TA Orientation 2025 Schedule of Events

This opening session offers welcoming and encouraging remarks focusing on the important roles that ITAs play at Syracuse University.

ITAs will meet together in small groups. There will be time for introductions, conversation, and questions. Please see room assignments.

Leaders: Teaching Mentors

As an international graduate student, it can be difficult to adjust to a new culture and your new TA role. As a graduate student and TA, this session will help you adjust to the US classroom setting and facilitate a seamless transfer by giving you an overview of expectations, and differences, and how to turn these into opportunities that will benefit you and your students.

Presenters: Teaching Mentors: Calistus Simiyu, Soham Sinha, & Stella Clymer

It is difficult to know what to do and what to avoid to succeed as a first time TA, especially when you are also new to a place and a culture. This friendly, practical session provide you with helpful tips on how to teach at Syracuse University, communicate effectively, build professional relationships with colleagues, and lay a strong foundation for your future career.

Presenters: Teaching Mentors: Calistus Simiyu, Nurzharkyn Samigolla & Gargi De

Lunch will be provided for all orientation participants. Please remember to bring your meal voucher.

MEALS:  On the mornings of the 16th, 18th, & 19th, a continental breakfast will be provided by Campus Catering.  In addition, orientation participants will be given a lunch voucher each day during their morning small group session. These can be redeemed at the dining halls in the Ernie Davis and Graham residence halls.  These coupons will only be issued during the initial, daily small-group session and are the responsibility of the voucher holder.  Lost vouchers will not be replaced.  Questions about meal arrangements may be addressed in small groups.

This session provides an overview of how to succeed as an international TA. By sharing common challenges and personal experiences, presenters will explore expectations as an ITA and student as well as opportunities that ITAs can utilize. We will also address ITAs’ questions and concerns.

Panelists: Teaching Mentors: Calistus Simiyu, Sena Gokkus, Gideon Banson,  Rosemary Ayine,  Jun Zhang

ITAs will meet together in small groups for the microteaching exercise - a practice teaching exercise. The five-minute presentation that you prepared prior to your arrival at TA Orientation will be recorded and critiqued in a constructive and supportive manner by your Teaching Mentor and small group.

See room assignments here.

Leaders: Teaching Mentors

This opening session is intended to welcome all new TAs to Syracuse University through a discussion of your importance on this campus and a brief overview of the importance and goals of the orientation.

Presenters: Peter Vanable, Associate Provost for Graduate Studies & Dean of the Graduate School

TA Orientation Staff

ITAs and domestic TAs will meet together in small groups. There will be time for conversation and questions.

See room assignments here.

Leaders: Teaching Mentors

To be successful in one's studies as well as teaching responsibilities at Syracuse University, it is essential for Teaching Assistants to be familiar with the university’s academic integrity policies. These policies vary widely among different educational institutions, so this session is designed to introduce you to what academic integrity entails at Syracuse University. Through discussions based on real-life cases, we will demonstrate various examples of academic integrity violations -- including many that students and TAs often overlook. We will discuss practical tips on how to manage violations when they occur as well as information about helpful resources.

Presenters: Kate Marzan & Ashley Jimenez Academic Integrity Development Office Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence  (CTLE)

Breakout Sessions & Lunch Break

Small Group #s 1-16 will attend the Inclusive Teaching through Universal Design session from 11:10-12:05 p.m. and will break for Lunch from 12:15 -1:10 p.m.

Small Group #s 17-32 will break for Lunch from 11:10 - 12:05 p.m. and will attend the Inclusive Teaching through Universal Design session from 12:15 - 1:10 p.m.

Lunch

Ernie Davis and Graham Halls
Lunch will be provided for all orientation participants.  Please remember to bring your meal voucher.

Inclusive Teaching through Universal Design - Grant Aud-Falk (1st iteration) or LSB 001 (2nd iteration)

In this session, participants will explore how the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) help Teaching Assistants (TAs) and instructors create an inclusive learning space for all students.  We will address the concept of intersectionality and how different relational identities affect students and TAs in the classroom. Thinking about access gives us a way to think about developing instructional outcomes, materials, assignments, and classroom experiences while centering students’ diverse strengths and needs. Participants will actively engage with these principles and walk away with strategies to incorporate multiple models of engagement, representation, and expression into their teaching. The session will also address TAs’ access needs as students and teachers.

Presenters: Teaching Mentors: Rebekah Wallis , Rosemary Ayine, Elena Sethun, & Bo Jian

Motivating Students - HBC 032-Kittredge Aud.

This session will present a practical and grounded discussion of what it means to motivate students in a classroom or laboratory setting. We will first look broadly at key pedagogical approaches to student motivation, reflecting on how students become active participants, and even collaborators, in their own learning. The session will also focus on practical applications of these ideas as session leaders share their own experiences motivating students in different contexts. They will offer concrete tips and advice and answer any questions you have about this crucial topic.

