As a teaching assistant, you’ve developed all kinds of valuable skills. Do you know what they are? Can you list them in language that a potential employer would understand and appreciate? At this workshop you’ll prepare a skills inventory with relevant examples from your own experience and link your TA experience to your future career. Each participant will have an opportunity to practice their pitch with the workshop group.

At GATAcademy there were many requests for a hands-on workshop about tools for collaborating, helping your students learn and getting things done. This workshop will introduce you to Google Docs (including wordprocessing, spreadsheets and forms), Google Reader and Google Plus, and how you might use these tools in the classroom. BYOL (Bring your own laptop).

At GATAcademy there were many requests for a hands-on workshop about tools for collaborating, helping your students learn and getting things done. This workshop will introduce you to Google Docs (including wordprocessing, spreadsheets and forms), Google Reader and Google Plus, and how you might use these tools in the classroom. BYOL (Bring your own laptop).

Have you been asked to lead a workshop? The ability to plan and lead a short workshop is something many students don't even know they need to know. Graduate students and instructors often hold short workshops within courses or at conferences, and you may be surprised at how common workshops are out in the workplace. Facilitating workshops is a definite plus on a c.v.!

Have you been asked to lead a workshop? The ability to plan and lead a short workshop is something many students don't even know they need to know. Graduate students and instructors often hold short workshops within courses or at conferences, and you may be surprised at how common workshops are out in the workplace. Facilitating workshops is a definite plus on a c.v.!

Tips for your first day in a new class/lab/tutorial. Whether this is your first, second or twenty-second time teaching, come and share strategies for getting things off to a great start.

How do you create a positive space for learning? Is there a creative alternative to using lecture to get information across? Storytelling builds a community of learners and creatively engages people across disciplines. This interactive workshop will give you practice in techniques for using storytelling as an intentional teaching method for university level education.

Discussion is a valuable teaching tool because it enables students to engage with their peers to appreciate different perspectives, ideas, and/or theories so that they can work to negotiate a personal meaning out of the curricula we strive to teach them. However, at the same time, discussions can be incredibly tricky to organize and even more difficult to sustain, which is why many instructors shriek at the very thought of holding discussions in their classrooms. But do not despair! By following the guidelines and suggestions in this workshop, you will be able to provide your students with a great discussion experience that will keep them contently talking and learning for hours.

As the digital age pushes forward, email writing is an increasingly important professional skill; long gone are the days when you relied exclusively on phone calls and personal meetings to discuss an issue with a professor, employer or peer. However, with great convenience comes great responsibility. Sometimes it is difficult to write with decorum and the results of not doing so can be very problematic. This workshop will go through the dos and don’ts of professional email writing – we’ll cover tone, appropriate addresses, grammar & formatting, and essentially everything else you need to know to be a confident computer communicator.

It’s getting close to final exam time, and the prospect of having a pile of exams to grade can be daunting. Not only is it stressful to have someone else’s grade in your hands, but when you’re asked to mark answers to questions that don’t have an objective answer it can be hard to manage. This workshop will help you navigate the subjective part of grading, and help you communicate with the professor you work with so you understand their expectations. We’ll give you tips for marking, and examples of the types of questions to ask your professor before you start marking. Don’t let yourself be bogged down with marking blues – go into the exam period with confidence.

Back by popular demand! As the digital age pushes forward, email writing is an increasingly important professional skill; long gone are the days when you relied exclusively on phone calls and personal meetings to discuss an issue with a professor, employer or peer. However, with great convenience comes great responsibility. Sometimes it is difficult to write with decorum and the results of not doing so can be very problematic. This workshop will go through the dos and don’ts of professional email writing – we’ll cover tone, appropriate addresses, grammar & formatting, and essentially everything else you need to know to be a confident computer communicator.

Do you find data or statistics intimidating? Do your students? No need to fear the numbers! This workshop will present the basics of finding and using data and demonstrate tools and websites that can be useful in your teaching, whether you are teaching statistics, a methods class, or just want to bring concepts alive with current, hard data. We will share tips we’ve derived from years of teaching basic data concepts to students at a variety of levels and in a variety of disciplines. We will also discuss how the Academic Data Centre (ADC) in Leddy can help you use data, statistics, and statistical software in your teaching as a GA/TA (and as a student too). Bring questions!

Why is feedback important? What is meaningful feedback? How exactly can I give meaningful feedback?

