TA Success Series
The Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning (GMCTL) offers a selection of activities and experiences focused on developing specific skills and knowledge relevant to roles as a Teaching Assistant (TA).
TA Success Series
The TA Success Series offers a selection of activities focused on developing specific skills and knowledge relevant to roles as a teaching assistant. Participants complete activities and receive recognition on their co-curricula record. Choose from activities and experiences that are most relevant to you, including: marking effectively, lesson planning, facilitating labs, problem-set tutorials, seminars, and more.
Recognition: Your attendance, participation and completion of each activity will be recognized on your Co-Curricular Record.
Timeline: All activities should be completed within approximately one academic year.
Activities:
Attend five (5) GMCTL workshops and then write a reflective paper. Attendance at sessions will be tracked by the GMCTL.
Workshops available:
- Fall Fortnight for Teaching and Learning - A series of sessions for anyone involved with teaching at USask. Typically held in August each year.
- TA Success Days - A grouping of sessions over a single day/dates that are focused on developing specific skills and knowledge relevant to teaching as a TA. These sessions are typically scheduled at the beginning of Fall and Winter terms.
- GMCTL workshops - Standalone sessions, scheduled throughout the year.
Arrange to meet with and/or observe an instructor or experienced TA in a role similar to yours and discuss and/or analyze their approach and process for completing their work.
- Examine choices in teaching strategies, how to interact with students, assessment strategies, tips, tricks, challenges, etc.
Offered in September, October, and February. Space is limited, sign up early by emailing Sara.Dzaman@usask.ca if you want to be added to the TA Success Series. This experience includes a number of steps. You will need to be able to attend both 90-minute sessions.
The steps include:
- Participate in a 90-minute workshop on microteaching lesson planning,
- Write, submit, and revise a lesson plan on a chosen topic of interest,
- Deliver a micro-lesson to a group of peers and a GMCTL Educational Developer during a second 90-minute workshop
- Write a reflection on your micro-lesson
Organize and present a guest lecture in a suitable course or present a TA Success Days session. GMCTL staff may provide suggestions with planning the guest lecture, but does not arrange guest lecture opportunities.
- As part of the lecture, request feedback from the instructor using the “Lecture Instructor Feedback Template”
- Write a Reflection on your experience by answering the questions on “Guest Lecture Reflection Template”
- Submit your completed feedback from the instructor and reflection in the TA Success Series course
Information & Registration: If you have questions or are interested in enrolling in the TA Success Series email Sara.Dzaman@usask.ca. Please include your NSID. Registration is ongoing.
TA Success Days
As part of the TA Success Series, we offer TA Success Days. This event is a series of sessions, aimed to help you develop specific skills and knowledge relevant to your role as a teaching assistant. This event regularly takes place in early September and January.