1991 Teaching Assistant Training and Evaluation Program

Purpose of TATEP

The program is intended to improve undergraduate teaching, enhance the classroom experiences of graduate teaching assistants, and respond to the need for systematic preparation and evaluation of teaching assistants. For international teaching assistants, it will supplement machinery already in place to evaluate and promote English language competency.

Participants in the program

Teaching assistants are defined as wall graduate students who deliver lectures, assumes responsibilities for sections of courses identified as being taught by professors and lecturers, teach in laboratories and/or studios, or have classroom contacts with students. The definition does not include graduate students' graders who have no direct contact with students.
 

Managements of the program

The program will be managed by the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) under the supervision of the Associate Provost and Dean of Faculties. It will be the responsibility of the CTE to plan and conduct the university-wide aspects of the program and coordinate university-wide activities with the colleges, departments, and their program components. The Accosiate Provost and Dean of Faculties will be responsible for Liason with the Office of Graduate and Professional Sudies (now the Graduate and Professional School), International Student Services, the English Language Institute, and Measurments  and Research Services.

The CTE will be responsible for monitoring compliance of all academic departments employing teaching assistants with the requirements that new teaching assistants complete during their first semester of employment the appropriate components of the university and departmental training programs. Each semester, the CTE will make a compliance report to the Associate Provost and Dean of Faculty by the twelfth class day.

The CTE will also be responsible for monitoring the compliance if academic departments with the requirement that, during their first semester of employment, teaching assistants complete a semester-long course or program dealing with topics and issues connected with effective communication and pedagogical practices. At the time that each semester's final grades are due at the registrars office, the CTE will mkae a compliance report on the semester-long training program to the Associate Provost and Dean of Faculties.

Components of the program

TATEP will be comprimised of three major parts:

1. Univerity-wide Workshop Program: This part consists of an eight hour university-wide workshop. This workshop will be prepared and conducted by the CTE to aquaint teaching assistants with their teaching roles, with pedagogical methods, with ethical and legal responsibilities, and with classroom dutites. 
2. College/Department/Unit Workshop: The second component of the program is a pre-semester workshop to aquaint new teaching assistants with the discipline-specific elements of teaching. Each academic unit will provide its own training personnel and materials for these workshops. Depending upon the size of the academic unit, training in this phase may be organized along departmental, program, or college lines. 
3. Long term Departmental Programs: Colleges, departments, or other functional training units will follow their pre-semester training with semester-long courses or programs consisting of regularly scheduled workshops dealing with specififc pedagogical and classroom issues and responiding to the teaching assistant questions arisin over the course of the semester. These courses should build on existing departmental training programs whenever possible. The CTE will accept grant proposals (up to $500) for support of the development of pre-semester departmental oientations ans semester long courses.

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