TA Training

Prior to initiating their first USC teaching experience, all graduate students must attend a mandatory session on relevant University policies, procedures, and resources. This past August there were three dates to choose from with each session being limited to 150 students. On January 6, 2012 there will be one session. This half-day workshop will include a 2 hour presentation by the Center for Teaching Excellence focusing on common challenges in and resources for teaching, and a Q&A session with a panel of veteran TAs. 

FOR STUDENTS WHO WILL BE TEACHING IN SPRING 2012: Enroll in GRAD 800 section 004 and attend the mandatory half-day session 2:00 - 5:00 P.M. of January 6, 2012 in the Coker Life Sciences Building (CLS) Room 005. Details will be sent to students via GRAD 800 in Blackboard. 

GRAD 800 is a zero credit, pass/fail course. The sections that started in August run until May. Students who enrolled in August do not need to enroll again. The January section also ends in May. For the 2011-2012 year whether or not a student has been trained can be determined by looking for GRAD 800 on their transcript. Training records are still also maintained in the Graduate School's database. 

NOTE: ONLY students who will actually be teaching should enroll in GRAD 800. Do not enroll "just in case." In January, only students who did not enroll in August and who will be teaching in the spring semester should enroll. Students cannot complete all of the training requirements unless they interact with students in some form. Students who are functioning as graders for courses do have sufficient interaction to be able to complete the GRAD 800 requirements. 

Structure of GRAD 800: 

1. Live workshop at the beginning of the semester on policies, procedures, and resources.
2. Complete the following in Blackboard
   
   • FERPA Review and Quiz
   • Basics of TA'ing quiz based on The Torch or the Firehose booklet
3. Attend 3 professional development activities (student's choice from a menu of options) and write a 1-2 page page reflection paper on each activity. All assignments must be uploaded to Blackboard. 
   
   Possible professional development opportunities include:
   
   • Center for Teaching Excellence seminars, videos, or other resources
   • Graduate School Workshops and Forums on Teaching
   • Other University-wide workshops or forum oriented towards teaching such as USC Connect, Distributed Learning, Mungo Award Panels, etc.
   • Departmental seminars or other events so long as they are focused on teaching.
4. TAs observe someone they think is a good teacher and write a 1-2 page reflection on a technique they may want to try in their own class
5. TAs ask someone to observe them and give them feedback on their own teaching. Write a 1-2 page reflection on the feedback and new ideas they might try.
6. Write a brief Teaching Philosophy statement and upload to Blackboard.

Questions? Please contact Dr. Timmerman at timmerman@sc.edu or 803-777-1418