Teaching Days is a series of workshops offered before the start of each semester (August and IAP) to help prepare teaching assistants and trainees for the roles and responsibilities of teaching at MIT. Topics include how to give feedback, present a class session, and facilitate office hours, among other practical teaching subjects. Once available, the workshop schedule and link to the Canvas registration page will be posted below.
See the schedule with links to workshop descriptions below.
Workshop Schedule
Sessions listed in BOLD denote workshops will be in-person only; those in italics are hybrid, and all others will be held online.
| Day/Time | Monday, 1/27 | Tuesday, 1/28 | Wednesday, 1/29 | Thursday, 1/30 | Friday, 1/31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00 – 12:00 pm | Recitation Series: Using Examples Effectively 1-190 TLL | Recitation Series: Facilitating Group Work 1-190 TLL | Festival | Mastering Office Hours 3-270 TLL | Tips for Effective Teaching Presentations 3-270 TLL |
| 1:00 – 2:00 pm | Seeking Accommodations as a TA (TBD) DAS | Responsible Employee (online) IDHR | of | Supporting Student Wellbeing 3-270 SWB | Experienced TA Panel 3-270 TLL |
| 2:30 – 4:30 pm | Recitation Series: Get Students Talking 1-190 TLL | Inclusive Teaching 1-190 TLL | Learning | Practical Strategies for Producing Feedback 3-270 TLL |
Workshop Descriptions
Getting Students Talking
Leading a Recitation Series
This module will provide you with a basic outline for a lecture or recitation session, examples of techniques you can use to actively engage students, and the research-based rationale for including those elements. This module is geared towards leaders of recitation sections that focus on problem-solving, but all are welcome.
Using Examples Effectively
Leading a Recitation Series
This module will provide you with a basic outline for a lecture or recitation session, examples of techniques you can use to actively engage students, and the research-based rationale for including those elements. This module is geared towards leaders of recitation sections that focus on problem-solving, but all are welcome.
Facilitating Meaningful Practice and Group Work
Leading a Recitation Series
In this module, you will learn best practices for helping students practice skills developed in lecture, recitations, or homework and facilitate group work effectively. You will review several video examples of group work in recitation and identify strategies to make these activities successful.ples of group work in recitation and identify strategies to make these activities successful.
Inclusive Teaching
Inclusive teaching involves using intentional strategies to create equitable and welcoming pathways to learning where students from all backgrounds can thrive. In this introductory workshop, you will learn strategies and practices to support student learning by gaining awareness of the student experience and applying specific inclusive teaching techniques. Through reflection, discussion, and case study work, we will work together to identify how to clearly communicate the purpose of learning and build a sense of community to foster student engagement, learning, and belonging.
Supporting Student Wellbeing
Learning is most effective when students feel not only intellectually engaged but supported emotionally and personally. In this module, you will learn how to recognize the signs of student distress, as well as ways to support your students and peers as TAs/TTs. The session is facilitated by Kyla Tucker and Don Camelio from Student Support and Wellbeing, part of the Division of Student Life. Their office provides advice and advocacy for students and acts as a hub of resources, referrals, and information across the MIT community. Student Support and Wellbeing staff are integrated with other resources, including Disability and Access Services, to provide comprehensive academic and personal support to undergraduates.
Tips for Effective Class Presentations
This practical workshop offers essential tips for delivering effective teaching presentations and avoiding common pitfalls. Participants will learn strategies to enhance clarity and engagement while avoiding frequent presentation mistakes such as information overload. The session will provide actionable advice that can be applied immediately, helping TAs and TTs refine their presentation skills to support student learning.des peer-to-peer support for building communication skills.
Experienced Panels
Experienced TAs/TTs from different courses and schools will share the most important things they learned about being effective TAs/TTs and will answer questions from the audience about how to get started as a new TA/TT.
Mastering Office Hours
In this module, you will learn how to better assess where students are in their thinking, use questioning techniques to encourage students to explain their thinking and help students enhance their learning by connecting solution steps to course concepts. This module will also present research on effective tutoring.
TAs & TTs and the Responsible Employee Obligation
This module helps you understand the Institute Discrimination & Harassment Response Office (IDHR, formerly known as T9BR), your obligations as a Responsible Employee, and what to do if you are to become aware of any situations related to gender- or sex-based discrimination (including sexual misconduct which is sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating/domestic violence, and stalking). This module will introduce you to IDHR, talk about MIT policies, go over the various reporting options, cover important confidential resources, and deep-dive into what it means to be a Responsible Employee.
Note: If your department requires completion of this module, only the asynchronous portions of this workshop on Canvas are required. In the synchronous session, staff from IDHR will answer common questions, discuss scenarios, and help you better understand your role as a Responsible Employee.
Practical Strategies for Producing Feedback
Feedback on written assignments can be challenging and often time-consuming as a TA/TT. In this module, you will learn how to formulate helpful feedback for your students while balancing your feedback between style and content. You will also discuss ways to grade writing more efficiently and effectively.
Using Canvas
Canvas is the new Learning Management System (LMS) available to the entire MIT community adopted Fall 2020. This asynchronous module introduces you to the basic and advanced features of Canvas with examples of how it might be used.