Continuing teaching assistants are eligible to participate in a variety of unique training opportunities designed to expand on your experience and knowledge. Given the wealth of options, consider your assignment of duties in order to identify the best training options for you.
Are you already participating in a form of training that is not currently being captured on your transcript? Can you think of another training option that better utilizes your time and benefits you, your department and/or your peers in their teaching assistant duties? Be sure to speak with your graduate supervisor as these kinds of alternative training initiatives may be eligible for training.
Please Note! Interested individuals cannot sign up for Departmental Approved Independent Training through the TA Management System in Carleton Central. These kinds of opportunities must be approved by your department, at which time they will input the training.
Peer Feedback is open to all teaching assistants who are facilitating sessions with students (PA sessions, tutorials, labs or discussion groups). Continuing teaching assistants can provide a model for new teaching assistants who are still learning how to facilitate a group, and even the most experienced instructors can benefit from having a peer give them feedback from the perspective of a student in their class.
Please Note! Interested individuals cannot sign up for Peer Feedback through the TA Management System in Carleton Central. For more information, please click here.
This “buddy” system matches new teaching assistants with a continuing/experience peer. Pairs will meet a minimum of once a month to discuss successes and challenges. The intention is to use your teaching assistant experience and knowledge to help ease the transition for a colleague in your department or Faculty.
Please Note! Interested individuals cannot sign up for Peer Mentoring through the TA Management System in Carleton Central. For more information, please click here.
Microteaching allows individuals to practice their presentation and teaching skills in front of an audience of peers in order to solicit valid and reliable feedback. The session is longer than a traditional workshop because each participant will teach for 10-15 minutes and receive feedback. When individuals are not teaching, they act as learners in the classroom of the teacher and provide feedback on the areas of strength (what went well) and areas for growth (what areas, if focused on, can be strengthened). These sessions are ideal for considering effective presentation skills, as well as engaging learners and ensuring the comprehension of material.
Please Note! Interested individuals should contact the EDC or their Mentor if they would like to participate in Microteaching as not all sessions may be created in Carleton Central.
Provide the voice of experience in a workshop as a panelist or collaborator.
Please Note! Interested individuals cannot sign up for Workshop Panelist/Collaboratorg through the TA Management System in Carleton Central. For more information, click here.
Create and run your own 1-1.5 hour workshop.
Please Note! Interested individuals cannot sign up for Workshop Creator through the TA Management System in Carleton Central. For more information, click here.
This flexible, independent opportunity allows teaching assistants to research and write a 2 page (single spaced) to 3 page (double spaced) article on teaching for Carleton University’s TA Talk blog. Individuals can write a maximum of 2 articles per year and must include academic references. For more information, please click here.
Teaching Talk sessions are talks on different educational methods or approaches. It may introduce participants to a specific tool, or be a reflective presentation by a faculty member or experienced teaching assistant. The format is generally a presentation followed by discussion or a brief activity. The goal is to initiate reflection or a dialogue about different ways to approach teaching. Additional materials or readings will often be tied to these sessions so that participants can explore the topic in greater detail. Teaching Talks traditionally run between 30 – 45 minutes.
Many departments allow or encourage their continuing teaching assistants to attend to act as a voice of experience, or to sit on a panel, or to act as a peer mentor to new teaching assistants. You should inquire if there is a specific role for you as a continuing teaching assistant at your departmental orientation. If the session has not changed from when you were a new teaching assistant and there is no specified role for continuing teaching assistants, you are encouraged to pursue other forms of training.
Workshops are introductory level sessions that are primarily intended for new teaching assistants. Continuing teaching assistants who have been assigned new duties are welcome to contact the facilitator of the session to elaborate why they should be allowed to attend (the decision is made at the discretion of the facilitator). For more information click here
Please Note! Completion of paid training hours is not a valid argument for being allowed to attend an introductory level workshop.
Online workshops are similar to traditional workshops in that they focus on introductory skills and cater to a primarily new teaching assistant audience. Continuing teaching assistants who have been assigned new duties are welcome to contact the EDC or their Mentor and elaborate why they should be allowed to attend
Please Note! Completion of paid training hours is not a valid argument for being allowed to attend an introductory level workshop. For more information, please click here
Information Sessions are introductory level sessions that focus on particular office or service at Carleton University. If you are unfamiliar with a particular service, you should consider familiarizing yourself by attending an information session.
Please Note! Continuing teaching assistants are not eligible to attend an information session on a service or office that they attended the previous year. For more information, please click here.