My Experience as a Teaching Assistant at FSS

By Catherine Girard, May 2024

PhD programs across and even within universities vary greatly, so choosing the program that is right for you can be challenging. Having done my Master’s at Masaryk University’s Faculty of Social Studies, I was very happy to stay on board for my next degree.

One aspect of my PhD program in the Department of Political Science that I was really looking forward to was the requirement to be a teaching assistant for two courses per semester for the first few semesters. For me, this requirement is very rewarding, and I have truly enjoyed it so far. The responsibilities of a teaching assistant differ from course to course and from professor to professor, but every experience has been positive. Generally, the role of the teaching assistant is to support the professor as well as the students to create a positive learning environment. For the most part, the teaching assistant responsibilities I have had included guest lectures, correcting assignments and essays, and answering student questions when needed.

Guest lectures

This is by far my favourite part of being a teaching assistant. Should a professor be away, or should the topic you research for your PhD closely align with the course material of the course for which you are a teaching assistant, you may be asked to teach one of the classes. As such, I have now taught a few classes on a topic that I research: women and gender in the far-right. As a student, I always appreciated having guest lecturers as it usually meant it would be a class that zoomed in on a specific topic with an expert from that field. Now, while I am by no means calling myself an expert, it is really fun to dive into a topic I enjoy studying and hearing new perspectives, opinions, and questions from the students. So far, I’ve only had interesting discussions that have given me much food for thought.

Correcting assignments

As a student, I really value constructive criticism of my work, especially after having put in lots of effort. As such, when correcting assignments, I take the time to be thorough and provide feedback that not only helps students with their current assignments but also with ones in the future. Don’t worry – I always try to be as kind as possible because, while I value constructive criticism, I also do not like being criticized (who does?)

Answering student questions

As a teaching assistant, students sometimes reach out to me for further clarification, either about the content of the course or with questions about the assignments. Either way, I think it is important to help students out as much as possible, so I always try my best to help them. Again, I think it is one of the ways we can foster a healthy and welcoming learning environment that keeps students motivated.

While some might read this and wonder if they would be able to meet these requirements, I think it is important to mention that I do not always know how to move forward with some of the work presented to me as a teaching assistant. A great thing about the faculty and the department is that the professors are always available to help out, so it has been a great learning experience – both from the students and from the professors – and there is no need to be concerned if asked to be a teaching assistant.