TA “Best Practices”:

1. Ask the student to explain their work! :thinking:

   • This is helpful for revealing misconceptions and mistakes (as well as illegal collaboration or “TA hopping”), and gives you some time to get caught up with the student’s approach.

2. Let the students go their own way!

   • Using what the student has so far (even if it is not the best way to do it) is beneficial for building their intuition and problem solving capabilities. Only AFTER they are able to successfully implement the exercise their way should you suggest more efficient alternatives.

3. Keep it general! (there is no military "general" emoji but that would go here)

   • Speaking generally about the concept (initializing some arbitrary variable as opposed to initializing x as an int with a value of 42) at hand is much better pedagogically, as it allows the student to more readily apply what they learn from you in different contexts (in the end, our goal is to limit future trips to office hours).

4. Ask leading questions!

   • This allows the student to think through things on their own, albeit with some guidance, in a way that directly instructing them can not (though a combination of leading questions and direct instruction is encouraged).

5. Support productive struggle!

   • It is more than okay for a student to be stuck on an issue for quite a while. However, if the problem is as simple as missing parentheses and you are crunched for time, it may be best to just point out the issue (but even this is a part of computer science and attention to detail matters A LOT).

TA “Malpractices”:

1. Enter code directly or “dictate code” verbatim to the student!

   • This is not helpful to you (for learning how to effectively communicate CS concepts) or to the student (they do not learn anything from watching you write code). Teaching them to read error messages is FAR superior.

2. Stick around “just for the next submission!”

   • Do not be a crutch for students or let them make you into one. TA’s should be there for guidance, not to solve every little problem that the student comes across (see #5 in Best Practices).

3. Go beyond the student’s level!

   • Mentioning much higher-level concepts (while sometimes beneficial for advanced students) can intimidate and confuse students who are already having a tough time with the current material. Stick to the basics when possible!

4. Let the queue build!

   • While we should all help every student to the best of our ability (and within the confines of the Honor Code), if the queue is growing, try to limit your sessions to 15 minutes if possible.

5. Get frustrated!

   • Sometimes a student will come in with an issue that is a fairly simple fix, but they are not quite seeing it. It is important to remeber that some students do not have your experience, otherwise they would not need your help. Stay positive!