Teaching Assistants' Training Program

Mariana Jardim, Faculty Liaison, Teaching, Learning and Technology, CTSI
Mike Kasprzak, TATP Curriculum Developer

Hybrid or blended courses—which combine traditional face to face teaching with online components—are quickly becoming the most effective approach to teaching in higher education. The online environment offers students innovative ways of engaging and interacting.  Yet, the quality of online learning has to be rooted in authentic interactions of students with their instructors, students with each other, and students with the content. In other words, it has to integrate the social, teaching and cognitive presence. In this workshop, we will discuss the various factors that shape online education through an examination of evolving concepts of presence, communication and interaction in the online world. We will identify and explore resources, pedagogical strategies and educational technologies available and supported at the University of Toronto. Special attention will be given to three specific educational technologies: the Discussion Board, Blackboard Collaborate webinar/web conference tool and lecture capture technologies.

This workshop will contain face-to-face and online components. We ask that you prepare to participate actively in both. The entire session will require 4 hours of your time (and will count as two 2-hour certificate workshops).  It will constitute three main components: pre-workshop online work (1 hr.), face-to-face hands-on workshop in the teaching studio (2 hrs.), and a post-workshop reflection (1 hr.). Participants will be introduced to the topic through various activities and resources, which will be provided one week in advance, and will have to be fully completed before taking the workshop.