Supporting CS TA Training (SIGCSE’25)

Supporting computer science teaching assistants (CS TAs) is important as CS classes have increasing enrollment and demand many TAs. This research illustrates how CS TAs adopt humanistic stances and demonstrate care in their roles. Our findings also identify a need that CS TAs desire more training in the human, interpersonal aspect of their role.

Responding to CS TAs’ desired need for more training, this project developed a workshop on reflective teaching behaviors, an interactive hour designed to help CS TAs understand and adapt to students to engage in productive discussions. Office hours and recitations are vital spaces for practicing effective and respectful dialogue. In this workshop, participants will explore various teaching behaviors, learn to give constructive feedback, and identify tone in communication.

The workshop helps students role play scenarios of diverse challenges students bring to office hours, including not only questions about computer science but also students’ challenges with stress or other issues. Through hands-on exercises, we apply these concepts to daily interactions, enhancing skills that are valuable for TA-student relationships and effective learning. The workshop activity guide is available here.

Publications

Barkhuff, G., Pruitt, I., Namani, V., Johnson, W.G., Borela, R., Zegura, E., Bourgeois, A.G. and Shapiro, B.R. 2025. Exploring the Humanistic Role of Computer Science Teaching Assistants across Diverse Institutions. Computer Science Education (SIGCSE).