IMPORTANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES:
TA Orientation and Training
Annual TA Conference on Teaching and Learning
Prior to the beginning of each autumn quarter the Graduate School sponsors the Annual TA Conference on Teaching and Learning (http://depts.washington.edu/cidrweb/TAConference/). This conference is designed to help prepare TAs for their teaching roles and responsibilities at UW.
Discipline-Specific Training
Following the Annual TA Conference on Teaching and Learning, most departments provide a department-specific training program. Depending on the duties of TAs in the department, these programs include such topics as teaching strategies, laboratory safety, assignment formulation, and grading methods. Practical activities such as seminars on test construction, workshops on reading essays, and videotaping sessions on lecturing techniques may also be included. Some departments continue this training with a required course for beginning teaching assistants.
Students who anticipate appointments as teaching assistants any time during the academic year are expected to attend these campus-wide and departmental orientation and training sessions. These sessions are considered to be an integral part of your appointment as a teaching assistant and are seen as part of your regular duties as a TA.
Other Departmental Training Resources
In addition to these resources, help is available on an individual basis from several other departmental sources: course coordinators, the supervising professor, and senior teaching assistants.
In some departments, a faculty member supervises all the teaching assistants who teach different sections of the same course. This is a person who can help with training for specific situations in your section or with your own growth and progress as a teacher. Since these individuals are usually very busy, it is best for you to seek out their assistance rather than waiting for them to come to you.
In other departments, the only TA supervisor you might have is the faculty member teaching the course for which you work. This person will probably provide some explicit training, at least with regard to his or her expectations and should be available to answer questions related to the class as well. From observation, you will also be able to gain some implicit information about styles of teaching.
Finally, senior TAs (sometimes termed "Lead TAs") can often provide the most immediately useful advice. In some departments, one or two senior TAs are granted release time to act as guides for new assistants. They can help prepare for a particular class session, sit in on your classes, if you wish, and provide insights about being both a graduate student and teaching assistant in your department.