September 2, 2016 at 7:30 pm

Workshop | Becoming a More Effective & Less-Stressed TA, Sept. 19

The TA Professional Development Faculty Learning Community in the College of Arts & Sciences is offering a workshop series that can help enhance graduate students’ teaching skills and get them ready for their next steps.

Students who are currently serving as primary instructors in a course can get additional in-class observation and feedback.

Feel free to walk in; however, space is limited for some of the workshops, so sign up online to guarantee a spot.

After completing a workshop on creating a Winning Impression in the classroom last March, an enthusiastic attendee shared this feedback in the anonymous workshop evaluation: “This workshop was great! I taught a class immediately after, and I used one of the tips suggested by the facilitators, and it worked! My students magically had questions to ask me. I really hope workshops like this will be offered more often: one thing is to be prepared on a content area, another is to know how to present it to an audience.” Read more about the new professional development teaching program for graduate students.

For more information, contact Dr. Muriel Gallego.

Upcoming Workshops

Students who attend at least three workshops will receive a certificate of attendance.

Becoming a More Effective & Less-Stressed TA: How to Manage your Time and Responsibilities

When: Monday, Sept. 19 – 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: Alden Library 319

Is grading taking over your life? Do you spend twice as long planning your lessons as you do giving them? Do students’ office hours visits seem to drag on and on? In this workshop, we work on using time more efficiently for grading, lesson planning, and meeting with students so that you can spend more time on your own studies and research.

Winning Impression

When: Wednesday, Oct. 5 – 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: Alden Library 319

When applying for a teaching position, you may be asked to provide evidence of your teaching skills through a demonstration either in that department or in a class you are already teaching. This workshop will help you to showcase your talents by video-recording you in an impromptu performance that you and your peers will critique. You will receive expert advice from teacher trainers on what you can do to increase your clarity and make a positive impact for future demonstrations. Tips for teaching clarity, overcoming nervousness, and displaying confidence will also be discussed. This workshop is capped at 20, so be sure to sign up early!

Micro-Teaching Scenarios: Analyzing Our Teaching Skills

When: Thursday, Oct. 20 – 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Where: Alden Library 319

Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall in your own classroom, to see what your students see? Talking about teaching is one thing, but putting it into practice is another. In this workshop, you will practice handling different situations that arise in the classroom. For those of you who have attended previous workshops in this series, this is your chance to put into practice what you have learned. If this is the first workshop you will attend, it will specifically target your teaching skills and provide you with immediate feedback. Your impromptu teaching demonstration will be video-recorded for analysis in the workshop. You will receive expert advice from teacher trainers on what you can do, and will discuss the experience with your peers. This workshop is capped at 15, so be sure to sign up early!

How to Prepare for the Job Market: Writing a Teaching Philosophy and a Research Statement

When: Thursday, Nov. 3 – 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Where: Alden Library 319

It’s a challenging and stressful time to be on the job market, and it is never too early to start planning and developing your materials. Whether you are interested in teaching, or plan to devote most of your time to research, any job application for an academic appointment will include a Teaching Philosophy and a Research Statement. This workshop will help you craft (or edit) those important documents. Feel free to bring your documents and your computer/tablet.