer key and making sure the instructor's coffee cup stays full. But not Marquette TAs.

The life of a TA sometimes parallels a full-time professor's. Julia Hansch, a first year graduate student in the College of Communication, has a "stand alone" TA position because she is the sole instructor for her students in CMST 22: Public Speaking for Business.

Hansch has an independent TA position with a supervising faculty member. She teaches three 18- to 20-person sections that meet twice a week in a lecture and discussion setting. Hansch said she follows her supervisor's syllabus and goes to her for help and changes, but that she is the sole contact for her students.

"I really appreciate that (my supervisor) allows me a lot of autonomy with my students," Hansch said. "Students learn at different paces, so it's important to know if what you're doing is helpful."

She said the most important step to becoming an effective TA is putting herself in the students' shoes, remembering what worked and what didn't work for her when she was a student.

Hansch said the best part of being a TA is the gratification she receives when students give her thanks and positive feedback. She said she enjoys seeing her students improve and apply the class material.

Kate Szczesniak, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, holds a similar view. Szczesniak has a more traditional TA role in MATH 25: The Nature of Mathematics, grading papers and tests and holding office hours and review sessions.

"It's important to make sure students actually understand and not just memorize the material," Szczesniak said. "The best part for me was when I had students say that they would have failed the class if it wasn't for me."

She said her professors have been easy to work with, but she has not had a direct relationship with them.

The TA selection process varies depending on the college. Hansch had the opportunity to apply for a merit-based scholarship as a TA or a research assistant through her graduate school application. Szczesniak applied after receiving an e-mail to math students. But Ingrid Buxton, a physics lab supervisor, said she has free reign in choosing TAs and uses her own selection process.

Buxton said she has experimented with a few different styles, and the most effective is choosing students who interact well with others and perform well in her class.

After 10 years of working with TAs, Buxton said her relationship with them depends on the person.

"Most of the time we just communicate through e-mail or by phone," Buxton said. "It's not so much face to face."

However, Buxton said one of her best TAs became her friend, talking once or twice per week. They are still friends today.

But not all TAs are effective. Buxton noted a few instances: one TA who seemed angry all the time and simply told students what to do instead of teaching them, and another who missed a few labs, claiming to be sick.

"But we all know what that means. I would think, 'OK, so how much did you have to drink last night?'" Buxton said. "You have to set it up so you don't let your TAs get between you and the students."

She said her TAs usually take teaching seriously and are meant to be helpers.

Linda Menck, a professional in residence in the College of Communication, agrees. Even though most of her TAs were effective and easy to work with, she had run-ins with a poor TA.

"I didn't like having TAs," said Menck, who prefers smaller classes because she likes to interact with students. When she teaches a large lecture, her students become distant, she said.

Her COMM 21: Introduction to Visual Communication class had two TAs, and she said some students in one section had a constant fear of their TA's harsh criticism and being treated unfairly on assignments.

"I had one TA come in thinking that he knew more than me," Menck said. She said she had to override some of his decisions after several students complained about his grading, recalling two or three times when students even came to her in tears.

She said it's important for TAs to be fair because it reflects poorly on her as an instructor. Menck said it showed "big time" in student evaluations.

Menck said she once considered firing the TA, but she didn't because TAs are still students and the job is a learning experience for them.

But she said she believes the situation could have been avoided with a better selection process, one including an interview. In the current process, she said, a graduate committee of about six people chooses TAs by reviewing applications.