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Fall 2021 Teaching Development Workshops: Humanizing Teaching and Learning

By Brittany Carlson |

Are you new to TA’ing? Are you new TA’ing in a hybrid format? Don’t feel alone or overwhelmed; GradSuccess has teaching workshops for that! This fall, the TA Development Program (TADP) workshops will be held on Mondays from 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm and Wednesdays 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm. The workshops will focus thematically on humanizing teaching in the era of hybrid learning, and we have quite the lineup! You can register for any (or all!) TADP workshop on the GradSuccess Fall Workshops schedule.

[Image Description: Two cats playing leap frog.]

Pictured: Our workshop lineup competing for the title of “Most Awesome.”

Our first workshop, in week two, will cover best practices in hybrid teaching . Although we are all relatively new to teaching in a hybrid environment, we can have the best of both worlds! This workshop will focus on combining the best practices from in-person and online instruction to navigate our brand-new hybrid teaching world. (Monday, October 4th 2-3pm)

“Hey, we’re not robots!” “We’re not learning machines!” “We are not empty Zoom boxes!” – common refrains of our students. Our week three workshop will focus on student-centered teaching practices to help us best meet our learning students’ needs by involving them in the process. (Wednesday, October 13th 1-2pm)

[Image Description: A woman’s face turning mechanical with the “I am not a robot” authentication label inside.]

Pictured: Not your students.

As we return to an in-person environment, we are realizing that our interactions with others have changed. Our students are no different. In our week four workshop, we will talk about rethinking student participation and what counts as classroom participation. (Monday, October 18th 2-3pm)

Throughout in-person and online learning, one thing has remained consistent: our need to grade student work. We all may not be new to grading, but the tips in our week five workshop on grading and time management are tried and true – especially now we are actually coming to campus again. (Monday, October 25th 2-3pm)

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Pictured: Running late to school again. AHH!!!

“TAs are not robots; we’re not teaching machines!” Just as our students may have experienced Zoom fatigue in the online classroom, we may have too! In week seven, we will share the best practices for and benefits of becoming an approachable instructor. (Wednesday, November 10th 1-2pm)

In week eight, we will talk about mind mapping as a teaching technique. We’ve all likely created a mind map at some point in our lives – an English paper outline? A geography study guide? Mind mapping not only helps students “see the bigger picture” but also helps them make connections. This workshop focuses on utilizing mind mapping as not only a familiar teaching tool but also a teaching technique. (Monday, November 15th 2-3pm)

 We hope you will join us this Fall to talk about humanizing teaching! If you have any questions, please contact the TADP team at tamentor@ucr.edu (Bryan); tadp@ucr.edu (Carlos); or utc@ucr.edu (Brittany). Best of luck to you in your Fall teaching pursuits!

[Image Description: Pikachu nodding and saying, “join us.”]

Pictured: You joining our fall teaching workshops.