Teaching assistants at Lexington High School play a pivotal role in the success of teachers and students in the classroom. These upperclassmen help teachers with planning classroom activities and support students throughout the learning process.
At LHS, the role of teaching assistants depends on the subject and regular class routines.
“On a regular day as a TA, I would either be setting up labs, making sure all the materials for the labs are accurate, creating new worksheets for class, or taking prior knowledge and creating questions that I think are AP Bio level,” Sanjana Gudipati, an AP Biology teaching assistant, said.
Other TAs at LHS follow a similar routine, engaging students in a variety of activities each day.
“During work time I walk around and answer questions or check in with people. I can almost always find somewhere to help out. It’s not slow paced or anything after people get comfortable with asking questions,” Corey Zhao, a Honors Precalculus teaching assistant, said.
Teaching assistants constantly immerse themselves in the classroom and curriculum to support students.
“I often initiate check-ins with students. [As I] am a fellow student, it is easier to approach me sometimes with smaller or random questions than the teacher. I especially like it when people say that my help has translated into better understanding or doing better on tests,” Zhao said.
Not only do teaching assistants guide students, but they also learn how to teach themselves during the process.
“Just being able to relearn and indulge myself in biology two years after I took the course will help me in my journey with biological sciences and my undergrad. When I’m creating worksheets, I have to create questions and be able to answer them myself,” Gudipati said.
Despite how rewarding the process is, being a teaching assistant also comes with unique challenges and obstacles.
“I wouldn’t say being a TA is difficult…However, it isn’t easy either. It’s hard to get permission and it’s hard to find a way that makes sense to work with a teacher,” Zhao said.
Teaching assistants at LHS are one of many helpful resources that aim to show students the joy of learning.
“The more we can connect [students and teachers] in the process of learning, the better it is for everyone. TAs act sort of like an additional supporting bridge somewhere in the middle,” Zhao said.
