The January 2022 TA Institute runs from January 17-21 online and is open to any graduate student who is interested in teaching or TAing. The institute is also open to undergraduate TAs. This year, workshops in the TA institute are organized into 5 themes, and if you complete 4 workshops in a theme, and do the related pre- & post-session online modules, you are eligible for a letter of completion that you can include in your Teaching Portfolio and CV. These letters will include a brief description of any themes that you completed, and how the work you did in those themes supports your development as a teacher.
TA Institute participants who meet the eligibility criteria for a Completion Letter will be receiving their letters by the end of March (see below for the eligibility criteria). If you meet the eligibility criteria and have any questions about the status of your letter after that date, please contact CTLT.TAInstitute@ubc.ca.
Eligibility criteria:
- Fully attended 4 sessions under a theme
- Completed the pre and post modules per theme(s)
- Submitted a completion form
The pre-session modules must be completed by January 17, 2022 by 9 am, and the post-session modules must be completed by January 31, 2022 at noon.
- FACE-TO-FACE, ONLINE, AND HYBRID TEACHING TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
Sessions included in this theme:
- Adapting the Classroom Environment for Flexible Teaching Models (Face-to-Face, Online and Hybrid Learning)
- Cultivating Connection and Community (In-Person & Online)
- In a Room or on Zoom: How to Balance Participatory Learning with Didactic Lecturing
- Making the Grade: Marking, Feedback, and Assessment for Learning
- Establishing a Positive TA Experience Working with Faculty Members: Dos and Don’ts
- Time Management Skills for Graduate Students and TAs
As we transition back to face-to-face teaching, we are once again tasked with adapting our teaching strategies, technologies, and approaches. As a teaching community, we have gained extraordinary experience in online learning and can now identify the strengths and limitations of both face-to-face and online instruction. Workshops in these sessions will focus on harnessing what we’ve learned over the past few years to adapt our online teaching strategies to face-to-face, and vice versa. These sessions will also explore the unique challenges and opportunities presented by multiple teaching modalities as well as the common learning experiences that link them together.
This form is now closed.
This form is now closed.
- TASHIP 101 (ESSENTIALS TO PREPARE FOR TASHIP)
Sessions included in this theme:
- Establishing a Positive TA Experience Working with Faculty Members: Dos and Don’ts
- Welcome to Your Union! Knowing—and USING—your TA Rights
- Presentation and Lecturing Skills
- Making the Grade: Marking, Feedback, and Assessment for Learning
- Adapting the Classroom Environment for Flexible Teaching Models (Face-to-Face, Online and Hybrid Learning)
- UBC Early Alert Program Orientation
- Time Management Skills for Graduate Students and TAs
- Race & Classroom Power Dynamics in TAing
This theme is the complete package for new and experienced TAs, as it conveniently comprises important instructional and supportive skills that every TA should know to fulfill their duties. In your role as a TA, it is important to remember that your responsibilities include supporting your instructor, supporting your students, and supporting yourself. Sessions within this theme will prepare you for your TAship in all aspects, including working with faculty members, cultivating a classroom environment, creating effective learning environments for your students, and managing your own TA roles and responsibilities. Sessions within this theme are not only useful to new TAs and those new to teaching, but also to returning TAs and those with teaching experience.
This form is now closed.
- EXPLORING AND SUPPORTING INCLUSIVITY, EQUITY, ACCESSIBILITY, AND WELLNESS
Sessions included in this theme:
- Intro to TA Training for Classroom Climate and Indigenous Topics
- UBC Early Alert Program Orientation
- Trauma-Informed Teaching
- Accessibility-Centred Design: Creating Inclusive Learning Environments
- Checking Our Work: An Introduction to Researching Your Own Teaching
- Race & Classroom Power Dynamics in TAing
- Welcome to Your Union! Knowing—and USING—your TA Rights
Creating and maintaining a classroom environment centered around student inclusivity, accessibility, and wellness is a key component of any classroom, whether you are a course instructor or a TA. As a TA, you are the essential pillar of communication between your students and the instructor. Therefore, you must consider the importance of your highly student-interactive role in monitoring and ensuring that your students feel included and supported; however, many TAs are unequipped with the tools required for such an important task. Sessions in this theme will help you both reflect on and develop concrete strategies for supporting your students’ wellbeing as well as help you to understand the value in creating an inclusive, equitable and accessible class.
- TEACHING FUNDAMENTALS
Sessions included in this theme:
- Adapting the Classroom Environment for Flexible Teaching Models (Face-to-Face, Online and Hybrid Learning)
- In a Room or on Zoom: How to Balance Participatory Learning with Didactic Lecturing
- Making the Grade: Marking, Feedback, and Assessment for Learning
- Presentation and Lecturing Skills
- Leading Online Synchronous Discussions… When should I? How should I?
- Accessibility-Centred Design: Creating Inclusive Learning Environments
- Intro to TA Training for Classroom Climate and Indigenous Topics
Our team is passionate about inspiring the next generation of educators to contribute to the paradigm shift away from teacher-centred teaching approaches to student-centred approaches. As a TA, you are situated in an influential position to do just this. Completing this theme will help you deepen your understanding of what makes teaching practices effective. By delving into a wide variety of evidence-based teaching tools and techniques, you will begin to develop teaching skills and practices that contribute to better learning experiences for your students. Sessions within this theme are not only useful to new TAs and those new to teaching, but also to returning TAs and those with teaching experience.
- INTERDISCIPLINARY AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Sessions included in this theme:
- Cultivating Connection and Community (In-Person & Online)
- Presentation and Lecturing Skills
- Leading Online Synchronous Discussions… When should I? How should I?
- Accessibility-Centred Design: Creating Inclusive Learning Environments
- Checking Our Work: An Introduction to Researching Your Own Teaching
- Trauma-Informed Teaching
Interdisciplinary and experiential approaches to teaching foster students’ collaborative skills and analytical skills. Engaging with experiential learning and working across disciplines allows for a holistic approach to learning that considers real-world issues, leading to more impactful learning experiences. How can one plan for these comprehensive learning experiences, and how will you know they are impactful? The sessions in this theme will not only help you explore those questions, but they will also help you build lesson planning and decision-making strategies as a TA so that you can create impactful interdisciplinary and experiential learning experiences in your classroom.