Tea and Teaching: A Spring Semester Series for Graduate TAs

Posted on November 26, 2024

As a TA you play many roles and wear many hats, and therefore making your TA duties more efficient is vital.

Graduate teaching assistants congregate in a giant teacup to connect and network with their peers

This spring, we’re offering monthly meetings for graduate students to connect with peers, sip warm beverages, and discuss key aspects of teaching and life as a graduate teaching assistant (TA). Topics will include community building, wellness, time management, professional development and reflective teaching. Meetings will occur on Thursdays from 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM at the Teaching Excellence Building room 201, except for the month of March, when we will meet online via Zoom. All UIC graduate students and teaching assistants are welcome to attend. Light refreshments will be provided at the session. Read on to learn more about each month’s event:

Building Community for Graduate Students

Graduate school brings unique challenges, from navigating new responsibilities and roles to building meaningful connections with peers and future colleagues. This event is designed to help TAs find support and grow professionally by fostering community within their academic circles, in their classrooms, and with each other. We’ll also use this initial session to also gather your ideas on how best to develop a supportive space for TAs in the months ahead.

Prioritizing Wellness and Self-Care for Graduate Students

Being an effective instructor starts with compassion for yourself. Prioritize your well-being at this event; we will offer practical self-care strategies, tools to navigate the challenges of graduate life, and resources to support mental health and resilience.

Grading and Time Management Strategies For Graduate Students

As a TA you play many roles and wear many hats, and therefore making your TA duties more efficient is vital. In this session we will discuss strategies to manage time efficiently, prioritize tasks, and maintain an ideal work-life balance for you. We’ll explore practical grading principles, practice giving meaningful feedback, and learn ways to support student success through empathy, clear communication, and effective assessment practices.

How Graduate Students Can Leverage Their Teaching Experience for Their Professional Development

Your teaching experience can be a valuable asset for your academic and professional career, wherever your path takes you. Learn how to document your teaching accomplishments and communicate your experience to align to the job you are pursuing. We’ll discuss professional development opportunities and hear from a panel of people from different instructional backgrounds and roles in higher education.

Reflecting On and Celebrating Your Teaching Journey

Let’s celebrate your accomplishments this semester and reflect on the new beginnings ahead! We’ll share what we’ve learned from our teaching experiences, discuss strategies for fostering collaboration and growth as educators and together we’ll consider how to carry forward these lessons and strengthen our teaching community.

Have questions about this event series? Please reach out to Emily Potratz (epotra2@uic.edu), Postdoctoral Research Associate and Visiting Lecturer.

Modified on December 12, 2024