The LFS TA Application opens March 2nd for students to apply to TA for all LFS 2023 Summer Term courses. There are expected to be around 12-13 courses offered overall by LFS, counting all terms (S1, S2 & S1+2).

For ten business days only , the LFS TA Application will be open for students applying to summer TA positions.

It will open by 10am on March 2^nd and close by 4:30pm on March 15, 2023.
(This ten-day limit is mandated by the agreement between CUPE 2278/UBC.) 

Instructors determine how many TAs to assign to their course. TA hours assigned to each TA will also vary.

To log in to the LFS TA Application from off-campus, use the UBC VPN.
(See UBC IT-myVPN for instructions, or contact UBC IT for help with the VPN.)

For help navigating the TA Application, email Virginia Frankian at lfs.ta@ubc.ca.

2023 Summer Terms – LFS TA Application opens next week
– 10 business days only!

The LFS TA Application will soon be open for students to apply to TA for all LFS 2023 Summer Term courses. There are expected to be around 12-13 courses offered overall by LFS, counting all terms (S1, S2 & S1+2).

The LFS TA Application will be open for students to apply for ten business days only.
It will open by 10am on March 2^nd and close by 4:30pm on March 15, 2023.
(This ten-day limit is mandated by the agreement between CUPE 2278/UBC.)

Instructors determine how many TAs to assign to their course. TA hours assigned to each TA will also vary.

To log in to the LFS TA Application from off-campus, use the UBC VPN.

For help navigating the TA Application, email Virginia Frankian at lfs.ta@ubc.ca.

Feb. 25 – Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant Award – Call for nominations

In recognition of the valuable role that Teaching Assistants play in our programs, UBC annually awards 19 Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards. Each UBC Killam GTA Award includes a certificate and $1,000. The calls for nominations for the Killam GTA Award for the Faculty of Land and Food Systems are open and can be submitted by any student, faculty or staff who have worked closely with the TA they are nominating.

Eligibility: The award is open to any UBC Graduate Teaching Assistant who acts or has acted in this position at UBC Vancouver during the current and/or preceding academic year (2022-23 and/or 2021-22).

Award Criteria: https://lc.landfood.ubc.ca/teaching-resources/killam-gta-award/

Nomination Process:

To honor the anonymity of students supporting their TAs and to streamline the adjudication process, the Learning Centre has developed a two-step nomination process: (1) nomination with a deadline on February 25, 2023, and (2) documents submissions with a deadline at 3 pm on March 10, 2023.

For TAs Self-Nominating Themselves:

1. Submit a self-nomination using the Qualtrics form
2. Create your nomination package as a 4-page document (see details) that includes
   1. Your philosophy statement.
   2. Your teaching responsibilities
3. Submit your nomination package using the Qualtrics form
4. Request support letters from students and instructors.
   1. Download and fill out a standard support letter form
   2. Submit it via the Qualtrics form

For Students, Instructors and Graduate Students/TAs nominating another TA:

1. Submit a nomination using the Qualtrics form:https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ehu2M3uWrhjFlGK
   1. The nominee will be notified and reminded to prepare a nomination package
2. Download and fill out a standard support letter form
3. Submit it via the Qualtrics form

Names of undergraduate students who have submitted a nomination or support letter will not be disclosed to the nominees. Only PDF file submissions will be accepted for the nomination package and support letters. All details can be viewed on: https://lc.landfood.ubc.ca/teaching-resources/killam-gta-award/

If you have any questions and feedback about the nomination process, please contact Judy Chan (judy.chan@ubc.ca).

Hi folks,

Happy February!

Just a reminder about our exciting event next week. The Life Sciences Institute & Land and Food Systems TA Training Programs are teaming up to bring you TA training workshops!

We will start our Mini-Workshop Series with Inclusive Teaching. Please join us to learn about how to make your classroom more inclusive. This workshop will be facilitated by Tabitha Martens and Will Valley. This event will occur on February 8^th from 12:00pm-2:00pm. Lunch is provided!

Please register using the QR code in the attached flyer – and indicate any dietary restrictions.

We hope to see you there!!

 And as always, if you have any questions OR concerns regarding TA training please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or Alysha (alyshade@student.ubc.ca).

