Shed the Light of the Sun – Mark Morton

In a previous post, I mentioned the recent creation of a CTE Tip Sheet devoted to Faculty Mentoring. I think it might be timely to follow up that post with some “testimonials” about the impact of mentors, ones that were submitted to the contest component of the 2010 Loving to Learn Day. That contest had four categories: UW students, staff, and faculty; students in Grades 1 to 8; students in Grades 9 to 12; and everyone else. The mentors that people wrote about for that contest about were diverse: parents, grandparents, spouses, colleagues, children, elementary school teachers, fictional characters, aunts, baby-sitters, brothers-in-law, hockey players, strangers in a nursing home, veterans, graduate supervisors, pets,  and more. Continue reading Shed the Light of the Sun – Mark Morton

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu . . . – Sheila Hannon

Sound of MusicAs that well known song from the Sound of Music suggests, there is a time and a place and many ways to say good bye. For me, So Long Farewell seems appropriate as I near the end of my role as a TA Developer at the Centre for Teaching Excellence. (I will admit that the inspiration came from a recent outing to the musical in Toronto. And just in case you’re a bit concerned, let me assure you that I won’t use this blog to paraphrase the song, nor is there a YouTube video of me performing it.) Continue reading So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, adieu . . . – Sheila Hannon

Reflecting on our Registration System (Grad Students) – Darlene Radicioni

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Fall is upon us again with a new cohort of graduate students. Welcome!

With one term now behind us, using our now, not-so-new registration system, I thought I’d reflect on it. First, all new students should make sure that they are connected to the myHRinfo system. This can be done through your department secretary. Those of you who have been at UW for a while should already be connected to it. Once you visit this site, you can see a list of all workshops that are offered by our Centre. Continue reading Reflecting on our Registration System (Grad Students) – Darlene Radicioni

Why do some students choose not attend tutorials?! – Walid Omran (International TA Developer)

3041908888_04ff4f701aWhen I was assigned my first duty as a TA in one of the electrical engineering courses, one term after arriving to Canada, I was keen to know more about Canadian students. Thus, I started asking other experienced TAs about undergraduate students and how to teach them effectively. One comment that I still remember until today and after being a TA for more than 6 courses was about the students’ attendance in the tutorials. Continue reading Why do some students choose not attend tutorials?! – Walid Omran (International TA Developer)

What I’ve Learned from Being a Graduate Teaching Assistant Developer

In just a few short weeks, my contract as a Teaching Assistant Developer (TAD) with CTE’s Certificate in University Teaching Program (CUT) will be coming to a close.  It will be a very bittersweet departure for me, as I’ve grown to admire and respect all of my colleagues at CTE, as well as the graduate students that I’ve been working with for the past two years.  As my final blog post, I thought it would be appropriate to reflect on my role at CTE and what I’ve learned from it. Continue reading What I’ve Learned from Being a Graduate Teaching Assistant Developer

Faculty event: panel on writing reference letters for your graduate students – Trevor Holmes

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Three experienced (and successful) writers of reference letters for graduate students, Sandra Burt (Political Science, Associate Dean of Arts, Graduate Studies and Research), Ian Rowlands (Environment and Resource Studies, Associate Dean, Research, Faculty of Environment) and Ralph Haas (Civil and Environmental Engineering, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, FRSC), will share their advice and expertise. Continue reading Faculty event: panel on writing reference letters for your graduate students – Trevor Holmes

Time flies…things change… – Darlene Radicioni

The CUT (Certificate in University Teaching) program celebrated its 10th anniversary in Fall 2008. I’ve been here nearly that long too (since June 2000).How things have changed!

THEN
In the beginning, the CUT program had one TA Developer working 10 hours a week. Registration occurred upon submission of a response paper after attending a workshop. We were happy to have 14 students in a workshop. Juice, water and sometimes cookies, were provided as additional incentive for participation. Once a student had met the requirements for a course, the Graduate Office would be notified and a grade of CR would appear on their transcript. There were no time limits to complete a course or the program (one student took 27 terms). Continue reading Time flies…things change… – Darlene Radicioni