Returning TAs

Facilitators: Kyle Gooderham; Shaya Golparian

This page gathers notes and thoughts about this meeting.

Facilitated activities:

Why should we offer training for returning TAs?

• Help them break some bad habits
• Help them assess their success
• Deepen their learning
• Professional Development

Challenges with Programming for Returning TAs

• redundancies in the TA Training program from year to year
• needing to scale up competency level
• Pro D needs of returning TAs
• Motivation to attend
• Being able to meet the demand (esp, if you don’t have enough resources)
• Institutional support around teaching
  • Unit culture that values teaching

Needs of Returning TAs

Sample Programs for Returning TAs

Program 1

Goals of the program:

• Develop mentorship/leadership skills among returning TAs.

→ Motivation – commitment to ongoing learning

Components of the program:

• Returning TA Training and orientation re: mentorship (theory and skills)
• Matching b/w mentor/mentee for term

• consistency/relationship and match teaching environment
• TA Training coordinator matches/facilitates program

• Check-in CoP – “How is it going?” (for mentors)
• Check-in b/w mentee-mentor
• Peer review of mentoring
• Ongoing feedback (between mentors; mentor-mentee; mentee-students; and faculty-mentee (if on board)

Logistics:(When? How long? Who will run the program? What’s needed?)

When:

• Orientation/training → Aug (Half day/ ~ 4 hrs)
• Mentee-Mentor→ term (Sept – Dec / Jan – May)
• Check-in sessions → mid-term ( ~ 2hrs)
• Feedback → ongoing

What’s needed?:

• FOOD
• Faculty- buy-in (i.e: if TAs are paid to attend training)
• Tangible incentive

• • getting paid for training
  • letter of recognition
• CTLT support (re:training)

Program 2

Goals of the program:

• Integrate TAship into broader Prof path
• Teaching and learning/ Scholarship/Research
• Novice → Expert

Components of the program:

• Mentorship Program
• ProD Plan (ie: teaching portfolio)
• Workshops:

• Orientation session
• Departmental ISW
• Mentoring
• Teaching Portfolio
• TA dev. Plan
• Team/group management
• Why TA? value of TAship
• Communication upstream –> advocacy
• Facilitation
• Lesson planning/Design
• Mini-lesson practice (departmental)
• Community of practice (run by GTAs)

Logistics:(When? How long? Who will run the program? What’s needed?)

• CTLT support
• Department support
• Collaboration with other departments

Program 3

Goals of the program:

• Motivating and showing value of TAship –> situating in larger career goals
  • • ensure program is applicable to their experience/tasks
• Navigating competing demands (TAship/research/etc)

Components of the program:

• @TA orientation – what is the value of TAship/ professional development
  • • to new TAs: Why come back later?
    • showing a pathway of ProD
    • framing TAship position in their career
      (how to choose sessions)

• Reflective modules – in each session (10 min)
  • • “how will this be used in your future career?research?”
    • provide focus on SKILLS→ “How would I describe on my CV?”

• TAship in research/career module (for senior TAs) – end of year
  (What have you developed (Skills) and what do you want to work on next year?) — (Motivate for new sessions)

• How will you talk about your skills?

• What have you learned?

• -How apply to research?
• -How use in career?
• How will this appear on your CV?
• What do you want to develop further in?

• How will you identify future ProD?

Logistics:(When? How long? Who will run the program? What’s needed?)

• Simplified, these are modifications for Exp TAs in existing programs
• Could be run with multi-departments
• TAship in research/career module (for senior TAs)

• • • offered for senior TAs and offered at the end of the year
    • possible shared (multi-dept)
    • collects reflections from each session
    • could include new TAs – “Along for the ride’ but mostly targeting senior TAs