Teaching Assistants' Training Program

Sanaz Ghasemi, TATP Sciences Trainer
Alex Motut, TATP Social Sciences Coordinator
Robin Sutherland-Harris, TATP Humanities Coordinator,
Tingting Zhu, TATP Sciences Trainer

As graduate student TAs and CIs at the University of Toronto, we teach in classrooms that are among the most culturally diverse in the world. Intercultural competency, the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately across cultures, is a crucial skill in this environment. To teach effectively, we need to address issues arising from diversity in our classroom as well as to take advantage of the many opportunities this diversity provides. In addition, universities are increasingly looking for intercultural competencies in hiring faculty members. During this roundtable, we will explore what makes intercultural competencies effective and how these skills can be developed. After participating in this session, we will have a) reflected on various intercultural competencies in our own teaching contexts, and b) shared resources and strategies for effective communication across cultures. We will also examine sample ‘diversity statements’ and ‘student success’ statements,’ which are becoming more common for teaching faculty applications, to give participants the knowledge and skills to begin drafting their own statements.