BIO 151 (Zehnder) Undergraduate Teaching Assistants for Fall 2025

Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UTAs) for BIO 151 develop their teaching and leadership skills and deepen their understanding of cell and molecular biology by attending lectures, leading or helping to lead discussion sections, facilitating review sessions, tutoring students during office hours, providing feedback on student work, and meeting weekly with me and other TAs.

This upcoming fall semester I will have two categories of UTAs for my section of BIO 151:

  1. Lead UTAs will lead their own 50-minute discussion section, these will be paid positions. In addition to leading a discussion section, these UTAs will be expected to attend class (MWF 9:05-9:55AM), provide feedback on student work (discussion work and open response exam questions) and attend weekly meetings. These positions will be 8 hours per week at $18 per hour ($2160 for the semester). Seniors with extensive experience may be able to lead two discussion sections (10 hours per week). I will be selecting lead UTAs based on previous UTA experience with my courses.
  2. Supportive UTAs will help with a 50-minute discussion section, attend class (MWF 9:05-9:55AM), hold office hours, and provide feedback on exam open-response questions. Supportive UTAs will earn course credit (2 credits of BIO 398A, graded P/F).  I will be selecting supportive UTAs based on previous experience in my courses.
Name of research group, project, or lab
BIO 151 UTA (Zehnder)
Why participate in this opportunity?

The purpose of being an undergraduate teaching assistant (UTA) is twofold. On one hand, your work supports student learning in BIO 151. Additionally, you are developing skills and gaining transferable experiences that will help you when you are applying for fellowships, jobs, and professional/graduate school in the future. Even if you do not pursue a career that involves teaching college-level courses, you will likely be leading, facilitating, and even supervising others. Your experiences as a TA can provide you with the chance to develop your teaching and facilitation skills.

Logistics Information:
Subject Category
Cellular Biology
Molecular Biology
Student ranks applicable
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Student qualifications

To become a UTA for BIO 151, you should have successfully completed my section of BIO 151 and/or BIO 152. You will be required to attend the discussion section(s) every week, attend lecture (MWF 9:05-9:55AM), and for lead UTAs attend a weekly meeting (likely on Fridays). You should be able to explain complex topics in ways that are engaging and understandable, be enthusiastic about working hard, and have good teamwork and communication skills.

  1. Apply for this position through the Propel site.
  2. In your application materials indicate why you want to be an undergraduate TA for BIO 151 and what strength do you believe you'll bring to our BIO 151 team (which includes UTAs, graduate TAs, me, and SIs)?
  3. For your application to be complete, you must also fill out this form to indicate your availability.
Time commitment
5-7 h/wk
8-10 h/wk
Position Types and Compensation
Teaching - Ind. Study Credit
Teaching - Paid, General
Number of openings
18
Techniques learned

Through this work, you will develop your abilities to explain biological concepts, provide thoughtful feedback, facilitate in-class discussions, manage small student groups and answer questions about cell and molecular biology at a level appropriate for an introductory biology course.

Project start
Fall 2025
Contact Information:
Mentor
Caralyn Zehnder
czehnder@umass.edu
Senior Lecturer in Biology
Name of project director or principal investigator
Caralyn Zehnder
Email address of project director or principal investigator
czehnder@umass.edu
18 sp. | 0 appl.
Hours
5-7 h/wk (+1)
5-7 h/wk8-10 h/wk
Project categories
Molecular Biology (+1)
Cellular BiologyMolecular Biology