Using undergraduate teaching assistants in a small college environment

Abstract

The use of undergraduate teaching assistants in computer science courses is not new but is primarily thought of as a way to help with large classes in universities and rarely for small classes in small colleges. In this paper we discuss the success we have had over the past 2 years using undergraduate students as teaching assistants for a number of small computer science classes. Our experience has shown that having undergraduates as teaching assistants helps to engage students with the material, creates a more relaxed classroom environment in which students feel more free to ask questions, improves the effectiveness of class time, and improves class quality. We believe that our experiences using undergraduate teaching assistants can be beneficial not only to small colleges but also to large universities.