Click here for PowerPoints and Other Resources from the TA Orientation, August 18-20, 2008
Click here to complete an online evaluation of the TA Orientation
If you still need to complete the online training module on Preventing Sexual Harassment, here is the link. At the end of the module, please be sure to give "The Graduate School" as the department. You do not need to give us a copy of your printed certificate (we requested this earlier for prize-drawing purposes).
Preventing Sexual Harassment module: http://training.newmedialearning.com/psh/ukentucky/index.htm
Here are the winners of the drawing from the submitted completion certificates on "Preventing Sexual Harassment": Matt Harris (won a signed copy of Parini's Why Poetry Matters), Elizabeth Petrun (a signed copy of Parini's The Art of Teaching), and Kayla Davidson (a signed copy of Parini's The Art of Subtraction: New and Selected Poems).
2008 New Graduate Teaching Assistant Orientation
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The latest version of the TA Orientation schedule is here (now in pdf format, which is sometimes slow in opening), along with more information on the Resource Fair. [NOTE: If you are not certain of your TA Type and which track you will be following during orientation, it will be identified for you when you sign-in at registration; please be patient with us as we continue to gather TA role information from various departments and to consider prior teaching experience.]
*August 18, 19, & 20
Worsham Theatre (in the UK Student Center) and Whitehall Classroom Building (CB)
* International TAs must also attend the ITA Orientation on August 14 and participate in the ITA Language Screenings on August 15.
New ITA Orientation: Thursday, August 14, 8:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. (with Office of International Affairs Orientation following until 5:00 p.m.) Click here for the ITA Orientation schedule.
New ITA Language Screening: Friday, August 15, 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. (Click here for a description of the language screening process.)
New TA Orientation (Click here for a working draft of the TA Orientation schedule.)
Monday, August 18, 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.
Tuesday, August 19, 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday, August 20, 8:30 a.m. until noon (with Graduate Student Resource Fair following until 2:00 p.m.)
If you are a newly-hired TA, your department will pre-register you for the orientation. In mid July you will begin receiving information through email via the address your department has provided to The Graduate School. All new UK TAs, regardless of previous TA roles elsewhere, are required to attend the university-wide orientation as a condition of employment; this orientation is in addition to your college or departmental orientation. Sessions address issues of university policy, general TA expectations, TA identity and authority, best practices in pedagogy, and effective classroom/laboratory management. TAs new to teaching and whose responsibilities will include lecturing and leading discussions will participate in MicroTeach, a series of small-group sessions culminating in an 8-10 minute video-recorded mini-teach presentation delivered in front of peers (click here for tips on advance preparation). A faculty member or experienced TA will provide individual guidance and confidential feedback on strengths and weakness.
The orientation ends with a Graduate Student Resource Fair (open to all new graduate students, not just TAs), where you can conveniently gather information about various offices and services on campus and in the community.
Breakfasts and lunches are provided free throughout the orientation.
Keynote Speaker
Keynoting this year's orientation is Jay Parini, professor of English at Middlebury College (VT) and author of The Art of Teaching (Oxford University Press, 2005). To read some excerpts from Professor Parini's book, click here.
Useful Links
The Four Types of TAs (The Provost's Policy on TA Teaching Credentials)
Bibliography of Recent Books on College Teaching
For Graduate Students New to the University of Kentucky:
Arrival Reminders for International Graduate Students and International Teaching Assistants
Activating your university computing account
Questions? Contact Dr. Morris Grubbs at morris.grubbs@uky.edu (859-257-9725) or Ms. Tonya Vance at tonya.vance@uky.edu (859-257-1759).
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Last updated 13 August 2008