It is probably safe to say that there are two expectations that all students hold. They expect TAs to be knowledgeable in the course material and they expect TAs to present the material in a clear, easy to understand, systematic way. Students are exposed to a number of teaching approaches and tend to adjust to the various teaching styles of their TAs and professors.
Students also have personal expectations in regard to their instructors.
These expectations will, of course, vary from student to student. Often a particular type of student will be more difficult for a particular TA to deal with this will depend on the match between the TA's teaching style and the students' individual needs, expectations and learning style. The following student typologies reflect not only student expectations of instructors based on individual adaption styles, but also behaviors that may accompany their adaption process. Descriptions of these eight types of students are provided here to help the TA gain insight into the motivations and expectations of particular students whose behavior may at first seem difficult to understand. Although typologies tend to be stereotypic in nature, they are used here to provide a guideline for helping TAs identify the needs of various students.