July 2020 TA Institute

From July 20 – 24, the CTLT Teaching Assistant (TA) Institute includes a collection of workshops designed to support TAs as their roles change along with the move to online summer courses. The week of professional development workshops are open to graduate students and undergraduate TAs.

Schedule of Events (PDF)

Resources from the 2020 Teaching Assistant Institute are available.

Register for sessions below:

Supporting Student Well-being in an Online Learning Environment

Monday, July 20 | 10 – 11 a.m. | Zoom

Everyone plays an important role in supporting student mental health and wellbeing. In this session, we will share how student health and wellbeing services are operating in the current online environment, with information on how to connect students to supports they may need during these times. There will also be opportunity to connect with your peers and share ideas for embedding strategies that foster well-being in your work as TAs.
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Exploring Zoom

Monday, July 20 | 12 – 1 p.m. | Zoom

Zoom is a web-conferencing application for moderating classes, meetings, or other group collaborations virtually. Join us for this session to learn more about Zoom and best practices in using it for teaching virtual classes.
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Preventing & Responding to Sexualized Violence: Considerations for Digital Classrooms

Monday, July 20 | 2 – 3:30 p.m. | Blackboard Collaborate

What can we do to support survivors while teaching remotely? How can we create safety from sexualized violence in online teaching spaces? What supports are available remotely? In this session, we’ll explore trauma-informed approaches to preventing and responding to sexualized violence in online learning: content notes, communicating support services, remote responses to disclosures, online prevention, and supports in the remote teaching and learning landscape.
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TA’ing Online with Canvas

Tuesday, July 21 | 10 – 11:30 a.m. | Zoom

In this session we will explore the tools available in Canvas and how to use them effectively, including Quizzes and Assignments, SpeedGrader, Discussions, and the Gradebook. In addition, a discussion period will provide an opportunity to ask questions and receive advice from peers and facilitators.
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Teaching with Collaborate Ultra

Tuesday, July 21 | 12 – 1 p.m. | Blackboard Collaborate Ultra

Collaborate Ultra is a web-conferencing application for moderating classes, meetings, or other group collaborations virtually. Learn about how to set up Collaborate Ultra and teach your classes.
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TA’ing Large, Synchronous, Online Classes

Wednesday, July 22 | 10 – 11:30 a.m. | Zoom

TAs have been facing unique challenges providing support for large, synchronous, online classes. In this session, we will brainstorm challenges and solutions to typical roles that TAs may face in current online instruction scenarios, including but not limited to leading tutorials, group discussions, and managing student questions. We will additionally address the support that both instructors and TAs need from each other.
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Getting Started with Proctorio

Wednesday, July 22 | 1 – 2 p.m. | Blackboard Collaborate

Proctorio is an online remote proctoring service hosted in Canada and integrated with Canvas, so UBC students can securely take exams from anywhere. With Proctorio, each student’s exam is recorded with video and audio, along with screen and keyboard activity, to promote exam integrity. Learn about key considerations when setting up an online proctored exam and how to set up Proctorio in your Canvas course.
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Strategies to Prevent and Manage Issues Related to Technology

Wednesday, July 22 | 2 – 3:30 p.m. | Blackboard Collaborate

In this session, we will explore common issues TAs face in remote teaching & learning and identify root causes. We will develop strategies to prevent issues and prepare back-ups to manage issues in the moment. During the session we will also address the digital divide faced by both TAs and students and incorporate considerations around the Universal Design for Learning framework for remote teaching.
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Leading Synchronous and Asynchronous Discussions

Thursday, July 23 | 10 – 11:30 a.m. | Blackboard Collaborate

Refresh your perspective on what it means to have a “discussion” online. In this session, we’ll explore the role of online discussions in supporting students’ learning, and discover some best practices and useful tools we can use as TAs to lead effective online discussions in synchronous and asynchronous formats.
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Supporting Inclusive Online Classrooms

Friday, July 24 | 10 – 11:30 a.m. | Zoom

Terms like “inclusivity” and “diversity” can feel complex to navigate as a TA- and perhaps even more so in an online teaching environent. This session will provide the opportunity for TAs to reflect on the unique challenges of inclusivity, how to support it in an online teaching enviroment, and will encourage TAs to examine both the potential and the limitations of our role in promoting inclusion in online teaching.
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Time Management for Online TAs

Friday, July 24 | 2 – 3:30 p.m. | Zoom

TAs have expressed feeling overwhelmed trying to hold office hours, manage full inboxes, and balance their own online work with their TA work. This session will brainstorm and explore best practices for how to set online boundaries and stick to them.
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