Teacher assistants will provide instruction and other support for classroom teachers, which will allow a professional instructor to have more time to plan lessons and to teach. These educational professionals will help supervise students on field trips, the schoolyard, the cafeteria, and hallways, and they may record grades and prepare materials for a more experienced educational professional.
Some teachers assistants will perform clerical tasks, with many performing a combination of instructional and support duties. At the high school or middle school level, a teaching assistant will usually help a teacher prepare special projects or prepare equipment for a demonstration.
Besides helping to supervise and instruct a student, assistants will help grade papers, check homework, type, keep attendance records, and operate audiovisual equipment. The vast majority of teaching assistants will work in primary and secondary education, with some working in preschools and child care. The working conditions of these instructors will involve a fairly stressful environment with forty percent of these individuals working part time.
