Dear colleagues,
In trying to implement Writing-Intensive courses at SFU across the
disciplines at both the lower and upper division, we are also figuring out
how to prepare the TAs who are working with faculty in large first year
courses. We've instituted a reduction in tutorial size to 15 with each TA
having a maximum of 3 sections in a course, but the question of preparation
continues to be a challenge. Hiring practices governed by the union prevent
our seeking out TAs who are a bit along in their course work and have some
experience of teaching, so most are entering graduate students who are
assigned TA-ships as a source of funding.
While we can't do much about that at the moment, we can require that they
have some pre-W-course training to help them handle the instruction and
responding to writing for which they are largely responsible. Since we no
longer have a writing centre to which students can go for individual help,
the TAs are not operating in a one-on-one tutoring context - they are
working with groups on writing in content courses.
We' re wondering how others of you work with TAs and do this training:
When? how much time? in what contexts? how many TAs at a time, in a
workshop setting? do you have programs or courses within or outside
departments? are these credit or non-credit? required or voluntary? are
tehy designed for overall teaching training or focusing on writing? with
what results?
I'm looking at US institutions as well since there is a long-established
tradition there of preparing TAs who work in the first year composition
courses but I'm hoping there is a bank of Canadian models to draw on. And I
know this is the place to go to find out!
Many thanks for any ideas and information,
Wendy
Wendy Strachan PhD.
Director, Centre for Writing-Intensive Learning
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6
Office: AQ 6205
Tel: 604-291-3122
Fax: 604-268-6915
email: [log in to unmask]
http://www.sfu.ca/cwil
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