Understanding Students

Introduction

As teaching assistants, we can have a profound influence over our students' learning and their overall experiences. We could help be the difference between a student thriving or falling behind. We could be the bridge between students and the professor, help them feel a sense of belonging, and instill the confidence needed to learn and succeed in our classes. But to do that, the first step is to have an understanding of our students.

"It is easy to dismiss the importance of 'knowing your students' as either a vacuous platitude or a statement of the obvious" [1]. But again, this is the first step to creating better learning experiences for our students. While it may seem obvious, the pathway to understanding our students is not an easy one. To "understand" does not mean to simply know their names and some statistics about their previous classes. "To maximize learning, we need to dig deeper than this superficial acquaintance" [1].

Once we get to know our students better as learners, we then have a better ability to:

"Create a psychologically safe environment for every learner;
Determine each student's readiness for learning;
Identify multiple access points to the curriculum to increase engagement and success; and
Develop and demonstrate greater emotional intelligence in the classroom" [1].

In this section, we will discuss (1) who we are as the student body of CCI, (2) strategies for getting to know your classroom, (3) ways to apply the knowledge you have gained about your students, and (5) understanding student well-being.

This is CCI

"We live in the golden age of information technology (IT). IT is transforming every aspect of society – our homes, workplaces, communities, industries, and economy. Technology is no longer just a tool for productivity; it is now a driving force for innovation and a catalyst for social and economic transformation. As the fastest growing college in the UNC system, the largest computing college in North Carolina, and one of the largest in the nation, CCI prides itself on being innovative in its research and education, inclusive in its design and operation, and responsive to the rapidly changing needs and ambitions of its constituencies."

- Dr. Fatma Mili, Dean and Professor of CCI

Read about the students of CCI

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Know Your Classroom

In this section, we provide strategies and steps for learning more about your classroom as a TA. We believe that it is important to learn more about your students and on the page linked below, we provide material to help you get started.

Read more about strategies to know your classroom

Taking Action

Taking action helps you take the knowledge you have about your students and apply it to improve the student learning experience.

Student Well Being

Student well-being is generally the state of students. In this section, we emphasize that you can be a reference for help outside of classroom studies. We also build upon the prior sections and provides references for understanding different types of wellness and how to get help on the UNC Charlotte campus.