My work has changed enormously over the past few years.
Luc Smeets has been a technical teaching assistant (TOA) in physics at the Roercollege for over 20 years. He prefers to call it an instructor role and teaches practical lessons to students from VMBO 2 through VWO 6. Through the Stichting Onderwijs Midden-Limburg, he took a customized course at Summa. “You do many things on autopilot, but what is a student actually like? And where do my strengths and weaknesses lie in the classroom?”
Luc Smeets graduated as a Biotechnical Laboratory Technician. "I had absolutely no teaching experience. However, I had an affinity for speaking in front of large groups thanks to my stage hobby, and as a football coach, I discovered I really enjoyed coaching. I took a leap of faith and went into education as a practical physics instructor. There, I suddenly found myself working with students, giving instructions, initiating lessons, and much more."
Technical teaching assistant
Roercollege is affiliated with the Stichting Onderwijs Midden-Limburg (Midden-Limburg Education Foundation). They contacted Summa about a customized, in-company course. Working as a technical teaching assistant has changed dramatically in recent years. You now work much more independently. The course was well-designed; in eight sessions, we learned theory and then worked on case studies ourselves. Our instructor was incredibly good at observing, listening, and adjusting. This way, we got to know different types of students and learned how to identify problems they have. Ultimately, you put all that knowledge into practice, in the classroom.
To learn from each other
“There were many different types in my class. Teaching assistants from practical subjects like healthcare, but also from theoretical subjects. That was an interesting mix. For example, I viewed things very differently than colleagues from other disciplines. I got to know my own strengths and weaknesses and created a personal development plan. Those are valuable tools. And there is still so much more to learn as a technical teaching assistant. As far as I’m concerned, the course could have lasted much longer: I am far from finished learning.”