What does it mean to fail? Failure in teaching/academia can take many forms. Perhaps you spent hours planning an activity for your last tutorial, only to find a lack of interest and absolute silence when you tried to engage the class. Maybe you did poorly on a recent teaching evaluation. As teaching assistants, we may […]

While the shift to online learning in 2020 left many educators unprepared, since then, course instructors and teaching assistants have had the opportunity to consider the challenges of accessibility in virtual spaces. As we move forward with in-person, hybrid, and online instruction, we recognize that our accessible practices require flexibility and adaptation. We take this […]

Storytelling is a universal language that does more than merely relay facts. Sharing stories serves as a valuable tool for building community, supporting critical thinking, and facilitating equitable access. Whether by integrating narrative into lectures and tutorials, or by inviting students to share stories, storytelling-based activities invite an intentional yet reflexive engagement with the material. […]

‘TA 101: problem solving through the basics’ is an engaging workshop that will help you problem solve through many of the challenges of being a TA. This workshop will provide you time to reflect on your own teaching, come up with practical solutions to these problems, and provide you resources to help improve your teaching confidence.

While COVID-19 caused major disruptions to all students at the University of Toronto, the impact of this global crisis has been experienced unevenly by BIPOC groups. As we have seen, Asian North American, Black, and Indigenous communities have repeatedly endured violence and trauma in this time. The pandemic exacerbated existing educational inequities experienced by learners […]

Many people have been talking more openly about trauma in recent days – the trauma of the pandemic, domestic trauma, intergenerational and systemic trauma, trauma linked to geopolitical events, climate change, and so on. But how does trauma shape our approaches to teaching and learning? Trauma-informed practice keeps trauma, its prevalence, and how it affects […]

Regardless of discipline or format, good tutorials are often a product of deliberate and reflective planning—especially if they are to engage students and enhance course content. This workshop will provide strategies and tips for effective and efficient tutorial design. It will guide participants through crucial stages of tutorial planning, including: determining the teaching context (e.g., type of tutorial, overall course goals); identifying and adapting tutorial learning outcomes; […]

In this Community Discussion, we will create a space for individuals that self-identify as womxn or non-binary to share their experiences as students, teachers, and researchers in STEM at the University of Toronto. Our goal of this session is to provide womxn-identifying and non-binary folks in the STEM community an opportunity to interact with other […]

Hybrid, flipped, online, hyflex, synchronous, asynchronous: it can be challenging to navigate new terminologies and educational models, especially at a time when TAs increasingly move between different teaching formats and modes of delivery. This workshop will provide an overview of some of the key terms and models that characterize the educational landscape today. It will also outline particular considerations (e.g., accessibility, University policy, time management) for each mode of delivery and provide practical strategies […]

In this community discussion, TAs will have an opportunity to discuss some of the challenges they have had as a TA. This session will provide an opportunity for all participants to work together to solve solutions to such challenges and provide tips that their fellow TAs may benefit from.