Graduate students' roles and responsibilities as Teaching Assistants or Course Directors are various, and often are prescribed by the unit in which they teach or by the nature of the course to which they are assigned. These responsibilities range from grading students' papers and tests, to holding weekly tutorials in which students develop their critical thinking and communication skills, to organizing and presenting three–hour long lectures for classes of 60–200 students. Despite the variability of the responsibilities that graduate students fulfill through their teaching appointments, one aspect of their job is common: their role in helping students learn.
TAs can have a profound effect on students when they show enthusiasm for the course content, passion for learning, and an interest in their students' lives and development as learners. TAs are often a student's 'first contact' in a course: if students have a question or a problem, they tend to raise them first with their TA. TAs are called on to clarify ideas and material and to provide students with feedback on assignments and tests to help them identify the areas that they have mastered as well as those in which they can improve. But our obligations to our students do not end with developing effective teaching strategies. We are also responsible for creating a classroom environment in which students are comfortable expressing their ideas and engaging with their colleagues.
Reflecting Canada's multicultural society, York's undergraduate student body is increasingly diverse, with various ethnic, linguistic, religious and economic backgrounds represented, and a high proportion of female students, mature students, international students and special needs students. TAs need not only to recognize the diversity of their students, but also to accommodate students' special needs and create a safe learning space (1). As Leona Nicolas Welch observes, students of college and university age still need encouragement while they learn new tasks and information to help them combat their fears and insecurities about failure (2). Welch proposes that, by creating a safe and welcoming learning environment, educators help foster the confidence and security of their students.
Issues of power and authority in the classroom are critical to student learning. The relationships of power that exist among TAs and their students are precarious and can greatly impact classroom dynamics and the comfort levels and success of students. While some 'rules' of the classroom may be negotiable (deadlines, assignment expectations, modes of discussion, and guidelines for classroom participation), others are not, for example, no tolerance for racism, sexism, ageism, ableism and classism. A strategy that TAs have found to be effective is to model the behaviour they expect from their students and to be aware of their own assumptions, convictions, beliefs and attitudes while also encouraging their students to be self–reflective.
At the same time, when developing their role as facilitator in the classroom, it is important for TAs not to confuse being in control with being controlling (3). Consider the various definitions that have been given for the word 'authority': "a power to enforce obedience... the power to influence action, opinion or belief... and a capacity to inspire belief (as with the weight of testimony or evidence)"(4). The three verbs used in these definitions – enforce, influence and inspire – reflect different roles and relationships that TAs can have with students. Finding the 'right' balance can be challenging.
In this issue of CORE, four teaching assistants draw on their experiences in the classroom to offer strategies that they have developed to help their students learn. Power and control in the classroom is a topic addressed in this issue in two articles by Melissa West and Charity Marsh. In "Pedagogy and Power Relations," Melissa describes her experiences in negotiating power and authority in the classroom, and questions the extent to which equality should exist between TAs and their students. Charity's article, "Negotiating Spaces for Women's Participation in the Classroom," reflects on how she collaborates with students to create a safe and inclusive learning environment by negotiating and renegotiating a classroom contract.
Teaching hands–on skills in a science laboratory presents very unique challenges for a Teaching Assistant. In her article, "Teaching Techniques in the Science Laboratory," Karen Williams explains how she conceives her role in the lab as parallel to that of a choreographer or sports coach, directing her students' physical development and motor skills. Karen describes a variety of suggestions and techniques for laboratory teaching, which coincidentally help develop and improve students' writing skills.
Finally, in "Having your Students Tell Their Story," Marianne Vardalos explains some strategies that she incorporates in her classroom activities to make the course content resonate more directly with her students' personal lives and experiences.
Every position that a TA holds presents different challenges and responsibilities. The writers featured in this issue of CORE exemplify the different ways in which TAs have responded to these challenges. One has found ways to recognise and respect students' prior knowledge and experiences and another has used the power of analogy to develop innovative teaching strategies. Two writers have tackled the issue of power and authority in the classroom, one by successfully negotiating a safe classroom space for students, and the other by reflecting critically on her teaching. By developing ways to take an active interest in their students' learning, each TA is rewarded by seeing their students improve and develop as course progresses.
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