Information & Positions for TA's in Biological Sciences

In general, TA's do whatever the instructor needs to keep the class going, including maintaining web sites, copying articles, grading exams and/or homework assignments, running recitations or conducting labs. The following details are intended to indicate which tasks are usually done by the TA's in specific courses. In most cases, the descriptions were written in consultation with the current instructor or TA. In any particular semester, TA's in any given course may be expected to do somewhat more or less than is indicated. The estimates of the hours it takes to do the various TA jobs was obtained from the TA’s of previous years.

From the student’s or the ‘learning’ point of view, the TA does whatever the students need to help them learn the material and do well on the assignments. In other words, generally acting as a coach and filling in the breach between the expectations of the instructor and those of the student.

Feedback from former TA’s indicates that the most successful TA’s – the ones who enjoy it the most – are the ones who put the most into it and treat it as an opportunity, not a burden. To quote a graduate student who has finished her teaching:

Teaching is that it is what you make of it -- the students react to the vibe that the teacher or TA puts out. That is, if they think that you don't want to be there and this is a big chore that you have to do, that's exactly how they will think of it. So, if I could tell prospective TA’s anything I would say that they should learn to love it, or at least like it, and everything else will just fall in to place.  They will make connections with the students that are interested in learning, and they will get the nice feeling of making someone understand something important for their future career.

Graduate students are generally expected to teach for 2 semesters and are encouraged to do the teaching during their 2nd year. (Graduate students may act solely as graders for one term, but not both.) Graduate students may start their TAing in the second term of their first year if they prefer, and positions are available. They may put off completion until their 3rd year if they prefer to teach the same course twice.  Some, but not all, students (& faculty) feel it is a good idea to teach the same course twice. To quote two senior graduate students:

I would have to say that TA-ing the same course twice was quite valuable. There are many things learned from the 2nd time around, mostly since one is not as focusing on learning and understanding the actual material, but more on the teaching aspect and how to help the students better.

It is inevitable that some teaching assignments are more time consuming than others. With only a two semester requirement, it is difficult to balance the assignments so that everyone does exactly the same amount of work. A few courses involve such extra heavy responsibilities and/or time commitments that they count double. Students who TA these courses are required to do so for only one term. Other courses involve teaching responsibilities that are somewhat lighter or heavier than average. Students who do one of the “heavier” courses may do a “lighter” course or act as a grader during the other term.  

Lab Courses

UN2501 (spring & fall) Intro bio Lab (Joshua Abrams, jma2278; Ava Brent, aeb28). TA's attend weekly TA meeting and run one 4 hr. lab per week. TA's do some set up, direct student clean up, hold around 6 hours hours / semester and do some grading of quizzes, lab practical, and lab reports. Lab includes dissection of fetal pig, genetic experiments and biochemistry/mol. bio. experiments. TA's give introductory talks for lab sessions. Most TAs for this course are undergraduates.

UN3058 (spring). Project lab in microbiology (Lars Dietrich, ld2444). TA's help with preparation of materials, running of lab and guiding student experiments. Usually there are 2 TA's. This course normally counts as the entire TA requirement for each of the TAs. Contact Lars for details. 

UN3052 (spring) Project laboratory in molecular genetics (Michelle Attner, ma2235). One TA usually does the whole semester. Considered a heavy load, so counts as entire TA requirement (if there is only 1 TA).

GU4260 (fall) Proteomics lab. Lewis Brown (lb2425). TA will learn operation of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer and help students use that instrument. Labs have a strong computational biology component; TA will set out printer and networked notebook and assist students in running specialized proteomics software in Windows environment. TA will assist in limited wet lab component. Goal of course is to teach students to be able to identify a protein from a gel spot or band. This is an opportunity to learn something about proteomics. Contact Instructor ([email protected]) if you are interested.

Introductory (Cell & Molecular) Biology

UN2005 (fall)-UN2006 (spring) or UN2401-UN2402. Introductory Biology Courses that require chemistry and cover a limited number of topics in unusual depth. First term covers biochemistry, genetics & molecular biology; Second term covers primarily eukaryotic cell biology & physiology. UN2005/6 & UN2401/2 are the same except that recitation in the 2005/6 course is required (& quiz is administered weekly) while recitation in the 2401/2 course is optional (no quiz). The students in the 2005/6 courses are mostly 2nd or 3rd year undergraduates in Columbia College, Engineering (SEAS) or General Studies (GS).  The students in the 2401/2 classes are mostly post-bacs (students with college degrees who have returned to school to prepare for med school).  UN2005/UN2401 is in the fall with Drs. Jovanovic, & Attner; UN2006/UN2402 is in the spring with Drs. Gaublomme, Price, & Heicklen. Graduate students are needed as graders, but not as TAs, as TAs are chosen from among students who have taken the class.

