TA Day

TA Day proposal submission information

Submission deadline: Monday, May 15, 2023
Fall TA Day: Friday, September 8, 2023

The Centre for Educational Excellence invites experienced teaching assistants and tutor-markers at SFU to apply to lead in-person workshops at the Fall TA Orientation on Friday, September 8, 2023. This program is intended for new and veteran teaching assistants (and graduate students interested in being a TA). 

As a veteran teaching assistant or tutor-marker with a passion for teaching and learning, what knowledge do you have that could make the life of a novice teaching assistant easier? We invite you to share your expertise at TA Day. You’ll build your resume, gain presentation experience, receive compensation, and help your peers. 

GO TO THE ONLINE SUBMISSION FORM

Presenting at TA Day: Share it forward

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFmFmeV5Fv4

Whether you have tips for managing heavy workloads, relevant insights from your research, or information about how to access a helpful service, your contribution could make a difference in helping someone master and thrive in their role as a teaching assistant.

Use the downloadable form available on this page to submit your session proposal. TAs who are selected to lead workshops will receive compensation, as detailed below.

TA Day is presented by the Centre for Educational Excellence in cooperation with the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and the Teaching Support Staff Union at SFU.

Workshop leaders' responsibilities 

• Prepare your workshop (concurrent workshops will run 60 minutes)
• Attend a required planning meeting (date TBA)
• Lead your workshop in-person on the Burnaby campus on Friday, September 8, 2023.

Possible workshop topics 

• Improving students’ writing skills
• TAing a “W” (writing-intensive learning) course
• Reflective practice in teaching
• Facilitating effective discussions
• Active learning in labs and tutorials
• Providing effective feedback on student work
• Facilitating active student engagement online
• Ethics and professionalism in teaching
• Evaluating student work fairly and efficiently
• Creating collaborative learning environments
• Equity, diversity, and inclusive teaching strategies
• Creative strategies for student engagement in your discipline
• Integrating technology in your teaching
• Facilitating team work
• Strategies for classroom management

Salary 

TAs selected to lead workshops will be paid an honorarium at the current GTA2 hourly rate.

Submission review and selections

Submissions will be reviewed by the TA Orientation Program committee. Criteria by which submissions will be assessed are available below to guide the development of your proposal. The organizers may approach applicants to request changes to their proposals to tailor workshops to TA needs and create active engagement during the session.

Criteria for submission review and selections

• Clear workshop outcomes identified (Please identify 2-3 clear outcomes by completing the sentence: “By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to…)
• Clear, one-page workshop outline is included, with timing of learning activities
• Outcomes and learning activities are relevant to teaching assistants and tutor-markers in their teaching roles
• Clear plan for participant engagement during the session
• Facilitation plan models effective strategies for active learning/participant engagement or demonstrates learning activity
• Transferability of teaching strategies and learning activities modelled to other disciplines/teaching contexts