How to Be a Great Teacher Assistant

Good teachers often use good teaching assistants for extra help.

Working in education can be a very rewarding experience, but sometimes one can take extra steps to be great. These steps could include listening more, working on being more patient, regularly arriving to work on time and being prepared with classroom material. Both teachers and teacher assistants, as well as other classroom positions, can benefit from working on these types of points and making them even stronger.

Instructions

1. Support your teacher as his assistant by being there when he needs your help. For example, offering to correct more papers or lead classroom activities may help by allowing him more time to focus on other classroom tasks needing attention. It always helps to have a right-hand man or woman, and a teacher's assistant is key to fulfilling this duty.

2. Be patient if you work as an assistant in a high-stress atmosphere. Working in a classroom with those who have different learning needs, for example, can be stressful and may test your patience. Remain calm and positive, and make sure to regularly check with your teacher to see if she needs help with anything. Knowing that she has a great assistant who is willing to pitch in and be there for her will help assuage the stressful atmosphere, and make her feel that she has a dependable team member she can rely on.

3. Listen to your teacher so that both of you are on the same page. For instance, you may often be busy grading papers when your teacher comes by with instructions. In these situations, put down what you are doing and give the teacher your full attention so you don't miss anything and seem unreliable. For instance, if your teacher gives you specific instructions to create a student assessment test for the next day and you come to class the next morning empty-handed, not only will the teacher feel he may not be able to rely on you to follow through with simple instructions, he may also feel stress or frustration over having no test to administer to students on time.

4. Communicate with your teacher so that she understands what your goals are. She will most likely have her own classroom goals, but it's important you share yours with her so that you two can compare priorities and work toward achieving shared objectives. Being open and communicating honestly will also make it apparent whether your teacher and her teaching style is the right or wrong fit for you as a teacher's assistant.

References

• Busy Teacher; How to Be a Great Teaching Assistant
• Federal Student Loans Today; Tips To Establish A Good Working Relationship Between Teacher and Assistant