The GA’s first day (graduatas assistantas kalendis) is a rare beast that has traditionally been met with fear, anger, and anxiety in the Graduate Assistant community. However, current research suggests that the beast is simply misunderstood. In this one part series, we take the sting out of its bite, guiding you through the ins and outs of the first day and covering everything from how to make a great first impression to the important stuff your students will need to know. The first class is your chance to set the tone for the semester – you will set out your expectations with your students (for communication, behaviour in group work, etc.) and generally set the atmosphere of the classroom. We can help you communicate the syllabus and other course materials in a way that will make your students actually sit up and pay attention. Our session will help hone your introduction skills so that you can bridge the gap between you and your students. We’ve all had good and bad first days; with our useful tips and tricks, you can grab the beast by the horns and engage your students with confidence so that your first class as a GA is a great one!

Have you ever experienced a lecture that was less than memorable, or received an explanation that left you confused? You are not alone! So, when you find yourself in a teaching position, plan to make your own explanations more effective. What is the best way to get your point across? Whether you are offering a three-hour lecture or simply answering questions in a tutorial, there are ways to make sure your explanations are as clear as possible to your learners. This session will demonstrate some of the reasons why explanations can fail, and introduce you to the components and processes that make an effective explanation.

Why is feedback important? What is meaningful feedback? How exactly can I give meaningful feedback? In this workshop, we will talk about what you need in order to give meaningful feedback, work through exercises to improve your feedback skills, discuss why feedback is so crucial to the success of students, and learn tips and tricks to giving meaningful feedback.

In Fall 2012, the University of Windsor rolled out Gmail to all students to use for their student email. Because Gmail is part of Google Apps, every student also now has access to Drive, which opens up some interesting and exciting possibilities for teaching and learning. This workshop will introduce you to Google Drive word processing, spreadsheets and forms. We’ll talk about sharing and publishing, and how you might use these tools in the classroom. BYOL (Bring your own laptop).

Do you find data or statistics intimidating? Do your students? No need to fear the numbers! This workshop will present the basics of finding and using data and demonstrate tools and websites that can be useful in your teaching, whether you are teaching statistics, a methods class, or just want to bring concepts alive with current, hard data. We will share tips we’ve derived from years of teaching basic data concepts to students at a variety of levels and in a variety of disciplines. We will also discuss how the Academic Data Centre (ADC) in Leddy can help you use data, statistics, and statistical software in your teaching as a GA/TA (and as a student too). Bring questions!

Teaching in Canadian classrooms can be a challenge if the instructor is not aware of the influence culture has in people's learning and communication styles. Becoming aware of one's own culture and learning basic skills to navigate other's is key to deliver effective messages and to handle potential conflict. We'll review some useful tips, explore common differences between Canadian classroom culture versus the most common countries of origin of our international students.

Graduate students sometimes have responsibility for marking student writing ... and those who plan careers in higher education can count on having that responsibility sooner or later. But correcting student writing can feel like wasted time when students make the same errors over and over. Come learn about “minimal marking,” a productive and educational approach to error in student writing. You’ll get a chance to practice and reflect on the results.

The University of Windsor has one of the most diverse student populations in Canada. As an instructor, you need to understand the challenges and opportunities that this situation brings. Communication and learning styles can get in the way of learning. This workshop will highlight the issues encountered when teaching Canadian-style to a diverse group of students.

A teaching dossier is a portfolio designed to demonstrate your teaching and inspire self-reflection. This portfolio allows for responsibilities, approaches, contributions, and evidence to be presented in a professional manner that summarizes the quality of one’s academic teaching. This session focusing on the fundamentals of creating an effective teaching dossier that speaks to your beliefs about teaching and learning through a philosophy statement and highlights your teaching-related activities and accomplishments. This workshop will guide you through each component of the dossier and provide resources to assist you in the process.

Through the use of mini lectures and role play, students will explore the potential conflict that could arise between graduate assistants and professors as well as between graduate assistants and undergraduate students. This dynamic workshop will not only identify circumstances in which conflict could arise in the duties of the graduate assistant, but how to manage that conflict and turn it into a positive.

Are you a GA/TA that has trouble engaging the adult learners in your courses? Or perhaps, as an adult learner yourself, you find it difficult to remain engaged in your learning. This workshop will take a look at various adult learning principles and examine how they can be applied within the classroom to engage students. Diverse learning environments will be explored to develop an understanding of how these principles can be tailored within various disciplines. Participants will leave with resources and information to support the application of adult learning principles to their current GA/TA assignments and within their own learning.