1. TA Orientation Workshop
Preparing for the first day
TA Orientation Workshop
Bradley Coleman, PhD
Co-Director
HMS Curriculum Fellows Program
January 22nd, 2018

2. Session Objectives
after this 30-minute workshop, students will be able to:
1) Adequately prepare themselves for their first meeting with students
2) Recognize generalized rules for interacting with students that respect their differences and minimize the likelihood of uncomfortable situations

3. Question #1 Take 3-5 minutes to think about the following question:
By the time you walk in the door for your first class, study session, or paper discussion, what should you have ALREADY done to prepare?
To help answer this question, you should think about the related questions:
- What do you need to know about what will happen during the class?
- What do you need to know about your students?
- What do you want your students to know about you?

4. Question #2
Each of you will get a sample info sheet that might be passed out to a student at the start of the first class.
Take 2 minutes to look this over and identify the aspects of it you think work well and any elements you think might be problematic.
After 2 minutes I will instruct you to find the other individuals in the class with the same sheet as you. Introduce yourselves and discuss your conclusions for another 2-3 minutes.
One member will be asked to share the group’s findings.

10. ask only for essential, actionable information
Main Idea:
applies to BOTH info gathering and ALL interactions with your students
It can be hard to predict what will make a student feel threatened or uncomfortable.
ask only for essential, actionable information
Examples of critical, actionable information
1) Preferred name and pronoun
- ask in an open-ended way
2) English proficiency - students may need extra time
- ask directly — NOT about citizenship or nationality
3) Previous exposure or content expertise
- as an ungraded test, if possible
4) Student expectations
- meet them if you can or explain why you can’t

11. Additional Resources Teaching/Working with Students
Bok Center for Teaching and Learning
Instructional Moves (GSE)
HMS Curriculum Fellows Program

12. https://handbook.gsas.harvard.edu/gsas-handbook
Additional Resources
Problems/Policies/Issues
Harvard GSAS Handbook
HSPH Student Handbook
If a problem escalates beyond simply referring students to policies or resources, your first stop should ALWAYS be the course director.