Experience Summary as a Teaching Assistant at Hexschool

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Introduction

Since last July, I have been working as a remote teaching assistant at Hexschool🔗 for nearly a whole year. I am preparing to graduate next month, serve in the military, and start the next chapter of my journey. I plan to share my reflections and future plans in this article. The main responsibilities of a teaching assistant involve learning alongside students, helping them solve problems, and providing solutions and suggestions. So far, I have assisted with the following types of course:

Basically, most of Hexschool’s course assignments or questions will have the opportunity to meet me as a teaching assistant, and you can find me in the Hexschool Discord meme or question area ～

Gains

Reviewed and resolved over 800 student assignments and questions
Wrote weekly practice materials for students for 9 consecutive weeks and followed along with Codewars🔗 JS exercises
Wrote nearly 50 frontend related technical articles to assist students in their learning

Summary of Insights

Don’t hesitate to take a chance for yourself

The conclusion I first reached is that “entering the web field” and “being a front-end teaching assistant” were both unexpected for me. When considering “whether I can grasp this opportunity,” there’s no need to overthink it; I can only step forward and try, as this is the absolute advantage I possess as a young and free.

Let’s start with how I entering the web field, I really hated studying in high school and disliked standardized learning. Therefore, to pursue further education, I happened to become the school’s web contestant, self-studying web development to compete in the National Skills Competition🔗, ultimately placing fourth and gaining admission to my current university: National Taichung University of Science and Technology, Department of Commercial Design🔗.

If I hadn’t taken the opportunity to dive into the unknown field back then, I wouldn’t have the chance to attend university, nor would I have accumulated works that would serve as capital for future freelance projects and applying for teaching assistant positions.

2019 Skills Competition Portfolio Excerpt

The reason I became a teaching assistant was due to the “First Online Internship Training Program for College Students🔗.” Although I wasn’t selected at first 😅, I still expressed my willingness to join the program by writing to HexSchool and eventually became an intern teaching assistant, gradually transitioning to a formal teaching assistant role.

2019 Skills Competition Portfolio Before Becoming a Teaching Assistant — Self-recommendation to Hex School

Before applying to be a teaching assistant, I had a certain confidence that I could handle the job, and I wanted to take this opportunity to learn step by step. Of course, there’s no free lunch; It would be unfair to the students otherwise. Here’s a recording of the challenge at that time:

Being a teaching assistant also allowed me to participate in various courses or study groups launched by HexSchool. Whenever I had time, I would engage with students to practice, such as continuously setting questions for the fall JS live class for nine weeks and reviewing materials and assignments submitted by students in the React study group. These were great opportunities to broaden my horizons and learn through collaboration.

These experiences led me to the conclusion: “Don’t hesitate to take opportunities for yourself.” I have been fortunate to always have an environment willing to provide opportunities around me, and grab every opportunity without missing out is the most important part.

Make Learning a Habit

As a HexSchool teaching assistant, one of the benefits is the ability to apply for any course at Hex Academy for free at the beginning of each month (as long as the previous course was completed). This is a great learning chance. Beyond the courses, I enjoy being purely fascinated by technology, researching and creating things that interest me.

Therefore, I have been continuously digging into additional knowledge, whether it’s various documents, technical blogs, online videos, memes… creating an environment where I can fully immerse myself, allowing learning to become a habit, which nourishes my writing and fuels my motivation to learn.

Programming Channels I Subscribed to on YouTube

For me, learning shouldn’t be too serious. Simply having a curiosity and thirst for knowledge in a field is a joyful thing. If I expose myself to related environments every day, growth will be inevitable. This leads me to the conclusion: “Make learning a habit.” Rather than strict discipline or scheduling, integrating it into life is my way of learning.

Failure is Normal and Shouldn’t Be Feared

During my time as a teaching assistant, I didn’t particularly feel any extreme pressure or setbacks. This is because I understand that the blind spots in knowledge are endless. Although grading students’ assignments and providing correct guidance is part of a teaching assistant’s job, not all problems will have clear solutions from the start. When I encounter questions outside my knowledge range, I will:

Search for keywords based on experience
Ask ChatGPT for insights
Read relevant documents
Consult with senior teaching assistants

About 98% of the problems can be resolved by carefully reading the documents, and personally solving problems leaves a deeper impression. I recommend that students develop the habit of reviewing documents when they encounter issues. Facing unknown problems is something we will always encounter, and being able to calmly confront these issues is the most valuable trait and ability that understanding “failure is normal and shouldn’t be feared” has given me.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to summarize the interesting aspects of this job, so that future teaching assistants or students interested in this path can learn more about the experience of being a teaching assistant.

Advantages of Being a Teaching Assistant

Flexible hours
A lot of freedom and flexibility to guide students in their learning in my own way
Not much need to maintain outdated code

Challenges of Being a Teaching Assistant

As an educator, there is a certain level of self-esteem and pressure
Each student is unique and has different levels of understanding
There is often a lot of knowledge that needs to be supplemented for beginners

What Qualities Are Suitable for This Job

Passionate about solving problems
Enthusiastic about teaching
Advocates for a free work environment

Words for Students

The HexSchool teaching assistant team takes every student’s questions seriously. As long as you dare to ask, the TAs will help you to the end. Don’t worry about asking too many questions; just clearly describe the problem, the goals you want to achieve, and the solutions you’ve tried. Besides that, it’s okay not to directly ask about work projects 😄.

Thank You All

Finally, thanks to all the TAs, teachers, and administrative staff at HexSchool. Working as a TA this past year has not only sharpen my skills but also strengthened my confidence and direction for the future. I look forward to the future development of HexSchool Academy and the cultivation of more new-generation engineers.