Fall 2022 TA Day

TA Day is SFU’s traditional peer learning event for both new and veteran teaching assistants and international teaching assistants. Meet your colleagues and get information and advice from experienced TAs and other members of SFU’s academic community. You will find out about campus resources, gain knowledge, develop skills and build confidence for your teaching support roles.

This hybrid event will be held virtually via Zoom in the morning, and in-person on the Burnaby campus in the afternoon.

For access to all sessions, register here.

After registration, you will receive the Zoom information for each session.

Schedule | Friday, September 9, 2022

8:30–9:00 a.m. | Welcome | Zoom

9:00–10:00 a.m. | Zoom

Session 1.1 | Valuable and Engaging Student Work Feedback

Kimia Aghaei & Rose Rouhani (Interactive Arts and Technology)

In this workshop, we will discuss the importance of critiques and their key and determinative role. participants will learn about the different types of feedback and know which to use and select the right approach for each student individually, depending on their unique situation. Second, participants would be able to map some introduced techniques before providing feedback to their discipline. And finally, TAs would know how to approach student work with the right language.

Session 1.2 | Impact Student Learning Through Effective Assignments

Hilda Williams (English Language and Culture)

Students do not generally enjoy doing assignments. This session explores tips and strategies that make assignments more meaningful and engaging. It looks at how we can present it to enhance student learning instead of simply keeping students busy.

10:00–10:15 a.m. | Break

10:15–11:15 a.m. | Zoom

Session 2.1 | Modelling the Future of Your Field: Providing Feedback to Students

Matthew Horrigan (Contemporary Arts)

This is a training workshop for TAs, TMs, and Prospective TAs or TMs, on practices for coaching students. Participants outline, discuss, and craft their own personalized teaching methods, adapted to model best practices for their fields. Two paradigms for providing feedback are presented—the Theatre & Film Directing model of “playable verbs,” and the Peer Review model of description followed by evaluation.

Session 2.2 | Getting Students to Ace their Exams

Hilda Williams (English Language and Culture)

Many students get exam jitters. This session will cover tips and strategies to help students minimize stress, develop confidence, and ace their exams. 

11:15–11:30 a.m. | Break

11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | Zoom

Session 3.1 | Providing Students with Effective Feedback

Tope Daodu (Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology)

The role of feedback in student learning and performance cannot be overstated. As a result of the physical separation between students and instructors, it is difficult to provide students with effective feedback in online environments. There are methods that can be used to enhance the effectiveness of feedback in online courses. I will be discussing some of the methods I have used to provide effective feedback to students for online courses I have taught.

Session 3.2 | Introducing the TA Hub: SFU’s New Teaching Resource for TAs Across the Disciplines

Michelle La (Centre for Educational Excellence) & Jennifer McCulloch (People Strategies)

In this session, TAs will be introduced to the TA Hub. The TA Hub is a virtual resource that combines online modules and in-person sessions. The TA Hub helps TAs strengthen their teaching practice, build leadership and interpersonal skills to support undergraduate students in tutorials and labs. TAs will leave this session being able to navigate the TA Hub and identify different sections of the resource that will help equip them with the skills and competencies to foster supportive and effective learning environments.

Sessions Move to Burnaby Campus

1:00–2:00 p.m. | Halpern Centre

Session 4.1 | Surviving Your TA Jobs: The Basics

Naima Osman, Félix Ruiz de la Orden, Rahil Adeli (Teaching Support Staff Union)

What is expected of me as a TA/TM? What role does the course supervisor play? What is a TUG? What is a base unit? What’s the difference between a lab and tutorial? Do TAs/TMs have any benefits? What are my rights as a union member? Workshop participants will learn about the mechanics of their job as TAs and TMs, discover the resources and benefits available to them, their rights and responsibilities, teaching tips for the classroom, and more.

Topics will include:

How to read your contract: Base units, rates of pay, work hours required

The Collective Agreement and members’ rights

Roles and responsibilities of a TA/TM and what counts as work

Deciphering TUGs, logbooks and workload reviews

TA/TM safety

Essential health and safety rights

Problem solving and conflict resolution

2:00–2:15 p.m. | Break

2:15–3:15 p.m | Halpern Centre

Session 5.1 | Scenarios and Solutions

Amal Vincent, Maria Cristina Albuquerque, Mahsa Ansari (Teaching Support Staff Union)

For many, working as a TA or TM is the first experience teaching or working with students, and it is common for TAs and TMs not to know how to respond to new workplace scenarios. This session aims to show new and veteran TAs and TMs how the Collective Agreement informs responses to such situations, and how it protects TSSU members. This interactive workshop will increase participants’ awareness of their roles and responsibilities as a TA or TM, identify various unsafe working conditions, and learn strategies and solutions for responding to common scenarios in their job.

Topics will include:

Responding to common situations encountered by TAs and TMs (e.g., too much marking, the process for taking sick leave)

TSSU member rights

Working and communicating with course supervisors

TA/TM workplace safety (e.g., COVID-19, bullying and harassment)

Problem solving and conflict resolution

3:15–3:30 p.m. | Break

3:30–4:30 p.m. | Halpern Centre

Information Session | Medical Benefits

Representatives from Studentcare, International Services for Students, and Human Resources will provide an overview and answer questions related to the various medical benefit plans available to teaching assistants, tutor-markers, and international teaching assistants.

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For more TA and ITA related programming, check out our TA and ITA Programming Event Collection.