The opening plenary session will welcome the 2010 Science and Engineering GATAcademy participants, and will discuss the important role that GAs and TAs play in education at the University of Windsor. Alan Wright, Vice Provost, Teaching and Learning, Robert Gaspar, Dean of Engineering, and Nick Baker, Learning Specialist/GATA Co-ordinator will welcome participants. The session will also include activities that will set the stage for the rest of the day so it is important that participants attend the opening session.

Transitioning from the role of a student to a GA/TA can be challenging, as you are given the responsibility of leading seminars, answering questions, giving advice and even settling student disputes. The anxiety accompanying this responsibility is quite common and can be managed using a professional approach to your duties. This interactive workshop explores the application of a professional mentality to minimize the uncertainty and anxiety encountered by new and experienced GA/TAs. In addition, this workshop will provide an opportunity to implement your new professional outlook in an open forum, which will assist you in conducting yourself in a professional manner with confidence and integrity. Note: this workshop will be repeated at 10:00am and 12:30pm. Please register for one of these sessions.

Successful explanations accelerate learning. Learning how to explain effectively can help you not only with classroom teaching, but also with the countless lectures in other contexts. Explanation of difficult topics can be modeled by productively communicating with students. By engaging the students emotionally and intellectually, a good explanation helps them create meaning out of ideas that appear insensible. We shall explore a few well-documented and tested practices that suggest how to organize and execute explanation plans by keeping the student engagement in mind.

Engaging students in a lab-based learning environment that is both safe and helps students understand the material is an important component of the responsibilities of GAs and TAs in engineering. This interactive workshop is designed to help new and experienced GAs/TAs who are teaching in labs to help their students get the most from their classes. Lab instructors are involved in many activities in their classes, including resource allocation, class preparation, grading student work, using specialised engineering equipment, software-based labs, and maintaining safety in the lab. Participants will examine scenarios as examples of how to manage these activities and engage students at the same time. The workshop will give you some tools to help you design lab-based lessons and facilitate discussions that engage your students in their own learning and help them to apply theoretical concepts to the practical laboratory setting.

Undergraduate science laboratories are often the only place where science students are able to see and fully understand the concepts they are learning in class. The means you, as a GA/TA, are fundamental in helping students learn their subject material. Many activities are involved in laboratory teaching - such as lecturing, preparing the labs, communicating information to the students without giving away the answers, safety issues, marking and administering lab exams. Our goal is to help you identify exactly what you need to do before, during, and after your lab to create a positive learning environment for your students.

Transitioning from the role of a student to a GA/TA can be challenging, as you are given the responsibility of leading seminars, answering questions, giving advice and even settling student disputes. The anxiety accompanying this responsibility is quite common and can be managed using a professional approach to your duties. This interactive workshop explores the application of a professional mentality to minimize the uncertainty and anxiety encountered by new and experienced GA/TAs. In addition, this workshop will provide an opportunity to implement your new professional outlook in an open forum, which will assist you in conducting yourself in a professional manner with confidence and integrity. Note: this workshop will be repeated at 10:00am and 12:30pm. Please register for one of these sessions.

Successful explanations accelerate learning. Learning how to explain effectively can help you not only with classroom teaching, but also with the countless lectures in other contexts. Explanation of difficult topics can be modeled by productively communicating with students. By engaging the students emotionally and intellectually, a good explanation helps them create meaning out of ideas that appear insensible. We shall explore a few well-documented and tested practices that suggest how to organize and execute explanation plans by keeping the student engagement in mind.

Engaging students in a lab-based learning environment that is both safe and helps students understand the material is an important component of the responsibilities of GAs and TAs in engineering. This interactive workshop is designed to help new and experienced GAs/TAs who are teaching in labs to help their students get the most from their classes. Lab instructors are involved in many activities in their classes, including resource allocation, class preparation, grading student work, using specialised engineering equipment, software-based labs, and maintaining safety in the lab. Participants will examine scenarios as examples of how to manage these activities and engage students at the same time. The workshop will give you some tools to help you design lab-based lessons and facilitate discussions that engage your students in their own learning and help them to apply theoretical concepts to the practical laboratory setting.

Undergraduate science laboratories are often the only place where science students are able to see and fully understand the concepts they are learning in class. The means you, as a GA/TA, are fundamental in helping students learn their subject material. Many activities are involved in laboratory teaching - such as lecturing, preparing the labs, communicating information to the students without giving away the answers, safety issues, marking and administering lab exams. Our goal is to help you identify exactly what you need to do before, during, and after your lab to create a positive learning environment for your students.

Join us for a closing plenary session where we will wrap up and invite you to sum up your experiences of the event, share your learning, get any further questions you might have answered, and possibly even win a fabulous door prize!