Before you collapse from final exam writing and grading, and before you head off to enjoy a well-deserved break, mark your calendars for early January! As soon as classes begin again, we’ll be holding GATA Winter Academy to help get the new semester off to an informed and prepared start. Like GATAcademy that’s held in the Fall, we’ll host a variety of workshops for undergraduate and graduate teaching assistants, but unlike GATAcademy, these workshops will be spread across two weeks, instead of packed into one day.
Here is the short list; a longer description for each follows further down. Registration information is included with each workshop.
You’ll probably notice that a lot of these workshops will be held in the CAW Student Centre Board Room, located on the second floor of the CAW Student Centre, which is just past the row of computers. From the atrium (main area ground floor where you’ll find the information desk), you can see the windows of the Board Room. There’s also one workshop in Leddy Library G101A which is the in the basement, one in Lambton 2103 on the second floor, and one in the International Student Centre.
To register, visit the GATA Network Series registration page and the CLEW registration page for the CLEW workshop.
Short list:
- January 8, 2013: The First Day
- January 9, 2013: Effective Explanations
- January 10, 2013: Giving Meaningful Feedback
- January 11, 2013: Teaching and Learning with Google Apps
- January 15, 2013: Teaching with Stats and Data: Tools, Tips and Tricks
- January 16, 2013: Intercultural communication in the classroom
- January 17, 2013: CLEW Basics: Surviving as a GA or TA
Descriptions:
1. The First Day
Schedule: Tuesday, January 08, 2013, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Board Room, CAW Student Centre
Instructors: Greg Paziuk
The GA’s first day (graduatas assistantas kalendis) is a rare beast that has traditionally been met with fear, anger, and anxiety in the Graduate Assistant community. However, current research suggests that the beast is simply misunderstood. In this one part series, we take the sting out of its bite, guiding you through the ins and outs of the first day and covering everything from how to make a great first impression to the important stuff your students will need to know. The first class is your chance to set the tone for the semester – you will set out your expectations with your students (for communication, behaviour in group work, etc.) and generally set the atmosphere of the classroom. We can help you communicate the syllabus and other course materials in a way that will make your students actually sit up and pay attention. Our session will help hone your introduction skills so that you can bridge the gap between you and your students. We’ve all had good and bad first days; with our useful tips and tricks, you can grab the beast by the horns and engage your students with confidence so that your first class as a GA is a great one!
2. Effective Explanations
Schedule: Wednesday, January 09, 2013, 11:30 AM – 01:00 PM
Location: Board Room, CAW Student Centre
Instructors: Laura Prada
Have you ever experienced a lecture that was less than memorable, or received an explanation that left you confused? You are not alone! So, when you find yourself in a teaching position, plan to make your own explanations more effective. What is the best way to get your point across? Whether you are offering a three-hour lecture or simply answering questions in a tutorial, there are ways to make sure your explanations are as clear as possible to your learners. This session will demonstrate some of the reasons why explanations can fail, and introduce you to the components and processes that make an effective explanation.
3. Giving Meaningful Feedback
Schedule: Thursday, January 10, 2013, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Location: Board Room, CAW Student Centre
Instructors: Rochelle Stevenson
Why is feedback important? What is meaningful feedback? How exactly can I give meaningful feedback? In this workshop, we will talk about what you need in order to give meaningful feedback, work through exercises to improve your feedback skills, discuss why feedback is so crucial to the success of students, and learn tips and tricks to giving meaningful feedback.
4. Teaching and Learning with Google Apps
Schedule: Friday, January 11, 2013, 01:00 PM – 02:30 PM
Location: Board Room, CAW Student Centre
Instructors: Candace Nast
In Fall 2012, the University of Windsor rolled out Gmail to all students to use for their student email. Because Gmail is part of Google Apps, every student also now has access to Drive, which opens up some interesting and exciting possibilities for teaching and learning. This workshop will introduce you to Google Drive word processing, spreadsheets and forms. We’ll talk about sharing and publishing, and how you might use these tools in the classroom. BYOL (Bring your own laptop).
5. Teaching with Stats and Data: Tools, Tips and Tricks
Schedule: Thursday, January 10, 2013, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Board Room, CAW Student Centre
Instructors: Dan Edelstein, Kristi Thompson
Do you find data or statistics intimidating? Do your students? No need to fear the numbers! This workshop will present the basics of finding and using data and demonstrate tools and websites that can be useful in your teaching, whether you are teaching statistics, a methods class, or just want to bring concepts alive with current, hard data. We will share tips we’ve derived from years of teaching basic data concepts to students at a variety of levels and in a variety of disciplines. We will also discuss how the Academic Data Centre (ADC) in Leddy can help you use data, statistics, and statistical software in your teaching as a GA/TA (and as a student too). Bring questions!
6. Intercultural Communication in the Classroom
Schedule: Wednesday, January 16, 2013, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Laurier Hall – 204 (International Student Centre)
Instructors: Enrique Chacon
Teaching in Canadian classrooms can be a challenge if the instructor is not aware of the influence culture has in people’s learning and communication styles. Becoming aware of one’s own culture and learning basic skills to navigate other’s is key to deliver effective messages and to handle potential conflict. We’ll review some useful tips, explore common differences between Canadian classroom culture versus the most common countries of origin of our international students.
7. CLEW Basics: Surviving as a GA or TA
Schedule: Thursday, January 17, 2013, 01:30 PM – 04:30 PM
Location: Lambton 2103
Instructors: Lorna Stolarchuk
Ahh, your job includes taking care of the CLEW website for your professor! That sounds daunting, but with an introduction to the tools you’ll be using, you will see that CLEW has some organizing and timesaving features that can help you and your students keep on top of the course work.
During this session, you will see how to:
- upload course material to your site;
- create an announcement and send an email to all students
- review creating a Wiki page
- participate in a Chat room
- reply to a Discussions tool posting
- post grades into Gradebook
- post grades using Feedback; and
- customize your site by managing your site tools.
Recent Comments