Engineering Education: Foundations and Models
Teaching Assistant (TA)
A Leadership Experience
The TA
experience for me involved working with the same group of students weekly in
recitation for Engineering Models I (ENED1090) and Engineering Foundations
(ENED1020). For both courses, I had many responsibilities, including
supervising students to ensure successful completion of the assignments, helping
students troubleshoot and solve problems they encountered, and guiding students
to become more adept at working in teams and working with their peers to best
utilize their resources and intelligence. Finally, I was also a source for
students to approach regarding general questions and concerns they had
regarding engineering, scheduling, co-ops, etc.
One learning goal of this experience was the ability to relate, communicate, and work effectively with peers. Because of this experience, I have greatly expanded my communication skills and ability to alter directions and explanations to tailor to different students’ needs. I am able to take a concept and explain it in multiple ways in order to facilitate a variety of students’ learning. The second learning goal was identifying the various characteristics of a leader in a given role or situation. Specifically, I wanted to apply leadership theories I learned in a previous course (Effectiveness in Technical Organizations) to a real-world leadership environment. This experience met my expectations for accomplishing both the stated goals, as well as my goal of establishing mentor-figure relationships and sharing my personal experiences with the younger students.
I chose to pursue this experience to improve my leadership and communication skills, to share my experiences with younger students, and to help develop new Honors opportunities for engineering students. This experience provided multiple opportunities to disseminate my personal experiences, knowledge, and goals to younger students. Furthermore, it provided an environment to improve my communication skills in a leadership role and to apply leadership principles I learned in a previous course. Specifically my improved communication skills will be critical in future career endeavors, as both a subordinate and as a leader.
One learning goal of this experience was the ability to relate, communicate, and work effectively with peers. Because of this experience, I have greatly expanded my communication skills and ability to alter directions and explanations to tailor to different students’ needs. I am able to take a concept and explain it in multiple ways in order to facilitate a variety of students’ learning. The second learning goal was identifying the various characteristics of a leader in a given role or situation. Specifically, I wanted to apply leadership theories I learned in a previous course (Effectiveness in Technical Organizations) to a real-world leadership environment. This experience met my expectations for accomplishing both the stated goals, as well as my goal of establishing mentor-figure relationships and sharing my personal experiences with the younger students.
I chose to pursue this experience to improve my leadership and communication skills, to share my experiences with younger students, and to help develop new Honors opportunities for engineering students. This experience provided multiple opportunities to disseminate my personal experiences, knowledge, and goals to younger students. Furthermore, it provided an environment to improve my communication skills in a leadership role and to apply leadership principles I learned in a previous course. Specifically my improved communication skills will be critical in future career endeavors, as both a subordinate and as a leader.
Weekly Journal | |
File Size: | 27 kb |
File Type: | docx |
TA Reflection Essay | |
File Size: | 23 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Throughout the semester and duration of this Honors experience, I kept a journal to track my thoughts, the course, and finally the growth and development of both the students, as well as my own leadership skills. With this, I could reflect upon how my leadership was impacting the students, and what styles worked/didn't work. Furthermore, attached is my comprehensive reflection of my experience as a TA, and how it connected to my learning outcomes, personal development, and what's next.