Teaching Assistants' Training Program

This interactive workshop will highlight how integrating images, audio, video and immersive virtual environments can enhance the teaching and learning experience.  Through discussions and group activities, this session will:  Share evidence for the efficacy multimodal teaching and learning,Offer practical tips related to accessibility and recommended sources for mediaDemonstrate engaging use of media in the classroom […]

As scientists, we need to be skilled not only in our own discipline, but also in communicating our findings with the larger global community. Many cite the disconnect between the work in academia and the translation of that work to the general public as a contributing factor in the contemporary spread of misinformation. In education, […]

The statement of teaching philosophy (STP) is the foundation of any teaching dossier, is often requested as part of an academic job application, and is an important part of the tenure and promotion process. This short statement needs to effectively communicate your ideas, beliefs, and values about teaching in a condensed space. In writing your […]

The teaching dossier is a comprehensive record of teaching activities and accomplishments that is now required in applications for permanent positions at the University of Toronto and at an increasing number of institutions across North America. In this session, we will review the elements of a successful teaching dossier and discuss how to use it […]

The TATP Bake Your Teaching Philosophy competition is a twist on the increasingly widespread use of baking and other creative approaches to disseminate knowledge and think about research in a new way. The #bakeyourthesis and #bakeyourphd hashtags on twitter provide examples of research from academic bakers around the world engaging in (delicious!) play and experimentation. […]

This workshop will support participants to add role-play in the classroom as a tool in their pedagogical and facilitation toolboxes. Role-play provides the opportunity to bridge theory and practice and to support students to learn about complex topics through an embodied experience. At the same time, role-play risks alienating students uncomfortable with public speaking or […]

With academic publishers and companies such as Top Hat charging students, researchers, and universities to access learning materials, it can be difficult to identify and access the materials that best support our teaching and learning goals. This workshop is designed for teaching assistants and course instructors across the disciplines who want to learn how to […]

In December 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada released its Final Report, which included 94 “Calls to Action” for federal, provincial, territorial and Aboriginal government agencies, institutions, and peoples alike. In academic spaces, land acknowledgements, strategies to “Indigenize,” and calls to “decolonize” are common throughout the disciplines. Decolonization is not a metaphor, […]

Are you interested in teaching in Ontario's college system, but unsure how your university experience has prepared you for this challenge? This roundtable draws on the experience of five industry professionals who have demonstrated excellence in pedagogy and made the transition from university to college teaching. The session will be divided into two parts: first, […]

How do we prepare students for 21st century challenges beyond our classrooms? While the mandate of many university programs is not ‘job preparation’ (as it is in many college programs or professional faculties), we as post-secondary teachers have opportunities to support our students in developing a range of competencies to prepare them for life ‘after […]

In this workshop, participants will build towards a complex understanding of equity terminology and principles. We will start by working through various scenarios around how equity issues arise in our classrooms and collaboratively generate strategies that work to address them. Then, we will ask participants to reflect on their own practices, learn from each other, […]

This workshop will engage the fundamentals of oral presentation and lecturing in various classroom settings. Participants will examine the difference between “writing for the eye’ versus “writing for the ear” in their teaching. Through a combination of discussions and group activities this session will: Learn principles for outlining and organization lectures and oral presentation. Discuss practices […]

Oral presentations are an excellent gauge of students’ understanding of course content as well as their ability to communicate ideas effectively. As TAs and CIs, we are responsible for grading and providing feedback on both of these aspects. However, at times, we may not know which to focus on or what to look for in […]

Over the last couple of decades, the pressure to improve the quality of teaching has been transforming Higher Education in North America. One of the key initiatives has been the emergence of individuals holding a full-time appointment focused on teaching. Indeed, teaching-stream faculty (TSF) – professors whose main responsibilities are teaching and teaching-focused research (i.e., […]

Mentorship in the laboratory is a multi-pronged form of teaching that spans various domains of knowledge (e.g., technical skills, soft skills, background/conceptual knowledge, health and safety considerations, university SOPs, laboratory norms and culture etc.) Graduate students in the sciences and engineering are often tasked with training and mentoring undergraduates in the laboratory despite having no […]