Aug. 12, 2002--The annual conference for University of Delaware graduate teaching assistants (TAs) is scheduled from Monday-Wednesday, Aug. 26- 28, at the Trabant University Center and Gore Hall. Registration begins at 8 a.m. each day at the Trabant University Center.

Part of a series of orientations for new graduate students, the event is cosponsored by the Office of Graduate Studies, the Graduate Student Senate and the Center for Teaching Effectiveness.

The conference is designed primarily to meet the needs of first-time TAs and provide them with an orientation to their instructional roles and responsibilities at UD. It also will introduce them to general teaching and learning issues, as well as practices and techniques that will be helpful.

For senior TAs, there will be one instructional development session each day on topics such as designing a learner-centered syllabus and developing a teaching portfolio. Because the conference accommodates TAs across disciplines and with varied teaching responsibilities, it is strongly recommend that departments highlight to TAs those sessions that are most relevant to their instructional roles in the department. The online agenda is available at [www.udel.edu/cte/tacagenda2002.html].

The sessions will be conducted by instructional teams of senior TAs, faculty and staff. Eighteen senior TAs, representing a range of disciplines and instructional roles, are facilitating sessions for their peers and modeling interactive teaching approaches.

After the TA conference morning sessions, individual departments will engage their TAs in discipline-specific training activities in the afternoons. TAs also will have the opportunity to participate in sessions on campus resources, such as library resources and web publishing.

To register, call 831-2027 or send e-mail to [cte-reg@udel.edu].