BIOL 151 Undergraduate TA (Randall Phillis)

Undergraduate TAs in BIOL 151 will primarily work with Grad TAs to lead discussion sections of the course.   Additionally, TAs help with student tutoring, discussion group activity design and occasionally exam proctoring.  

Because UGrad TAs for this course have all successfully taken Dr. Phillis's version of BIOL 151, they are expected to have expertise in the course content that the Grad TAs may be less familiar with.

TAs must attend weekly meetings run by Prof. Phillis to prepare for the upcoming week's discussions and review course content.   

Name of research group, project, or lab
BIOL 151 Phillis UGrad TAs
Why participate in this opportunity?

Students commonly engage as UGrad TAs in this course to develop their teaching skills, and to help student succeed in this course.  Many students enjoyed the course design when they took the course and want to contribute to the course's success.  

Logistics Information:
Field(s) of Study
Biology
Student ranks applicable
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Student qualifications

Qualified applicants must have successfully taken BIOL 151 with Prof Phillis.

Students who have TA'd in BIOL 151 before for Prof Phillis will be given priority, but many of the former TAs are graduating, and many new TAs will need to be added to the group.

Time commitment
8-10 h/wk
Position Types and Compensation
Credit for Research and Teaching
Number of openings
20
Techniques learned

Students will learn Instructional skills to help students engage fully with the course material.  Students will also develop communication skills in general as required for successful student interactions as well as meaningful contributions to TA meetings and curriculum design.

Project start
Start of Fall Semester 2026
Contact Information:
Mentor
Randall Phillis
rphillis@umass.edu
Associate Professor - Lead Instructor
Name of project director or principal investigator
Randall Phillis
Email address of project director or principal investigator
rphillis@umass.edu
20 sp. | 0 appl.
Time commitment
8-10 h/wk
Field(s) of Study
Biology