Teaching assistants and graduate student development
The CTL fosters the professional development of teaching assistants (TAs) and future teachers through collaboration on workshops and resources, TA orientations, and a seminar on university teaching.
Teaching and learning guide for TAs
About
The CTL has developed a comprehensive and free resource to guide you in your role as a teaching assistant.
TA Orientation
About
This online synchronous orientation offers insights into building a positive work experience for yourself and a good learning experience for your students. The CTL collaborates with GradProSkills on these orientations to assist in the development of good teaching practices. These are open to TAs from all disciplines and roles (marker/grader, tutorial/lab leader).
Having completed this seminar, you will be able to:
contribute to a positive working relationship with the instructor and students of the course
recognize what contributes to discrimination & exclusion faced by students and strategies to build a more inclusive classroom environment
identify key strategies for providing good feedback in assessments
find the appropriate on-campus resources for yourself and your students
Format
Online, two hours synchronous session with two 30-minute breakout topics. Typically scheduled twice in the first few weeks of every semester.
Registration
Registration for the orientation is offered through GradProSkills before the start of each term.
Other training
Format
Online and synchronous, some in-person
About
The CTL occasionally offers additional professional development opportunities to TAs and graduate students. These workshops include preparing to teach, classroom management and navigating difficult moments in the classroom.
Explore all upcoming programming offered in collaboration with GradProSkills below and register directly by clicking on the event.
Teaching from GPS
CTL faculty workshops
If you are a TA for a course, you may also be able to attend some of the CTL’s regular programming for faculty. If you are interested in registering for a CTL event [/ctl/professional-development/upcoming-events] but are not sure if the session is open to TAs, please contact us at teaching@concordia.ca.
Other workshops and events
About
The CTL occasionally offers additional professional development opportunities to TAs and graduate students. These workshops include grading and giving feedback, classroom management and navigating difficult moments in the classroom.
Registration
Registration for TA and graduate student workshops on teaching and grading are offered through GradProSkills where you can filter the skill domain by teaching.
CTL workshops
If you are a TA for a course, you may also be able to attend some of the CTL’s regular programming. If you want to register for an upcoming CTL event but are not sure if the session is open to TAs, please contact us via our form.
Graduate seminar on university teaching
About
This intensive seminar on university teaching prepares graduate students for an academic teaching career. The estimated time commitment is 35 hours of instruction plus 15–20 hours for readings and assignments. An online section is also offered with synchronous contact hours and asynchronous activities on Moodle.
Participants will receive a 35-hour certificate upon completion of seminar requirements. These requirements include class attendance and completion of other instructional activities and assignments.
Learning objectives
Having completed this seminar, you will be able to:
apply the theory and practice of university teaching;
develop a course syllabus;
design and deliver lessons with greater confidence and
articulate your teaching philosophy in a written statement for future job applications in teaching.
There are four significant assignments as part of this seminar which participants must complete to earn the certificate, which includes:
Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement
Developing a Concept Map for a course you would like to teach
Teaching a 10-15 minute mini-lesson
Develop an original Course syllabus for a course you would like to teach.
Feedback will be provided for assignments, and students will receive a pass/fail mark.
Format
Currently, the seminar has three formats: in-person and online.
In-person
The in-person format is typically scheduled over five (5) days from 9:30–16:30 at the Sir George Williams campus. The additional work (15-20 hours) related to readings and assignments is completed outside the classroom.
Online
In the online format, synchronous classes are held on Zoom. Students must also complete online instructional activities on Moodle at their convenience. In addition, there are readings and homework (15-20 hours).
Registration
Registration for the seminar is offered through GradProSkills.