Skip to main content

ta-hiring-intros

Subject: CS 3100 TA Position - Next Steps & Role Overview

Hi [Name],

I'm thrilled that you're interested in joining our CS 3100 teaching team! We're excited about the possibility of working with you and believe you could make a meaningful contribution to our course.

As you know, CS 3100 is a large course that will likely have ~500 students, 4 instructors, and ~25 TAs. This is a major project, and we're committed to creating a supportive and well-organized TA experience that allows you to contribute based on your interests and strengths.

As you may know, this spring, CS 3100 will be quite different from previous iterations. We're excited to engage TAs as much as possible in the course process. We value your perspectives and ideas, and we're looking forward to working collaboratively to create an exceptional learning experience for our students. Please read this full email for instructions on how to proceed with the TA hiring process. We also encourage you to visit the course website at https://neu-pdi.github.io/cs3100-public-resources/syllabus to learn more about the structure and approach of the course - we already have draft lecture notes and a project concept posted.

Please be sure to read this email in full before proceeding or contacting me.

TA Roles & Responsibilities Overview​

All TAs share two core responsibilities:

  • Grading (4-8 hours/week, variable by assignment cycle)
  • Office Hours (2-4 hours/week)

Beyond these core duties, we offer a menu of specialized roles that allow TAs to focus on areas that match their interests and skills. Below is an overview of the available roles.

Category A: Student Support & Intervention​

  • A1. Assignment Postmortem Facilitator (2-3 hours/week) - Help students who struggled on assignments through review sessions
  • A2. Group Project Mentor (3-4 hours/week, only needed in weeks 11-16) - Support project teams during group assignments
  • A3. AI Coding Assistant Specialist (2-3 hours/week) - Help students learn to use AI tools effectively

Category B: Content Development & Quality Assurance​

  • B1. Assignment Playtester (3-5 hours per assignment) - Test assignments before release to identify issues and improve clarity, improve rubrics as needed

Category C: Community & Culture Building​

  • C1. Discussion Forum Moderator (2-3 hours/week) - Foster a virtual community to engage students across all sections. Monitor and respond to student questions on discussion boards (this is NOT office hours)
  • C2. Study Group Organizer (2 hours/week) - Organize study groups and exam prep workshops, collect feedback to share with instructors to improve course materials and delivery.

Category D: Lab Facilitation (High Priority Role)​

  • D1. Lab Facilitator (Primary role - often 2+ labs per facilitator) - Staff lab sessions and help with in-class activities. This is often considered a primary role due to its importance. Lab Facilitators frequently hold multiple lab sections, and reliability is critical.

Each TA typically selects 1-2 specialized roles based on their interests and availability. During your interview, we'll discuss how your background and experiences align with these opportunities.

Next Steps in Our Hiring Process​

To help us understand your interests and ideas, please follow these steps:

  1. Review the course website: Please visit the course website at https://neu-pdi.github.io/cs3100-public-resources/syllabus to learn more about the structure and approach of the course - we already have draft lecture notes and a project concept posted.

  2. Review the Roles: Please carefully review the role descriptions above to understand the various opportunities available. If you have questions about the roles, we can discuss them in the interview. If you have an idea for a role not listed, that’s great too!

  3. Complete the Interest Form: Before your interview, please complete this form ( https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf_FyRvIUtyi4YHbcGBvyBivV1as_BTj9WE9X5pgwIqqQ1qdg/viewform?usp=publish-editor ) to indicate your top role preferences. This will help us have a more focused conversation during your interview.

  4. Schedule Your Interview: Please schedule a 15-minute interview with me using https://fantastical.app/jon-LFd0/cs-3100-spring-2026-ta-interview . The interview is an opportunity for you to share:

    • How you think you can best implement these roles based on your experiences
    • Your ideas for contributing to student success in CS 3100
    • Your availability and any questions you have

A Note on Response Times​

Given that this is a major project with many moving parts, I'm currently managing a high volume of communications related to course planning, TA hiring, and other responsibilities. If I'm slow to reply to emails or messages, please know it's not a reflection of my interest in working with you—I genuinely appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through this process. Please do NOT contact me on Teams. If you have general questions or feedback that you'd like me to see before your interview, the best way to get that to me is to add it to the Google Form.

I'm really looking forward to hearing your ideas about how you can best contribute to CS 3100. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Best regards,

Prof. Bell (on behalf of all of the CS 3100 instructors, Profs Spertus and Veseley)

Google Form Structure​

Form Title: CS 3100 TA Interest Form

Form Description: Please complete this form to indicate your interests and availability before scheduling your interview.

Question 1: Name​

Question Type: Short answer text

Question Text: What is your name?

Question 2: Email​

Question Type: Short answer text

Question Text: What is your email address?

Question 3: Specialized Role Interests​

Question Type: Checkbox grid (or Multiple choice with "Select all that apply")

Question Text: Which specialized roles are you interested in? (Select all that apply)

Options: A1. Assignment Postmortem Facilitator (2-3 hours/week) A2. Group Project Mentor (3-4 hours/week, weeks 11-16 only) A3. AI Coding Assistant Specialist (2-3 hours/week) B1. Assignment Playtester (3-5 hours per assignment) C1. Discussion Forum Moderator (2-3 hours/week) C2. Study Group Organizer (2 hours/week) D1. Lab Facilitator (Primary role - often 2+ labs per facilitator)

Question 4: Lab Section Availability​

Question Type: Checkbox grid (or Multiple choice with "Select all that apply")

Question Text: Which lab sections are you available to facilitate? (Select all that apply)

Options: Oakland, CA - Tuesday 10:35 am - 12:15 pm Oakland, CA - Tuesday 12:25 pm - 2:05 pm Oakland, CA - Tuesday 3:00 pm - 4:40 pm Boston - Monday 8:00 am - 9:40 am Boston - Monday 9:50 am - 11:30 am Boston - Monday 11:45 am - 1:25 pm Boston - Monday 3:25 pm - 5:05 pm Boston - Monday 5:15 pm - 6:55 pm

Question 5: Staff Meeting Availability​

Question Type: Checkbox grid (or Multiple choice with "Select all that apply")

Question Text: Which 1-hour time blocks are you available for weekly staff meetings? (Select all that apply - Eastern Time)

Options: 10:00 am - 11:00 am ET 11:00 am - 12:00 pm ET 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm ET 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm ET 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm ET 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm ET 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm ET

Question 6: Additional Comments​

Question Type: Text area

Question Text: Please add any additional comments or feedback you'd like to share with us. This is the best way to get something in front of Prof Bell before your interview.

Note: When creating the form in Google Forms, you can use either:

  • Checkbox question type - allows multiple selections per question
  • Multiple choice grid - if you want a more structured layout

For best results, use separate checkbox questions for each section (Roles, Lab Sections, Staff Meeting Times).