May 2020 TA Institute

From May 25 – May 28, 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:

Resetting Expectations for Online Learning

Monday, May 25 | 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. | Blackboard Collaborate

This session will address some of the changes to the role of TAs in moving to an online instructional format. We will focus on TA/instructor and TA/student relationships to better identify personal expectations of how these roles operate when learning goes online. This will also be an opportunity to enhance your toolkit with strategies for engaging students and building community online.
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Exploring and Expanding the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion work of TAs at UBC

Monday, May 25 | 2 – 4 p.m. | Blackboard Collaborate

Exploring and expanding the equity, diversity & inclusion (EDI) in the work of TAs at UBC is an important session that supports your TA skills both in and outside of the classroom. Over our time together, we will cover three specific areas where intentional efforts to attend to EDI will (hopefully) enhance: a) students’ sense of belonging; b) their engagement with content and assessment; and c) the skills needed to work across differences. We’ll accomplish this through a variety of discussions and activities, with resources you can take with you afterwards.
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Transitioning Online Amid Crisis: How Canvas Can Help

Tuesday, May 26 | 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. | Blackboard Collaborate

In this session we will explore the tools available in Canvas and how to use them effectively, including Collaborate Ultra, Quizzes and Assignments, SpeedGrader, Discussions, and the Gradebook. In addition, this session will include discussions on how to manage your health and wellbeing during periods of stress as well as learning about the effective strategies for assisting your students. Finally, a discussion period will provide an opportunity to ask questions and receive advice from peers and facilitators.
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Leading Synchronous and Asynchronous Online Discussions

Tuesday, May 26 | 2 – 4 p.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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TA Workflow and Time Management in an Online Environment

Wednesday, May 27 | 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. | Blackboard Collaborate

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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Getting Started with Proctorio

Wednesday, May 27 | 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, May 27 | 2 – 4 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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TAing Large Synchronous Classrooms Online

Thursday, May 28 | 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. | Blackboard Collaborate

TAs have been facing unique challenges TAing large, synchronous, online classes. This session will explore what makes online classes challenging in an online setting and brainstorm some strategies for supporting instructors and engaging student
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