Being a “Lead” or “Head” TA

Different TA positions have different responsibilities. Typical TA duties are grading, holding office hours, and perhaps leading a discussion section or lab. Other possibilities are being in charge of the class website, and constructing answer keys. However, in classes where there is a large course staff, one or more of the TAs often have additional duties. For example, the teacher might tell them they are the “lead TA” (also sometimes called “head TA”) or that one of their responsibilities is to manage the rest of the course staff. What do such duties entail, and how and why are they different from “normal” or usual TA work? 

Many of our classes are large; for example, many classes have over 100 students, and some over 200. Moreover, many of our classes are complicated in that they have not only lectures, but also labs or discussions; and not only a few TAs, but a large number. To handle such classes effectively, many teachers find it useful to have some TAs help in special ways with class administration. Even in smaller classes, the professor may ask a TA to help with certain duties beyond the usual grading, holding office hours, and leading labs or discussions. 

Exactly what this entails will differ from class to class and teacher to teacher, and so one important tip for all TAs is to have the teacher clarify each TA’s responsibilities. For example, is there one TA in charge of tasks such as overseeing other TAs as they grade, proofreading homework assignments and exams, creating answer keys and grading rubrics, etc.? 

This note discusses these possible duties further. 

Possible Tasks and Explanation 

Here are some possible tasks a lead TA might be asked to do. This is not a complete list, and not all items will always be relevant, but the list contains some of the more important possibilities. 

• Be in charge of the class gradebook. In general, make sure the gradebook is accurate and up-to-date. This includes tasks such as ensuring that all graded activities have an entry in the gradebook with the correct weight, that grades are entered in a timely manner, and that any grade changes are correctly updated. 
   
• Be in charge of regrade requests. Teachers might ask a TA to be in charge of regrade requests. Such requests can be handled in a variety of different ways. One possibility is for the TA to first try to regrade the student work on their own, notify the student about the result of the regrading, and then make any change in the gradebook. Alternatively, if another TA did the original grading, the TA might consult with them before doing the regrading. 
   
• Check labs, homework assignments, and exams for difficulty level, duration, and clarity. Writing accurate and precise problem statements, lab descriptions, etc. is difficult, and the teacher might ask a TA to proofread or test-run these before they are used.
   
• Contribute ideas for labs, homework, and exams. While teachers don’t often ask TAs to write entire labs, homework assignments, or exams, they often ask TAs to contribute ideas or possible problems. 
   
• Construct answer keys and rubrics. TAs might be in charge of writing answer keys and/or rubrics. Sometimes they do this on their own, and sometimes they are in charge of this, but have other TAs assisting with it. In either case the TA needs to ensure the key or rubric is completed on time and is accurate and informative. 
   
• Oversee grading. In classes with many TAs, often one of the TAs might be in charge of grading. This is one of the major and more common lead TA tasks. The goal is to ensure that grading is done, it is done well, and it is done in a timely manner. There are, of course, a variety of ways to organize grading. It might involve deciding which TAs grade which problems, constructing an answer key and/or rubric, deciding on the grading process, establishing deadlines, ensuring the graded works get back to the students and the grades are entered into the gradebook, etc. 
   
• Managing other TAs. In classes with several TAs, lead TAs are often in charge of various aspects of managing the other TAs, for example, organizing grading, answering questions from other TAs, making sure all TAs understand the TA duties, and teaching new TAs about how to work efficiently and effectively. 
   
• Communicate with the other course staff. This includes answering questions from the other TAs and the teacher, discussing issues as needed, attending and assisting with course staff meetings, sending out or posting information, asking other TAs for advice (e.g., often TAs have good insight into what problems students are having with current material), informing the teacher of important emergent issues he or she might not be aware of, etc. 
   
• Troubleshooting as necessary. In large classes there are always unexpected problems that arise. One job of a lead TA is to handle these problems when appropriate, or discuss them with the teacher when the TA is unable to handle the problems themself. 
   
• Filling in for the teacher or other TAs as needed and appropriate. Sometimes the teacher will need an experienced TA to lead a course staff meeting, cover a lecture (if the TA is prepared to do so), or in other ways temporarily cover some tasks usually done by the teacher. Similarly, sometimes other TAs will be unable to perform their usual duties, and the lead TA might need to fill in temporarily. 

Some Tips 

Here are assorted tips. 

• All TAs should have a clear understanding of their TA responsibilities. And if the teacher gives TAs a lot of leeway, TAs should still think carefully (and discuss with other TAs) about their responsibilities, and how to fulfill them effectively. 
   
• TAs should realize that part of their work might be administrative and managerial, rather than consisting only of the usual TA tasks of grading, holding office hours, and leading labs or recitations. 
   
• In any large class there will always be things that go wrong. One job of TAs is to prevent problems in advance when possible, and to prevent small problems that occur from becoming large problems (e.g., grading that is a day or two late versus grading that is a week or two late). 
   
• TAs should use teamwork. Lead TAs may, when appropriate, delegate some class tasks to other TAs. For example, lead TAs may ask other TAs to help prepare answer keys. The lead TA would administer this process by seeing which other TAs could participate, ensuring they got the work done on time, and checking that their solutions were all correct and informative. 
   
• TAs should be attentive to clarity of problem statements and assignments, consistency when grading, timely grading, and informative feedback to students. Realize these are issues that often arise in our classes, and think about how to handle them. For example, using rubrics is one way to promote grading efficiency and consistency. Or having graders get together to grade at a set time and place is also a practice that helps consistency and timeliness. 
   
• TAs should use tools such as grading assistance systems, automated grading scripts, etc. as useful. These are not panaceas, and require some time and energy investment on the front end, but — if used well — often make the overall grading process better.