Major: Teacher Assistant
With activities to plan, homework to grade, and challenging students to instruct, teachers are often overworked. That's where teacher assistants come in.
In this associate’s degree program -- often called early childhood associate or teacher associate -- you’ll learn how to help teachers with a variety of classroom tasks. These tasks range from assisting students with schoolwork to evaluating and revising lesson plans. You might even decide to specialize in such areas as special education and multicultural education.
Teacher assistant majors learn the skills they need to help teachers with a wide range of tasks. Most programs focus on early childhood education.
Did You Know?
- Many teacher assistants learn on the job, but most employers give higher marks to those with an associate’s degree.
Are You Ready To...?
- Identify the elements of successful teaching
- Learn how to accommodate individual learning styles
- Try different teaching methods
- Learn how to manage a roomful of rowdies
- Be evaluated by teachers during fieldwork
It Helps to Be...
A patient, well organized disciplinarian -- just like all good teachers. If you really want the edge, learn to speak Spanish or another language common in your community: a growing number of students speak languages other than English in the home. And being able to chat with their parents is also a plus.
College Checklist
- Can you specialize in bilingual education, special education, or another area?
- Where will you fulfill your fieldwork requirement? Will you be closely supervised by a practicing teacher?
- How many of your credits will transfer if you decide later to go on for your bachelor’s degree?
- Will your associate’s degree enable you to work as a teacher assistant in other states?
- Does the school offer job placement help?
Did You Know?
- Untrained teenagers frequently filled the role of teacher in the 1800s -- mostly in one-room schoolhouses.
Course Spotlight
Teaching tools are great, but useless unless you understand the way kids tick. This is why you’ll find a child development course at the top of the required list in virtually every teacher assistant program. You’ll study the way children develop from birth to adolescence, building physical and motor skills, language skills, and emotional skills. After plenty of reading and report writing, you should walk away with a pretty clear picture of why some read at age three while others struggle as teenagers -- and how to adjust your teaching techniques accordingly.
