Teaching Assistants' Training Program

Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation, 130 St. George Street, Robarts Library, 4th floor

UTSC Job Training Day

The following TA job training sessions have been scheduled at the UTSC campus. Students must register in advance for their required training sessions by using the links below or at the CTL TA events page: https://ctl.utsc.utoronto.ca/booking/tatp/. Space is limited. Only students who register in advance will be guaranteed a space. Registration lists will be sent […]

Discussion Based Tutorials for the Humanities & Social Sciences

Blackburn Room, Robarts Library 4th Floor In this training session, we will review strategies for leading effective discussion-based tutorials in both classroom and lab settings.  We will explore how to prepare yourself to lead an engaging discussion, how you can encourage students to come to tutorial prepared for meaningful discussion, and what to do when […]

Skills Based Tutorials: Problem Sets

Blackburn Room

Blackburn Room, Robarts Library 4th Floor Learning how to effectively and efficiently solve problems is the key to success in many math, science and engineering disciplines. This training session will expose TAs to proven approaches to working with students who are learning the process for solving problems in their discipline. Participants in this session will […]

Labs and Practicals

Blackburn Room

Blackburn Room, 4th Floor Robarts Library Facilitating laboratory sessions is a complex task that even the most experienced teaching assistants are constantly aiming to refine. On the one hand, labs usually follow a well-constrained step-by-step methodology. On the other hand, it is not always clear how this methodology supports a theoretical concept, or how a […]

Review and Q&A – CANCELLED

Blackburn Room

Blackburn Room, 4th Floor Robarts Library In this training session, we will discuss strategies that support the planning and delivery of effective Review/Q&A sessions.  We will identify strategies to check for student understanding and to support students in their preparation for assignments, tests and exams. TAs will learn  practical advice and tips to offer students […]

Adapting Teaching Techniques (ATT)

Blackburn Room

Blackburn Room, 4th Floor Robarts Library Tutorials at the University of Toronto come in all shapes and sizes.  As a TA, you need to be prepared to adapt your lesson planning, your learning activities and even your overall teaching approach to different types of tutorials.  In this training session, you will learn how to adapt […]

Discussion Based Tutorials for the Sciences & Engineering

Blackburn Room

Blackburn Room, Robarts Library 4th Floor In this training session, we will review strategies for leading effective discussion-based tutorials in both classroom and lab settings.  We will explore how to prepare yourself to lead an engaging discussion, how you can encourage students to come to tutorial prepared for meaningful discussion, and what to do when […]

Skills Based Tutorials: Supporting Student Writing

Blackburn Room

Blackburn Room, Robarts Library 4th Floor This training session will focus on how to support students in the process of developing writing skills. Over the course of the session, we will discuss various approaches to engaging your students through writing, both through in-class writing activities and assigned writing outside the classroom. TAs in this workshop […]

Skills Based Tutorials: Critical Reading & Reflection

Blackburn Room

Blackburn Room, Robarts Library 4th Floor In this training session, we will discuss strategies to encourage students to engage in both critical reading and reflection. We will address the challenge of unprepared students through examining underlying barriers to successful reading in the undergraduate classroom. TAs in this session will explore concrete strategies for supporting reading […]

UTSC: Managing Your Classroom: Dealing with Student Disengagement, Uncivil Behaviour and Digital Distractions

Teaching assistants are often faced with problematic situations which, if not promptly addressed, can destabilize the classroom environment and ruin both the students’ learning experience and the TAs’ teaching experience.  In this interactive workshop, TAs will work together to come up with ideas and strategies to address a number of problematic case scenarios.   They will […]

UTSC: Strengthening Students’ Research and Writing Skills

This workshop mixes brief presentations with activities that enable participants to (1) identify common undergraduate problems with research, (2) learn current best practices and resources to address such problems, and (3) formulate strategies they would use to help students improve their research process. The workshop is held in the Library Instruction Lab at UTSC. It provides participants with an […]

Job Training Day: Humanities & Social Sciences

Blackburn Room

Blackburn Room, Robarts Library, 4th Floor This is a 4-hour training day for first-contract and returning TAs 9:00am - 12:00pm: General Pedagogical Training 12:15pm - 1:15pm: Tutorial Training Discussion Based Tutorials; Skills Based Tutorials: Supporting Student Writing; or Review and Q&A 1:30pm - 2:30pm: Grading or Adapting Teaching Techniques All departments may allow TAs to use this […]

UTSC: Effective and Efficient Grading

Have upcoming grading to do?  This workshop is designed to assist Teaching Assistants to maximize their contribution to students’ success and their own efficiency and productivity during the grading process. Topics covered will include: effective feedback, language-related issues, academic integrity, time management, grading disputes, communication and marking rubric design. Each participant is requested to bring […]

Job Training Day: Sciences and Engineering

Blackburn Room

Blackburn Room, Robarts Library, 4th Floor This is a 5-hour training day for first-contract and returning TAs 9:00am - 12:00pm: General Pedagogical Training 12:15pm - 1:15pm: Tutorial Training Discussion Based Tutorials; Skills Based Tutorials: Problem Sets; or Labs and Practicals 1:30pm - 2:30pm: Grading or Adapting Teaching Techniques All departments may allow TAs to use this three-hour […]

Brown Bag Lunch: Starting the Semester

Do you have a dilemma, challenge, or question about teaching? Have you been experimenting with new teaching techniques in your classroom, or would you like to try out a new technique and talk it through with some of your colleagues and experienced TATP facilitators? Bring your lunch and join us to troubleshoot your teaching concerns, […]