From:
Samuella Sigmann <00001d2fb4580b5b-dmarc-request**At_Symbol_Here**LISTS.PRINCETON.EDU>
Subject:
Re: [DCHAS-L] Optimal Number of Students per TA/Instructor in General Chemistry Labs
Date:
Aug 26, 2025 15:06 UTC
Reply-To:
ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID:
<7c344ba1-62e6-407a-90a4-5eed58b5c8d7**At_Symbol_Here**retired.appstate.edu>
In-Reply-To:
<SN6PR01MB49275434BEAAF769F4E9D8BFEE3EA**At_Symbol_Here**SN6PR01MB4927.prod.exchangelabs.com>
1 TA/instructor to 24 students is the accepted best practice.
There is no way that one person can safely monitor intro students in
two adjoining laboratory rooms.
Sammye
On 8/25/2025 3:00 PM, Leach, Patricia
wrote:
Hello all,
We have had
an explosion in the number of freshmen who are taking
general chemistry this term, but funding has limited the
number of TAs and instructors we have per lab room. The way
the department has had to deal with this is to increase the
number of students from 30 to 38 per section (limited by the
Fire Marshall’s maximum occupancy of the rooms). They work
in groups of 3 (not ideal at all). We have adjoining labs,
so our shortage of instructors has been solved by having an
instructor supervise two sections being held concurrently in
a set of those labs. There is one TA per section.
In the past
we have had 30 students (10 groups) supervised by a
dedicated instructor (not working concurrent sections) and a
TA, so about 15 students per person supervising. Now we can
have as many as 38 students (13 groups) being supervised by
one person at times, as the instructor moves between
sections. I feel this is not safe.
What do
people think is a safe ratio of supervising people to
students (or student groups)?
Thanks,
Patricia
Leach
Lab Manager
Department
of Chemistry & Biochemistry
SLC 3.513
Office:
972-883-6583
Cell:
469-891-6426
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