 Best,
Jordy

Jordy Kersey, MSc (she/her)
PhD Candidate | Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes Lab
Faculty of Land and Food Systems
The University of British Columbia | Unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Territory
President – Pacific Regional Society of Soil Scientists

Deadline Mar. 10 – Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant Award – Call for nominations

In recognition of the valuable role that Teaching Assistants play in our programs, UBC annually awards 19 Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards. Each UBC Killam GTA Award includes a certificate and $1,000. The calls for nominations for the Killam GTA Award for the Faculty of Land and Food Systems are open and can be submitted by any student, faculty or staff who have worked closely with the TA they are nominating.

Eligibility: The award is open to any UBC Graduate Teaching Assistant who acts or has acted in this position at UBC Vancouver during the current and/or preceding academic year (2022-23 and/or 2021-22).

Nomination Process: Full details on how to nominate someone will be provided in LFS Today in the coming week. If you have any questions in the meantime, you can contact Judy Chan (judy.chan@ubc.ca) and you can review the award criteria at:

https://lc.landfood.ubc.ca/teaching-resources/killam-gta-award/

Hi folks,

Happy 2023!

We have an exciting news! The Life Sciences Institute & Land and Food Systems TA Training Programs are teaming up to bring you TA training workshops!

We will start our Mini-Workshop Series with Inclusive Teaching. Please join us to learn about how to make your classroom more inclusive.

This event will occur on February 8^th from 12:00pm-2:00pm. Lunch is provided!

Please register using the QR code in the attached flyer – and indicate any dietary restrictions.

We hope to see you there!!

And as always, if you have any questions OR concerns regarding TA training please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or Alysha.

Best,

Jordy Kersey, MSc (she/her)
PhD Candidate | Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes Lab
Faculty of Land and Food Systems
The University of British Columbia | Unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Territory
President – Pacific Regional Society of Soil Scientists

Happy New Year!

We would like to thank everyone who provided feedback in December for TA related events that happen within the LFS faculty. This is helping shape what will happen in this next semester (stay tuned for a joint event with the Faculty of Medicine).

We would also like to welcome all first time TAs to the LFS Faculty for this term! If you are new to TAing, please don’t hesitate to reach out to myself or Jordy (kerseyj@mail.ubc.ca) with any questions.

In the next couple weeks, The Centre for Teaching, Leaning and Technology (CTLT) will be offering the January TA institute. This consists of different workshops offered from Jan 16th to 19th (online and in-person) that can help you master aspects of effective teaching. More information about the workshops can be found here: https://institute.ctlt.ubc.ca/ta-institute/january-2023-ta-institute/?login

Completion of a certain number of workshops in a theme (outlined on the web page) will result in you receiving a  letter of completion from CTLT that be used for future teaching related applications.

Cheers,

Posted in LFS Today e-newsletter of Dec 22, 2022:

From January 16–19, 2023, 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 courses. The week of professional development workshops are open to graduate students and undergraduate TAs. This year, workshops will be organized into five themes, and if you complete four workshops within a theme, and complete the related pre & post-session online modules as well as a theme completion form, you are eligible for a letter of completion that you can include in your Teaching Portfolio and CV.

Register

Hi folks!

I hope everyone’s term is wrapping up nicely and you are finding time to relax despite the chaos!

The LFS TA training program would like to hear about your experience this term, so we can continue to serve your needs. We’ve created a short feedback survey to reach those who weren’t able to attend our in-person session last week.

LFS TA End Of Term Feedback Survey

Those who complete the survey will be entered into a drawing for two $5 coffee cards! Please enter your email at the end of the survey if you want to be entered. We will be selecting the winners on Friday, Dec 16^th at end of day.

Your feedback means a lot to us and is how we can best craft programs and workshops to suit your needs! Please let us know if you have any concerns/questions above and beyond this survey – we are here for you!

Happy holidays!

Jordy Kersey, MSc (she/her)
PhD Candidate | Sustainable Agricultural Landscapes Lab
Faculty of Land and Food Systems
The University of British Columbia | Unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Territory
President – Pacific Regional Society of Soil Scientists