Cohorts for Community: Structuring Undergraduate Staff Support

In our introductory computer science course, we face the challenge of supporting a sizable team of undergraduate teaching assistants while fostering both consistency and community. To address this challenge, we implement a cohort-based model for organizing staff, in which Head Teaching Assistants (TAs) take on additional leadership and course logistics responsibilities and lead a small group of four or five other TAs. This model decentralizes communication, granting Head TAs more agency in how they guide their groups while creating smaller communities where staff feel comfortable raising concerns, asking questions, and sharing strategies. In this lightning talk, we will share concrete examples of how cohort meetings have improved information flow, strengthened staff development, and cultivated a greater sense of belonging among teaching staff. Additionally, we will highlight challenges such as uneven dissemination of information across groups and discuss strategies we have implemented to mitigate these issues. Lastly, we will reflect on why we believe this structure offers a scalable and transferable model for other large courses seeking to balance efficiency with community while developing leadership pathways for experienced staff.