A teaching associate is an academically qualified and registered graduate student, usually in full-time residence, employed temporarily to teach freshman

Freshman

A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...

- and sophomore-level courses (or occasionally more advanced undergraduate courses) in an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

. They are an advanced form of graduate teaching assistant

Teaching assistant

A teaching assistant is an individual who assists a professor or teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include graduate teaching assistants , who are graduate students; undergraduate teaching assistants , who are undergraduate students; secondary school TAs, who are either high school...

, normally doctoral students, and are paid better than teaching assistants.