The following information was previously included in a January 2025 teaching resource created by the Teaching and Learning Center.
Teaching Assistants (TAs) play a critical role in teaching at UCLA by helping facilitate student learning through tasks such as leading small group discussions, overseeing lab experiments, grading assignments, and providing individual student support during office hours.
Because many instructors — including graduate students — come from institutions without TAs or where TAs play a different role, defining expectations for all members of the instructional team is important to ensure an organized and fair workflow. To foster effective instructional teams, it helps to focus on three areas: developing shared expectations across roles; establishing communication norms; and providing mentorship.
Developing shared expectations across roles
The Academic Apprentice Personnel Manual details the responsibilities of instructors of record and TAs:
- Instructors of record hold final responsibility for course content, work assignments, performance evaluations, and grading in their course
- TAs aid in all aspects of instruction, including tutoring, grading, and advising, as well as teaching discussion sections, laboratory sections, and fieldwork
In addition to these responsibilities—which instructors and TAs can discuss as they relate to their specific course contexts—instructors may consider doing the following:
- Model leadership and provide consistent guidance and mentorship to TAs
- Grant TAs access to any course materials (i.e. syllabi, textbooks, course website, MyUCLA gradebook) they require in a timely manner
- Coordinate instruction across sections led by different TAs to ensure alignment with course goals and expectations as well as student learning needs
Establishing communication norms
Plan to reach out to TAs before the first day of class. This initial email might include the syllabus as well as plans for meeting as a team and communicating throughout the quarter. In addition, organize grade norming sessions and develop shared rubrics used by the teaching team.
As part of communication expectations, instructors may ask TAs to:
- Maintain consistent communication with students, the instructor of record, and other members of the teaching team for the course
- Respond promptly to all course-related emails
- Attend weekly meetings and grade norming sessions
Providing mentorship opportunities for TAs
During the quarter, instructors can create room for TAs to share their subject matter expertise by inviting them to co-create components of the curriculum or guest lecture, provided that workload hours permit. They can also take part in the teaching development of TAs by:
- Observing a TA’s discussion or lab section, both to serve as an effective professional reference for any teaching jobs, and to help TAs start to develop into reflective practitioners by providing them constructive feedback on their teaching
- Allowing TAs insight into the course design and lesson planning process
- Asking for feedback on teaching or course materials in order to improve the learning experience for students