Work in progress: Describing the responsibilities of Teaching Assistants in first-year engineering programs

Abstract

Many engineering programs have a common first-year curriculum required for all students. The courses tend to be large in size requiring the use of Teaching Assistants (TAs) for implementation. The responsibilities of TAs vary including lecturer, lab instructor, and grader. Despite their significant presence and varied functions, little is known about the roles of TAs as a whole across institutions. This study fills a gap in the literature by describing the roles and responsibilities of TAs in multiple first-year engineering programs across the nation, providing a foundation for future work investigating TA experiences, motivation, and identity development.