I was one of a team of eight Teaching Assistants for lead instructors Prof. Jane Willenbring and Prof. Stephen Graham in a large course of 80 students. I weekly delivered brief interactive lectures, followed by two hours of hands-on laboratory instruction. Students took an active role in learning identification of minerals and classification of rock types, use of thin section microscopes, interpretation of geological maps and diagrams, and many other practical skills. I also aided the instructors on field exercises, grading exams, and delivering active learning components in lectures.
I worked as the sole Teaching Assistant for lead instructors Prof. Laura Schaefer and Prof. Sonia Tikoo for a small course of ten students. My responsibilities included crafting course review materials, running active-learning student office hours, grading and assigning student feedback, delivering guest lectures, and leading the midterm review session. . I helped students work through challenging, open-ended questions by beginning with ideation and model creation, and encouraging student persistence in thinking scientifically about how to answer a question or work with data. After student and instructor nominations, I received Stanford’s Centennial Teaching Assistant Award in recognition of my dedication and passion for helping my students to succeed in this course.