Inside Scoop: Basmah Hendy

A certain magic, unlike any other, emerges as the lines blur between student and teacher.

My name is Basmah Hendy and I’m a fourth year Neuroscience undergraduate student and one of ten 3M National Student Fellows. I hope to share my experience teaching as a student and prompt you to reflect on students as teachers.

Though I’ve done a few things at Dalhousie during my degree, working as a university teaching assistant (TA) is something I never imagined adding to the list. However, I can confidently say that TA-ing a tutorial section of Experimental Psychology & Neuroscience was the most valuable experiences to come out of my time at Dal. It pushed me out of my comfort zone, challenged me beyond belief, and gifted me beautiful relationships. In this role, I instructed an in-person, discussion-based lab; marked assignments; provided office hours; and attended weekly planning meetings with the teaching team.

And now for a word of advice. TAs occupy a unique middle ground between students and professors. If we compare professors to parents, then TAs get to be the fun older siblings that can offer their advice and experience. If you’re looking to foster great discussion with your group of students, as is often necessary during seminars and labs, try on that “older sibling” role, and focus on being disarming. Starting off class with an activity that gets everyone laughing can be a great way to do this (example can be found in https://www.stlhe.ca/spark/ , page 30 – segment written by Ken Derry).

Reflecting on my TA experience, I can see that teaching is many things. It builds your confidence, yet constantly humbles you. It is tiring, yet deeply energizing. It is not easy, yet it is worth the effort.