Graders handle exam papers and proctor exams. After each exam, graders help alphabetize papers, tear them up, and grade them (usually one page per grader). Then graders help reassemble exams and record grades. This is a very intensive & time-consuming job for a brief period after each of the 4 exams, but there is no work in between exams, because graders are not required to come to class. It is an excellent chance to learn how to grade written responses, to sample undergraduate thinking, and to learn how a large introductory science course is run. If interested, contact Dr. Attner (ma3325) or Dr. Price (map2293).

Other Large Lecture Courses with Recitations &/or Office Hrs.

(Some of the following courses also have other sections with different prefixes and numbers for graduate students.)

UN3004-3005. Neurobiology I & II. 3004 = cell & molecular (fall); 3005 = systems (spring).  Usually, 3004 is taught by Firestein (sjf24) or Yang (jy160) and 3005 is taught by Yuste (rmy5) or Kelley (dbk3).   

UN3004. TA's attend class, run weekly recitation which includes discussion of problem sets and journal articles. Also grade exams, maintain web page, answer student questions.

UN3005. TA's attend class, lead discussion of papers in recitation, help write, grade and proctor exams, grade participation in recitation.

UN3300 (both terms) Biochemistry (Danny Nam Ho, dnh2109). Needs 2 to 3 TAs, depending on enrollment.

GU4501 (fall). Biochemistry (Brent Stockwell, bs2198).  See Professor Stockwell if you are interested in TAing for this course.

Medium/Small Lecture Classes in Fall or Spring

UN1130 (spring) -- Genes & Development. (Hazelrigg, tih1). This is a course for nonscientists. This course requires more patience and ability to explain (but less technical knowledge) than most TA assignments. A good job for someone with a humanities background and/or someone interested in reaching a wider audience. Being a TA in this course provides one of the best opportunities in the department for learning how to teach undergraduates and how to reach students who are not science majors. Contact Dr. Hazelrigg if you are interested.

UN3006 (fall) Physiology (Mary Ann Price, map2293). TAs hold office hours, proctor exams, correct exams and record grades. Prospective TA's & graders should know some physiology. If interested contact Dr. Price.

UN3022 (fall) Development - (Heicklen, ah2289). TA's grade article questions, hold office hours’ / review sessions, attend class and article preparation sessions. TA should have some knowledge of the aspects of development included in the course, which covers the following topics: How the union of egg and sperm triggers the complex cellular interactions that specify the diverse variety of cells present in multicellular organisms. Cellular and molecular aspects of reprogramming (iPS, cloning, lineage conversion, 3 parent babies, etc.), sex determination, gametogenesis, fertilization, contraception, infertility, genomic imprinting, X-chromosome inactivation, telomerase and stem cells will be explored.  Original research articles will be discussed to further the students understanding of current research in reprogramming / developmental

UN3025 (fall) Neurogenetics. (Hobert, or38).

UN3031 (spring) Genetics (Iva Greenwald, isg4) -- usually needs several graders and TAs. If interested, contact Dr. Greenwald.

GU4034 (fall). Biotechnology (Kalderon, ddk1; Jia, sj2274). TA's attend class, run recitations, and do grading. There will be 2 TAs. Between them they will run 2 recitations per week, and grade about two thirds of the homework assignments (6-8 per term) and the exams (2 per term). TAs are key contributors and much appreciated for helping students through challenging assignments. Subject matter is practical molecular biology with advanced applications. For more details, contact Dr. Kalderon.

UN3041 (fall) Cell Biology. (Erin Barnhart; eb3305) This class needs several TA's. Contact the instructor if you are interested.

UN3073 (fall). Immunology (Schindler, cws4) -- usually needs 3-4 TAs/graders, depending on enrollment.  TA/grader needs to know some immunology.

UN3310 (spring). Virology (V. Racaniello, vrr1). Contact instructor if interested.

GU4512 (spring). Molecular Biology (Manley, jlm2; Heicklen, ah2289). Usually needs 3 TA's. In past, TA's attend class, hold review sessions and helped grade homework.

UN3560 (fall) Evolution in the Age of Genomics. (Sella, gs2747; Przeworski, mp3284). Usually needs 1 TA. Not offered fall 2022.

UN3799 (spring). Molecular Biology of Cancer. (Prives, clp3). Needs one TA with knowledge in the area. Contact Dr. Prives (clp3).

GU4323 (spring)  Biophysical Chemistry I. (Hunt, jfh21). Needs 1 to 2 TAs.

GU4300 (fall). Drugs & Disease. Contact Lili Yamasaki (ly63) if interested. TAs attend classes, hold office hours, and help in administrative duties. No grading. TAs give one or two lectures if interested.

GU4510 (spring). Genomics of Gene Regulation. (Bussemaker, hjb2004). TA's attend class, run recitations, and do grading. There will be 2 TA's. Note that this class requires a solid background in mathematics, statistics, and computer programming. Contact Harmen Bussemaker, hjb2004, if you are interested.