Are you working as a teaching assistant or graduate student instructor this summer? Read on for resources to support you this summer, whether this is your first time teaching or your fifteenth!

As with all things great, After Grad: Teaching Careers Week (TCW) sadly had to come to an end. This week aimed to cover a variety of ways for you to think about and prepare yourself for teaching now and for when you're ready to pursue a teaching-focused career in the future. To accomplish this, TCW...

Do you teach? Do you want a career in teaching? Are you looking for ways to become better at teaching? Look no further, After Grad: Teaching Careers Week is here to help! This is a week-long series of panels, workshops, and presentations all centered around teaching! Teaching Careers Week takes place between May 3rd and...

In social support literature, there are three types of social support networks: informational, instrumental, and emotional. 1 All networks are reflective of relationships. Informational social support networks are relationships through which information is disseminated. Instrumental social support networks are relationships that provide direct and tangible support—whether that be through actions or physical resources. And, emotional...

Do you read the student evaluations of your teaching at the end of each quarter? If you said no, I’m here to convince you otherwise! First, student evaluations are a key part of how we are assessed as TAs at UCR; low evaluation scores can have consequences for future TA appointments. Also, student evaluations are...

Education has long been considered of paramount importance when it comes to achieving social justice. While modern-day learning institutions have increasingly supported social justice by empowering students and actively engaging with discourses surrounding issues of systemic injustice, the relationship between education and social justice has been acknowledged since ancient times, tracing its origin in the...

Trauma is any harmful life experience leaving long-lasting effects on our physical, emotional, and social needs. Research indicates an alarming number of college students have experienced trauma in their lives. The learning process in traumatized students is significantly impaired since they spend most of their time and energy processing their trauma. Therefore, they do not...

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created an enormous amount of adversity for people all over the globe. Humans, especially when experiencing stress and hardship, do a lot better with the plan, structure, and explicit expectations. But any “normal” pattern has been turned entirely upside down for us graduate teaching assistants, and our students. We have...

Proactively creating content that allows learners to engage with materials, regardless of accessibility needs, preferences, and academic preparedness, is essential to universal design. It is also important to be aware of one’s assumptions, given that accessibility needs can be permanent, situational, or change throughout the term, and visibility of needs can vary. Creating content with...

The first day of classes can be daunting for your students and for you. With the move to online instruction, it can be even more challenging to get to know your students and develop rapport with them. Icebreakers can help your students form connections with each other and become more comfortable speaking or asking questions...

What do we teach students about life when they are asked to discuss rather than debate a topic? Before I dive into this perhaps philosophical, rather than practical question, it may be appropriate to explain how we are currently emphasizing discussion in the classroom and minimizing debate. I hope that by the end of my...

Summer sessions here at UCR provide a great opportunity for many graduate students to gain valuable teaching experience. During the academic year, we graduate students work as TAs, but in the summer we can try our hand as Instructors. Depending on your perspective, this may be an exciting idea or a scary one – or...

“You know how much I enjoy being a TA! I think I am going to miss the in-person interaction with the students. And, after all of this [the pandemic] is over, I will probably not be the same,” said one of my fellow graduate students. They said this while standing in the golden hues of...

Are you interested in exploring a teaching-focused career? Do you want to discuss pedagogical strategies, strengthen job application materials, or socialize with our Teaching Assistant Development Team? Then you’re in luck! There’s still time to register for Teaching Careers Week 2020, a full program of virtual events to support your professional goals with a specific...

One of the underappreciated aspects of graduate school is the entre into teaching. Most of us graduate students came to UCR ready to dive head-first into research and other scholarly pursuits. Yet, the majority of us find ourselves treading water in the deep end of the teaching pool. The challenges posed by teaching inspire brave...

It’s the start of our collective quarter in quarantine, and none of us really knows what to expect. Some of us are trying to find a respectable corner at home from which to Zoom a discussion section; others are having to rethink research projects that require supplies or travel that the COVID-19 pandemic has now...

Full disclosure: I have never taught an online course. I’m also the kind of instructor who loves getting to know my students. I have everyone create name tags on the first day of class and only after I know everyone’s name by memory do students stop bringing their name tags. I frequently incorporate ice breakers...

The mental image elicited by the word “college” is moving away from ivy-covered red brick buildings and moving towards students on laptops at home in their pajamas. You may have noticed that online education is increasing based on the number of ads for online degrees popping-up while browsing social media or even from taking an...

“How will I know when I am ready?” Is this the question you ask yourself as the clock strikes midnight while you are frantically adding content to your discussion slides after working on it for 6 hours straight? Maybe you have the first draft of your thesis due to your advisor in two days. But...

While the first quarter you work as a Teaching Assistant (TA) may feel overwhelming, know that you don't need to worry! There is support--ranging from workshops, campus resources, and professional development events--to help support you as you build your teaching skills. Read on to find out about resources on-campus and online that can help you...