During the first three weeks of January 2013 I was a Teaching Assistant at DTU on User Experience Engineering which proved to be of much more value that I could possibly imagine.
Not only did I find that I am capable of providing the necessary aids, but I was additionally reassured that becoming a Ph.D might not be all to unrealistic which I previously thought it to be.
Normally, teaching assistants are first and foremost required to help the students where needed, whereas I was also asked to present both the process of Usability Testing and how it is conducted in practice. You can find a few pictures of my presention below.
My presentation on Usability Testing
[imagebrowser id=1]
At the end of each course the students have the possibility to have their say as well as rate both the course as a whole as well as the individual contributors. As seen in the image below as well as from the statements given by the students they seem to have appricated my help during the course.
Seen from a personal point of view, being a teaching assistant has in essence proved to be a positive experience and is most certainly worth the investment.
An evaluation of my performance given by the students
“I think that David has provided tangible proposals for the groups which some may have found useful. There is although a limit, since it is hereby possible to restrain the individuals into positions which they are unable to find a way out of. As a futher note, I have been missing a better degree of coordination between the teaching assistants and the ones responsible for the course. Hereby, David should understand the exact context of Michael’s statements, especially when we are evaluated based on details”
– A Student on DTU
“David has been the only one who has clarified the purpose of the assignments, which the teachers did not accomplish”
– A Second Student on DTU
“David has both been really helpful and proactive during the assignments which is awesome as it is not always clarified what is needed to be done; also since it is not always obvious that you are in need of help. He furthermore seems engaged and remembers which group you are a part of and what you have previously been working on.
– A Third Student on DTU