Graduate Academy for College Teaching

The Graduate Academy for College Teaching is a required pre-semester orientation for new teaching assistants (TAs and ITAs) who have classroom responsibilities (teaching lecture, discussion, laboratory, or studio sections). The program prepares TAs for classroom teaching responsibilities (lecture, discussion, laboratory, or studio) by engaging them in interactive sessions about teaching strategies and resources. Grad Academy is designed as a conference with choices of sessions on foundational teaching topics, discipline-based teaching topics and language, culture, and diversity topics. Grad Academy TAs will also attend Microteaching sessions that provide them with a safe and constructive environment to practice their teaching skills.

Required sessions about language and culture have been incorporated into the Graduate Academy to meet the University’s policy requirements for training international teaching assistants. To view a sample of the Grad Academy topics and schedule, check out the August 2023 program agenda.

Two campus-wide, pre-semester orientation programs for new Teaching Assistants (TAs) are held each August and January. The program includes

• Small group sessions on common teaching challenges
• Concurrent sessions which offer choice from diverse teaching topics
• Microteaching sessions where TAs practice teaching and receive feedback

Note: Departments register their TAs for these programs; individual TAs cannot register themselves.

Symposium on Grading & Office Hours

The Symposium on Grading & Office Hours is for those TAs who have non-classroom responsibilities. In large and small group sessions, TAs learn about effective and fair grading techniques and how to use office hours as an opportunity for good teaching and learning. 

• Logistics – Sign Up for a Microteaching Session
  You will sign up for a two-hour Microteaching session using a link you will receive when your department registers you for the Grad Academy. Sign-up is first-come, first-served, so those that sign up first have the most choice of session times.
• Getting Ready – Planning Your Lesson
  You will choose a topic/concept in your discipline that you could teach to freshmen or sophomores in 7-8 minutes. You will do some work on planning this lesson during the first day of the Graduate Academy, but it helps to think about a few topic ideas before this time.
• During the Session
  You will teach your lesson and get feedback immediately from your peers. In addition to being a teacher, you will be expected to play the role of a student for the lessons taught by the other TAs in the session. You should be prepared to offer support and ideas for improvement to your fellow teaching assistants, and receive the same from them.
• After the Session
  You will have the opportunity to schedule a playback consultation with a CITL staff member. These consultations will take place via Zoom during the first few weeks of the semester. The consultation is a private conversation with an experienced instructor about teaching. This is not an evaluation, but, rather, is a sharing of ideas and a time to ask questions.