<p>how often does this happen? are professors around for meeting with..i know it depends on the person but still
whats the average class size? etc..i just wanna know about the teacher to student quality/learning quality</p>
<p>I can't speak to what it's like now (I graduated many years ago), but I will tell you this: TAs aren't always a bad thing, especially at an elite school like Duke that attracts the very best graduate students. My freshman composition class was taught by a TA and he was one of the best instructors I ever had at Duke. I entered his class as a decent writer and left as an excellent writer and I got more one on one attention from him than just about any other professor that I had at Duke. He knew his stuff. The proof? He went on to become the editor-in-chief of Fortune Magazine.</p>
<p>I had 37 classes and it never happened to me.</p>
<p>Never had a TA teach a course - don't think they teach any by themselves. However, many classes have sections that are taught by TAs.</p>
<p>in most schools TAs teach labs, not classes.</p>
<p>TAs teach PPS and Bio discussion sections (in my experience)... probably most other concentrations as well. They're really not bad. Most professors also have office hours.</p>
<p>By TA do you also mean graduate students? I had two graduate student taught classes (never thought of them as TA's). They were two of the best classes I've had. Both were seminars, one philosophy one doc studies. They knew their stuff as well as an older professor plus they were very enthusiastic. Since they weren't much older than us, we were able to have great discussions in these small classes as we could relate to and talk more comfortably with these grad students.</p>
<p>I don't think TA's teach any large lecture classes. I TA'ed intro chem labs for a few semesters and have had both graduate and undergraduate student TA's for science labs, and it seems like a much better system than if you have older people running these labs.</p>
<p>In general, quality is not sacrificed when classes are run by TA's.</p>
<p>The only time I've seen students annoyed with TA's in lab classes is when they are international and haven't mastered English. Some of the questions and explanations could get lost in communication. It doesn't happen too often, but when it does that's a concern that I wish lab managers looked at more.</p>
<p>Graduate students are not always the best teachers. My D had a graduate student who taught Math fall semester her Freshman year at Duke. While he was a great person he was a terrible teacher and she never understood anything he said. He had NO teaching experience at all. He was completely in charge of the class and there was no in class oversight by a faculty member.</p>
<p>i wouldnt go as far as to call real professors as unaccessible, since most are...but if you are in a class with a discussion section taught by TA's, they are often much easier to get a hold of than a regular professor when it comes to urgent questions. lets say you are up at 1.30 am the night before a paper is due....a TA will be more likely to be awake at this time and check their email.
i also think that asking a TA a question is much less intimidating. most professors are approachable, but one may fear asking a stupid question, like "how long should this assignment be" (for example). id much rather ask my TA than waste a professors time with something they may have already explained or that might be implied.</p>
<p>And sometimes you should ask TAs for help first before a professor. Some professors will ask that you go through a TA first if there are any problems or questions, and if they can't resolve it, then they will involve a professor. This is so that professors aren't overwhelmed with questions the day before a test or with regrades when exams are handed back.</p>
<p>I had a graduate student (as in- she was receiving her phd at the end of that specific semester) teach an English class (my first major) and she was by far one of the best, most accommodating and friendly professors I've had in three years at Duke. That's not to say that my real professors haven't been good, but she was absolutely fantastic.</p>
<p>I've also had TAs lead discussion sections, and again, I've just had positive experiences.</p>
<p>grad students will often teach intro foreign languages or certain math classes. not always a bad thing, not necessarily good...but i figure, i dont really need someone with a phd in spanish to teach me really basic stuff. this isnt always the case though. for example, i know people who took math 32 with a grad student, and people who took math 32L with the supervisor/ professor of the math department. i know people who took spanish 1 with a grad student, and italian 1 with a real professor....it all depends. if ACES tells you the teacher's name (a lot of times with math and foreign languages it will say STAFF/DEPARTMENTAL for a period of time until really close to the start of class), then you can just google them or something and figure out their credentials.</p>