With more than 60 teaching assistants annually helping educate over 3,000 undergraduate students, TAs play a critical role in undergraduate education in the Sociology Department at the University of British Columbia. TAs take on a variety of responsibilities including marking, lecturing, facilitating workshops, invigilating exams, interacting with students in office hours and via email, and leading discussion groups. Novice TA skills can range widely thus effective TA training is paramount. Our TA training consists of four workshops and an evaluation session held at the beginning of the academic year. These workshops focus on skill building through case studies where participants discuss scenarios, with opportunities for veteran TAs to share their experiences and for new TAs to voice their concerns. Emphasis is placed on skills that can be easily adapted, such as professional communication. Each workshop encourages students to interact, promoting a high level of peer social support and collaboration. We conclude with an evaluation session where participants provide feedback that guides future workshops. This poster provides a detailed overview of our TA training program, including the program learning goals and structure as well as plans for revision based on feedback from participants, reviews of best practices, and consultation with faculty members. By the end of this facilitated poster session, participants will be able to identify the key goals of each of four training sessions and articulate the ways in which the program supports both undergraduate and graduate student teaching assistants in their skill development.
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