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Graduate Teaching and Instructional Assistant Training, Spring 2013

All graduate students who will be newly appointed Graduate Teaching or Instructional Assistants (GTAs / IAs) in Spring 2013 are required to participate in TA Training, which consists of two parts: (1) TA/IA Orientation, and (2) a semester-long course on teaching assistant development, GRAD 701. These are described below.


TA/ IA Orientation

Part 1: TA/IA Orientation

  • Attend two three-hour workshops, A and B, introducing graduate students to teaching at USC.
  • Students can attend workshops on any day and in any order, but must attend one of each.

Spring 2013
TA Orientation Workshops

Russell House Ballroom

Tuesday

JAN 8

Wednesday

JAN 9

9am - 12pm A B
1pm - 4pm B A

TA Orientation Workshop A:

  • Topics:
  • FERPA
  • University policies
  • Discrimination and sexual harassment
  • Dealing with low-to-high risk behavior (CHDC, BIT, USC Police)
  • University resources



Workshop A

Workshop "A" Agenda

TA Orientation Workshop B:

  • Topics:
  • Teaching preparation and first day tips
  • Workload management
  • Establishing the teacher-student relationship
  • Engaging students
  • Grading objectively
  • Classroom challenges
  • Veteran TA panel
Workshop B

Workshop "B" Agenda

ATTENTIONStudents must make every effort to attend the workshops at the offered times. Students who miss Orientation must contact the CTE at 777-1975.

GRAD 701 CTE @ USC

Part 2: GRAD 701

Teaching Assistant Development Course

  • Formalized professional training course required during or before the first semester of teaching.
  • Student must register for either GRAD 701, Teaching Assistant Development or an equivalent course offered by their academic unit that has been approved by the Graduate School.

GRAD 701: Teaching Assistant Development

  • 1-semester, zero-credit course (no tuition), pass-fail grading.
  • Registration for GRAD 701 occurs through VIP during USC’s open registration (see below).
  • Students are required to participate in a minimum of four professional development activities (two of which may be online), tailored to the student’s specific type of instruction: instructor of record, laboratory assistant, recitation leader, discussion leader, grader, or student-designed track.
  • A wide variety of activities are provided to fulfill this requirement: GRAD 701 sessions general CTE Workshops, CTE TA workshops, and other academic unit instructional workshops.
  • Satisfactory course completion requires submission of a one-page reflection activity form for each of the four activities.
  • Course administration and submission of assignments occurs via Blackboard.
  • GTA/IAs who do not complete the course requirements will be assigned an “Unsatisfactory” grade which will be permanently recorded on their transcript.

701- Equivalent Departmental Course:

  • Certain departments offer official instructional training courses that can be used in lieu of GRAD 701, to fulfill this portion of the TA Training requirement.
  • The Graduate School has approved the following departmental courses as GRAD 701-equivalent:  EDCE 830, EDHE 738, ENGL 701A, FORL 776, HIST 720, PHIL 790, SLIS 804.
  • Special sections of GRAD 701 have been designated for units who have specialized TA Training programs approved as equivalent to GRAD 701 requirements but do not wish to develop a new course: School of Business MACC GIAs (Section 003), English Department Writing Center GIA Tutors (004), CHEM 701 GIAs (005).
  • Registration for either the departmental equivalent or special section GRAD 701 course occurs through VIP during open registration.

To register for GRAD 701 go to:

VIP

Grad 701 Section registration restrictions:

  • 001: All Departments
  • 002: All Departments
  • 003: School of Business MACC GIA's only
  • 004: Writing Center GIA Tutors only
  • 005: Chemistry GIA's only

Have Questions?

For questions concerning TA Orientation or GRAD 701, contact:

For questions concerning International students and English testing requirements, contact: