John RegehrFeb 9

something I've been thinking about is how, when I teach a class, I tell the TAs to never, ever touch the keyboard when they're helping a student with an assignment. not even once! because as soon as someone else is driving, it becomes real easy for the student to stop thinking and just let things happen.

kind of like what happens when we use a coding assistant.

Show threadFlorian 'floe' EchtlerFeb 9
@regehr didn't get a TA this semester 😭 however, that just means it's good advice for myself 😁👍
Show threadMichael EngelFeb 9

@floe @regehr Yikes, are there not enough students interested in working as a TA or is it a funding problem?

I was only able to find 2(.5) TAs for my course in the summer semester (intro to computer architecture and OS with ~150 students) but I have funds for four.

Show threadJohn RegehrFeb 9
@me_ @floe are these only grad TAs or can you hire undergrads too? at my place it's the undergrad TAs who often do the best job
Show threadMichael EngelFeb 9
@regehr @floe We mostly have undergrads as TAs, too. They usually do a pretty good job. However, there are too many open positions for TAs, so there's quite some competition for the few students who want to work as TAs. Perhaps we should pay a bit more than ~50ct./h above minimum wage...
Show threadJohn Regehr
@me_ @floe we tend to get a lot of applications! but we do pay pretty well. of course not competitive with them getting a full-time job, but definitely better than most random hourly jobs an undergraduate would get
Feb 9 at 3:54pmWeb