Supporting Graduate Students' Academic and Professional Success
Let's be real...summer teaching online is no joke. You're covering a lot of material in not-a-lot of time. Students' computers (and possibly your own) are overheating or the A/C isn't keeping up with the rising temperatures. And everyone might prefer to be at the beach (at least sometimes). So how do you keep your cool? TADP (aka the GradSuccess Teaching Assistant Development Program) is here to help!
[Image Description: Luann De Lesseps from the Real Housewives of New York tells her fellow cast member: “So be cool. Don’t be all... like, uncool.”]
Pictured: I know summer teaching can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be.
Did you know that the Teaching Assistant Development Program (TADP) compiles resources related to teaching on our website? You can find information on a variety of topics, including creating inclusive classrooms, building rapport with students, and teaching with technology.
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Pictured: Yes! You heard right, resources are available any time online.
TADP offers between five and seven workshops per quarter during the academic year. Although this programming is paused for summer, that doesn’t mean you have to wait until fall to improve your teaching skills. We post recordings of most of our workshops to an online portal that you can access through our website. On that page you will find also find a full list of the available workshops, including “Time Management as a TA,” “Zoom for TAs: Beyond the Basics,” and “Teaching Effective Virtual Labs.”
[Image Description: Trixie Mattel, from the Trixie & Katya Show, sits in an office behind a desk and says, “Wow. Why were you late?”]
Pictured: The beauty of watching recordings is never having to worry about being late to the workshop.
If you are looking for one-on-one guidance and advice, we have good news for you! Every Tuesday from 8:30-9:30am and Wednesday from 1:00-2:30pm through September 1st TADP hosts summer office hours. We are happy to answer questions related to preparing for class, grading efficiently, and the rollout of iEval student evaluations of TAs this summer. Both Teaching Assistants and graduate student Associate Instructors are welcome. Sign up using the Summer Workshops schedule at https://ucr.mywconline.com.
[Image Description: Oprah Winfrey, seated in a garden, looks incredulous and asks “what?”]
Pictured: That’s right, one-on-one help is available over the summer.
Finally, just because you’ve been teaching online for a few months doesn’t mean you can’t improve. Teaching@UCR (formerly the "Keep Teaching" website created when UCR shifted to remote learning in March 2020) is a great source of information for all things related to online teaching and learning. Get help with the transition to Canvas/eLearn or find answers to common tech problems on this comprehensive website.
[Image Description: Ray J, from Love & Hip Hop gesticulates to the camera and says, “I just got too much knowledge.”]
Pictured: You, after using these resources.
HAPPY SUMMER TEACHING!