GATAcademy 2017 is right around the corner and we are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help with the day’s events. There are a number of roles available (e.g., building host, communication specialist, registration officer, break-room boss, workshop assistant) to cater to your interests and skills. Furthermore, volunteering at this event is a great opportunity to meet new friends and network with other graduate assistants (GAs) and teaching assistants (TAs). In exchange for your hard work we will provide you with a free lunch at the event and a formal letter recognizing your volunteer efforts.

The 2017 GATAcademy will be held in Dillon Hall at the University of Windsor on September 5, 2017.

If you’re interested in helping out with this event, go to https://uwindsor.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8cX51KzylR1TjCt and register. At this site you will indicate your preferences for days/times and positions and training time. Please note: Due to high demand, we may not be able to include everyone as volunteers. Just remember, GATAcademy is FREE to GA/TAs (with a FREE lunch), so you’re welcome to register and attend regardless.

Not interested in volunteering? Still check out this full-day professional development event for GAs and TAs. That means a full day of workshops designed to help you improve as a teacher and a professional. GATAcademy is an opportunity for new and returning GA/TAs – and really just anyone interested in teaching and learning – to ask questions, share strategies, and hopefully gain the type of clarity and confidence that squashes all those nagging fears we have as educators. Workshops are led by experienced GAs/TAs on topics related to the GA/TA life as well as teaching and learning best practices.

For more information about this event visit http://cleo.uwindsor.ca/workshops/ctl/105/

Graduate and Teaching Assistants!!!

We would like to share with you Volume 7 of the Teaching Innovation Projects (TIPs) Journal. TIPs is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal that aims to improve teaching strategies and student learning in higher education contexts. Written primarily by graduate students, articles describe the scholarly and pedagogical foundations for workshops on specific educational approaches. Each contribution to the issue includes a comprehensive list of learning outcomes, annotated review of relevant literature, and detailed breakdown of potential learning activities.

This latest issue includes nine articles representing authors from Anatomy, Biology, Education, English, Geography, Math, Music, and Psychology at Western University and the University of Waterloo. The articles approach teaching and learning from discipline-specific perspectives but the majority of the workshops are applicable beyond the authors’ disciplines. Article topics include:

• Preparing teaching dossiers
• Implementing critical questioning techniques
• Communicating rationale in laboratory protocols
• Choosing effective multimedia demonstrations
• Engaging students in math lectures
• Using trigger warnings in sensitive discussions
• Examining threshold concepts and confusion as pedagogical tools in literary classrooms
• Using active learning techniques to promote equity and inclusion
• Overcoming imposter syndrome in the classroom

You can access these (and previous) TIPs articles here: http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/tips/. The rich body of workshops and resources emerging from TIPs are free for use or adaptation by all members of the higher education community.