If you have TAs supporting your course, there are a few issues you will need to consider. We have resources to support you and your TAs.
1. Train your team
Members of your team may be new to teaching and learning online and will likely need some training and additional support.
Tools
- Use Zoom or Microsoft Teams for real-time training
- Use Moodle Preview for TAs to explore and learn eClass
Resources
- TA Guide
- Share the Teaching Assistant (TA) and International Teaching Assistant (ITA) Handbook and/or the Introductory Guide for Laboratory Demonstrators with all your TAs
- Record of Completion Certificate workshops and online modules
- Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Courses
- Professional Development Workshops
- Resources for TAs (Discipline-specific, handbooks, feedback, etc)
- Resources for using eClass
Best practices
- The training required to perform TA duties needs to be factored into your TA’s hours and recorded in the TA Workload Form (downloadable PDF).
- It takes longer to teach and learn online, so time is very important for you to consider as you assign TA hours.
- Ask your TAs how they prefer to support your course, learning about their strengths, and using those strengths to best support you, your course, and your students.
- Be prepared to spend time facilitating remote conversations about your course with your TAs on an ongoing basis.
- Consult Communication Strategies for tools, resources and best practices for ensuring smooth communication with your team remotely.
2. Communicate frequently
To ensure you have consistency across your course, it is helpful to connect with your team on a regular basis. This may be to discuss marking keys and rubrics while also allowing for your team to bring forward any issues or challenges they may be facing.
Tools
- Zoom, Microsoft Teams, eClass
Best practices
- Instructions need to be carefully recorded and communicated online. This includes clear written communication and expectations with your teaching team.
- Be prepared to spend time facilitating conversations about your course with your TAs and other teaching team members on an ongoing basis.
- Devise a communication and meeting plan for you and your team. For example, determine when face-to-face meetings via Zoom are necessary, and when email or live chat communication via eClass will suffice.
© Blended and Online Learning (BOLD), Teaching Commons & Learning Technology Services, York University. Unless otherwise stated, all content on the Going Remote - York University site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical 4.0 International license. If you reuse this work, please attribute BOLD, York University and include a link to https://yorku.ca/bold/
Icons created by Font Awesome