The UMD English Department’s Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UTA) Program is designed to help UTAs develop a deeper understanding of the teaching and learning process, learn how to work with student writers, play a role in shaping the classroom experience for our students, and strengthen their mentoring and leadership skills.
The UTA Role
UTAs in English classes inhabit multiple roles simultaneously. To students, they are mentors, advocates, coaches, and tutors; to instructors, they are collaborators, translators, representatives, and assistants. To both students and instructors, UTAs are authority figures in that they have successfully completed the course. In so doing, they can help students navigate the course in ways that instructors can’t, and they can help instructors communicate course concepts and expectations in ways that students will better understand. By collaborating with their instructors and advocating for their students, UTAs have a direct, positive impact on student learning in meaningful ways.
Photo Credit: Joanna Kosinska