Presenters: Teaching Mentors: Sohrob Aslamy & Nathalie Uwamahoro

Dealing with Dispute - LSB 105

Tension, misunderstandings, disagreements, and arguments in the classroom are inevitable. As a TA you’ll likely face situations that push your comfort zone or provoke discomfort. How do you manage a heated conversation? How do you set and maintain boundaries? How do you teach to encourage students from different backgrounds to work as a group and engage in respectful and constructive dialogue? This session will focus on strategies for engaging, and disengaging from, conflict both in and beyond the classroom. We encourage you to attend as we explore common challenges and share practical tips to help you navigate them effectively.

Presenter: Teaching Mentor: Pierre Lacaille & Sena Gokkus

The Classroom as Community - Lyman 132

This session sets out to help you think critically about what makes for a successful classroom experience for your students (and you) and how to build the classroom as a community before, during, and after class. For each stage, we begin with goals and principles, followed by specific techniques and activities that can be implemented. Beyond sharing the “how,” the session also includes activities to help new TAs experience what a sense of community in the classroom feels like. These activities are built around understanding community as opposed to isolation, and the conscious and intentional act of building one in classrooms.

Presenters: Teaching Mentors: Jung Zhang, Vatya Raina, & Natalia Gulius

Creating a Teaching Persona - HL 207

Join this interactive session on developing your teaching persona as a new TA at SU. In this workshop, we will explore effective strategies and practical techniques to create a dynamic and adaptable persona that resonates with your students. We will underline challenges TAs may experience and suggest how those will affect, or are affected by, your teaching persona. Whether you are just starting your teaching journey or have years of experience, this session offers valuable insights into how to flexibly adapt your existing strategy or create a new one.

Presenters: Teaching Mentors:  Steven Alvarez, Amanda Kingston, & Marie Shuter

Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom and Beyond - LSB 001

This session will provide new Teaching Assistants (TAs) with key concepts and conversations around AI in education. The session will start with a brief discussion of the broad category of AI and moves into the specific developments in Generative AI (GenAI) and their applications in classrooms. Participants will evaluate selected GenAI tools, engage in demonstrations, and have critical discussions. The session also will include exploring pedagogical frameworks that can help in navigating digital tools for classrooms that can be adopted for GenAI tools. The session concludes with an examination of emerging institutional, national, and global policy responses to AI in education.

Presenters: Teaching Mentors:  Fasika Melese

TAs and their partners/families are welcome to attend this social gathering. Refreshments will be served (please bring a valid picture ID if you wish to drink any alcoholic beverages). A dedicated trolley will run back and forth between the College Place bus stop and the Inn Complete from 4:45 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (as needed)

ITAs and domestic TAs will meet together in small groups. There will be time for conversation and questions.

See room assignments here.

Leaders: Teaching Mentors

Please review the following session descriptions and select one session to attend from 11:00 to 11:55 a.m. and a different session to attend from 12:05 to 1:00 p.m.

Assessments, Grading, and Rubrics – Demystified! - HL 207

Grading doesn’t have to be a guessing game and assessments shouldn’t feel like a mystery. In this session, we’ll walk you through the ins and outs of designing fair, meaningful assignments, grading with clarity and consistency, and creating rubrics that are both easy for students to understand and manageable for you. You'll learn how to provide feedback that actually helps, manage your grading time, and minimize the risk of student complaints like, “My TA is unfair!”

Presenters: Teaching Mentors: Gargi De & Nurzharyn Samigolla

Creating a Successful Work/Life Balance - LSB 001

This session will focus on strategies to develop a healthy work-life balance as a graduate student, Teaching Assistant, researcher, and practicing human being. We will discuss and work through real-life scenarios and learn about practical strategies you can implement at any point during your years at Syracuse University and (hopefully) beyond.

Presenters: Teaching Mentors: Ben Valen, Eleanor Czajkowski, & Erika Arias

What to do on your First Day/Week - Lyman 132

Do you recall your first day of class as a college student? There was an instructor, a presentation, and maybe an icebreaker. Now, the roles have reversed, and here you are; it's your first day of class, and you are the instructor. If you're feeling anxious about your first day and unsure about what to do, this session is for you! In this session, we will provide a broad overview of how to prepare and have a successful first day and week. We will cover icebreakers, prep work before your first day, an example "run of show," and other valuable insight to help your first day and week run smoothly.

Presenters: Teaching Mentors: Minnie McMillian & Bo Jian

Teaching Controversial Topics - HBC 032-Kittredge Aud.

College teaching often involves addressing topics and debates that evoke strong emotions and reactions like race, gender, immigration, religion, and evolution. While these conversations can be uncomfortable in some classroom settings, they are essential for fostering critical thinking and preparing students to engage thoughtfully with the complexities of the real world. In this session, presenters will share their experiences and strategies for teaching controversial topics. Using practical examples and possible classroom scenarios, they will explore how to sustain respectful dialogue, navigate challenging dynamics, and support students from diverse backgrounds, perspectives, affiliations, and orientations.

Presenters: Teaching Mentor: Morgan Shaw, Vatya Raina, & David Okanlawon

Lunch will be provided for all orientation participants. Please remember to bring your meal coupon.

TAs will meet together in small groups for the microteaching exercise - a practice teaching exercise. The five-minute presentation that you prepared prior to your arrival at TA Orientation will be recorded and critiqued in a constructive and supportive manner by your Teaching Mentor and small group.

See room assignments here.

Leaders: Teaching Mentors