Yes, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. Grades. Extensions. Tears (lots and lots of tears). Let’s be honest: by the time we reach the holidays, we’re usually just glad to have survived the semester. Particularly if the semester in question was your first time instructing and things didn’t go as planned.

What better time to start planning for next semester by brushing up on your teaching and learning skills at GATA Winter Academy?

Each fall at GATAcademy we hear from participants who tells us that they want more workshops on teaching and learning. GATA Winter Academy is a week-long continuation of those workshops, offering more professional development opportunities for graduate assistants (GAs) and teaching assistants (TAs). Many of the workshops are second offerings of those offered in the fall, providing a second opportunity to participate in those workshops that you missed the first time around. There’s still no cost to participate for UWindsor students.

As always, we’ll be assembling the best and brightest from around campus so that you can learn from their expertise. Consider this your mid-year checkup where you can catch up with fellow GAs and TAs and share experiences and best practices.

This winter’s topics:

• Working With International Students by Laura Prada

• Maintaining Professionalism and Email Etiquette in a Cyber Centred World by Corinne Allsop and John Antoniw

• Say What You Mean – Effective Explanations in the Classroom by Gregory Paziuk

• Teaching with Stats and Data by Kristi Thompson and Daniel Edelstein

• Leading Dynamic Discussions by Beth Kuhn

• Grading and Providing Meaningful Feedback by Rochelle Stevenson

• The First Day by Jill Jones

• Publishing, Copyright, and Open Access by Dave Johnston 

GATA Winter Academy 2014 workshops will take place from January 6th – 9th, coinciding with winter orientation events around campus. We’ll be sharing updates on Twitter, Facebook, and CLEW, as times and locations become available.

And don’t forget to check back for registration information at http://cleo.uwindsor.ca/workshops/ctl/.