Working with Teaching Assistants (TAs): A roundtable discussion on strategies for success Facilitators Alina Choo Associate Director Student Success Division, Suffolk University Michael Dunlop Visiting Associate Professor Sawyer Business School, Suffolk University

In this session, participants will… Goals  In this session, participants will… Describe the roles and responsibilities they assign to TAs Discuss strategies for training, mentoring, and communicating with TAs Share approaches for optimizing the TA experience for both faculty and TAs

Agenda 10:45am Introductions 10:55am TA Roles and Responsibilities 11:15am Scenarios on communicating, mentoring, and training 11:55am Optimizing the TA experience and staying connected  

Introductions Name Institution, Department, Job Title Context in working with TAs (e.g., hope to in future, many years of experience, etc.)

TA Roles & Responsibilities Role/responsibility Affordances/benefits Potential concerns/issues Example: Grading Frees up faculty’s time; helps TA develop grading skills Requires careful training; TA’s grading may not be reliably consistent with faculty’s  

Scenarios Scenario 1: A colleague says to you…. Scenario 2: You’re browsing the student chat room…. Scenario 3: You’ve worked with TAs a couple times in the past…. Scenario 4: After weighing the pros and cons….

Optimizing the TA Experience & Staying Connected 1) What is one thing you can do to optimize this experience for both you and the TA? 2) Would you be interested in continuing this dialogue? 3) Other comments?

Thank you We hope you enjoy the 2017 Symposium on Innovation in Teaching & Learning