Teaching Assistant Training Institute

Nearly every undergraduate student at Hopkins interacts at some point with a teaching assistant (TA) who functions in an instructional capacity, and many Hopkins TAs are the full-time faculty of the future.

To enhance the instructional experience of undergraduate students and to introduce Hopkins TAs to sound pedagogical theory and practice, the Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation, in collaboration with departments, deans, faculty, and the Graduate Representative Organization (GRO), offer a TA Training Program. The program is designed to serve all graduate students on the Homewood campus. Throughout the academic year, graduate students will be able to participate in independent activities that explore teaching and learning issues faced by TAs while at Hopkins. CTEI staff working with highly regarded instructors from the Hopkins faculty and advanced TAs facilitate all of these activities.

Teaching Assistant Training

Workshops

Several TA Training workshops will be offered during graduate student orientation and at other times during the academic year. Check with the TA Training Institute for details when the workshops will become available and how to register.

Teaching Assistant Training Institute

Academic Course

Title: Preparation for University Teaching
Course Number: 500.781 (for Whiting School graduate students) and 360.781 (for Krieger School graduate students)
Course Description: This course is designed primarily to prepare those with no or little formal training as educators to assume instructional roles in higher education. People who complete graduate degrees often take on career positions in which they are expected to facilitate the learning of others. This includes teaching within private and public institutions, giving public presentations or facilitating in-service training programs. This course is designed as a general preparation for graduate students to teach independently and effectively at the university level. In addition to microteaching exercises, the course will cover such topics as large and small class teaching, the characteristics of student learning, syllabus construction, grading student performance, and developing one’s own teaching portfolio.

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