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Workshops

GENERAL SESSIONS
9:30-10:30 and 10:45-11:45

SURVIVING THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS

Are you nervous about walking into your classroom on the first day of class?  In this workshop we will discuss how to prepare for that first day, how to fight fear of public speaking, what questions to ask faculty, and how to write a syllabus or course description.

TOP TA CHALLENGES

No matter what you teach, you will be facing common challenges that extend beyond the subject matter.  This workshop will discuss issues such as managing classroom dynamics, handling academic dishonesty, and bridging the gap between faculty and students.   

TECHNOLOGY FOR TEACHING

Technology can help make teaching more effective and more efficient. Come try out programs and strategies that enhance student-teacher communications inside and beyond the classroom. Learn about the people and places on campus that will help you make the most of UCLA’s technological resources.Technophobes welcome.

PREPARING INTERNATIONAL TEACHING ASSISTANTS TO TEACH AT UCLA

This session is designed for those ITAs who cannot attend the longer, more detailed afternoon session.

RESOURCE SESSIONS
9:30-10:30 and 10:45-11:45

THE "REAL STUFF"! INFORMATION
RESEARCH IN A GOOGLED SOCIETY

Today students frequently begin research with a Google search of the “visible web.” Many believe that Google lists everything. Often they know little or nothing about the differences between magazines and journals, how scholars communicate, and the peer review process. Help your students go beyond Google to identify, locate, evaluate, and make ethical use of “invisible web” materials. Learn tips for effective use of updated research tools, as well as online tutorials on plagiarism and basic information literacy skills.

MY UCLA GRADEBOOK

My UCLA Gradebook is an online system for professors and TAs to enter and keep track of their students’ grades. Grading information is automatically shared between professors, TAs, and administrative support staff, and can be made available to students at any time. My UCLA Gradebook is the preferred method of recording grades at UCLA, and this workshop will detail its ins and outs. 

 

MICROTEACHING
12:00 - 1:00

WHAT IS MICROTEACHING?

Microteaching is the presentation of a small section of a lesson. The goal of this workshop is to offer hands-on experience through teaching a five-minute microlesson. There will be five general topics from which you can choose on the spot; alternatively, come prepared to give a five-minute talk on a topic of your selection. Preparing will be the best way to benefit from the microteaching experience.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

Don’t be worried! You will be talking in front of no more than 5-7 people. Use this opportunity to overcome your nerves, receive honest anonymous feedback from your peers, and pinpoint your teaching strengths and weaknesses. Speak individually with the experienced workshop leader on how to improve your teaching skills.

FACULTY AND TA PANEL
12:00 - 1:00

Panelists are often recipients of the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award and are invited to share their teaching philosophies and experiences. The majority of this session is dedicated to answering questions from conference participants. Bring your questions, or just come to listen!

LANGUAGE TA PANEL
12:00 - 1:00

Teaching a language for the first time can be daunting, whether you are concerned about how a non-native speaker will be received or how a native speaker can relate to the students’ culture. In this workshop a panel of experienced language TAs will be available to share their experiences and answer your questions.

 

AFTERNOON WORKSHOPS
2:00 - 4:00

PREPARING AND GRADING UNDERGRADUATE WRITING

No matter what the subject, you’re likely to teach some kind of writing, such as an essay, a lab report, or an abstract. The web resource teach2write will be presented as a springboard to help TAs clarify writing assignments, prepare students to write, comment on student work, and deal with plagiarism. Workshop participants will practice grading papers and responding to student queries about grades.

PREPARING INTERNATIONAL TEACHING ASSISTANTS TO TEACH AT UCLA

International students can get help understanding the culture of an American university through small group discussion and hands-on activities. Master four steps to handling classroom questions and hear about useful techniques for starting and maintaining a lively classroom discussion. Learn about university requirements such as English as a Second Language (ESL) courses and placement exam, and the Test of Oral Proficiency (TOP).

LEADING DISCUSSIONS

Discussion sections are often the most rewarding part of a class for students and teachers alike.  Yet, as the moderators of these discussions, TAs are often terrified that they will be staring at blank faces and struggling to make it through an hour. This workshop will focus on making class material relevant to students and establishing a safe and comfortable environment in which productive discussions can occur. How to craft effective discussion questions will also be discussed.

TEACHING AND GRADING PROBLEM-SOLVING IN THE SCIENCES

Mathematical problem-solving is a skill typically taught in many different subjects, including mathematics, statistics, economics, and applied sciences such as engineering. This workshop will offer suggestions for leading problem-solving lessons that help students learn to solve problems themselves rather than be given answers by a TA. Grading, often a critical and stressful aspect of being a TA, will also be addressed, including consistent grading by multiple TAs. Practice grading problem sets in this workshop using different approaches to help remove subjectivity.

TEACHING LANGUAGES AT UCLA

In the first part of this workshop, experience a “Shock” lesson, a demo lesson of first-day teaching in an unfamiliar language which shows how an experienced language TA would introduce a language without speaking English. Afterwards, join a group discussion with the Language Coordinators from your departments. The departments of French and Francophone Studies, Germanic Languages, Italian, Slavic Languages, Spanish and Portuguese, as well as Korean, Japanese, and Chinese will be represented. In the second part of the workshop, the Foreign Language IT Coordinator from the Center for Digital Humanities will discuss WIMBA, an online Oral Assessment Builder used regularly in language classrooms.