Teaching Assistant
in a Grade 9 Arts York Visual Art Class

In the leadership and peer support course, I assisted the teacher of a grade 9 Arts York visual art class. My duty was to give students my assistance on their art assignments. Everyday, I also check their progress on their work and record their standings. After classes, I met up with the teacher and discuss difficulties that I encounter and things to be improved. Moreover, I did evaluations on small assignments and provided individual students with important feedbacks. I also created lessons plans and delivered two lessons on portraiture. In addition, a quiz was established to assess my lesson delivery and the students as well. During the animation movie making, I supervised their video recording and aided in the overall setup and clean up.

This experience has given me lots of precious lessons. I learned to be an effective leader and communicator. I learned to deal with different types of students and communicate in different ways. It helped my growth both as a person and a leader.

My decision to assist two grade nine classes was not a coincidence. I feel that grade nine was definitely the most difficult year in high school due to the transition between elementary school and secondary school. That is why I decided to assist a junior class. My aim was not only to help with the students' academic studies, but also to guide them to cope with the new stress and environment, and as well as their anxiety of entering high school. I believe it is very crucial for a teacher and a teaching assistant to be able to help the students both academically, socially and emotionally. Throughout the semester, I tried my best to make the junior students feel more comfortable and welcomed at their new school. And I have achieved a desired outcome in doing so.