====== JMU CS TA Program ======
We have an [[https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3478432.3499148|internationally recognized]] leadership and professional development program in which our undergraduate majors and minors learn technical and professional skills while working to support their peers working to apply to the CS major.

Our program focusses resources on the introductory courses, with several (5-8) hours of open office hours 5 nights a week and in class TAs. TAs provide near peer mentorship to incoming students as well as technical support for coursework. They have been trained in both technical topics and issues in maintaining a positive community culture. TAs are also trained and encouraged to not just give answers to their students, but to ask leading questions and enable students to find the answer by constructing their own knowledge. Technical topics include how to use tools such as debuggers, a variety of IDEs, how python and java differ, and different programming patterns. Issues around maintaining a positive community include growth mindset, microagressions and how to avoid them, stereotypes and implicit bias, and details about Title IX and FERPA requirements. Unlike in many traditional programs, all TAs are undergraduates and are supervised by the same faculty member(s) and not individual faculty whose classes they may support. This allows for the training and community building of teaching assistants promoting a welcoming and supportive community culture within the department. All TAs are leaders within the department and some TAs are Lead TAs, with leadership experiences within the program itself.

===== TA Lab Hours =====
Our TAs support student learning by being available to discuss students' questions and course-related problems in an on-campus computer lab for several convenient hours, and an online videocall five days/week. See more details including the current semester's schedule and instructions for joining the online support call on the [[department:cs-success:start|TA Hours]] page.

===== In-Class TA =====
For instructors of our intro courses (CS 149 and CS 159) who choose to work with a TA, our trained undergraduate TAs regularly attend some or all of the courses' meetings (at the preference of the instructor) to help facilitate in-person activities such as labs and [[https://cspogil.org/Home|POGIL]] activities.

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