Teaching Assistant (TA) Training
At Rice University, teaching assistants (TAs) play an important role in the success of many of the university’s courses. Serving as a teaching assistant provides numerous benefits to the students and faculty as well as the graduate student taking on this role. Directly assisting, working with, and teaching undergraduates brings both rewards and responsibilities. The CTE’s Teaching Assistant training is designed to provide students who are currently TAs or plan to be TAs in the future with the basic information about laws, institutional policies, and best practices that pertain to their work in this role. Policies covered in the training include the following:
- Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
- American with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Title IX
- Rice Policy on Sexual or Romantic Relationships in the Educational or Workplace Environment
- The Honor Code
In addition, the training provides optional resources and guidance on a variety of teaching topics relevant to TAs.
The training is hosted online in an asynchronous, self-paced format. Students are welcome to enroll in the training at any time.
Graduate Instructor of Record (GIR) Training
In addition to the Graduate Instructor of Record Orientation hosted each semester, the CTE provides a free online training course for Graduate Instructors of Record. This course provides an introduction to teaching at Rice, covers key laws and policies, and offers resources on evidence-based teaching strategies, including the following:
- Designing a syllabus
- Designing and presenting lectures
- Facilitating discussions
- Active learning
- Inclusive teaching
- Grading student work
- Teaching with technology
The training is hosted online in an asynchronous, self-paced format. Students are welcome to enroll in the training at any time.
Adaptive Course Design Institute
Do you want to learn more about how to make your course more flexible, engaging, and equitable for different teaching and learning contexts? Register for the CTE’s Self-Paced Adaptive Course Design Institute.
Who is it for?
The Self-Paced Adaptive Course Design Institute is designed for Rice instructors who plan on teaching their courses in-person, remotely, and/or in a dual-learning mode of delivery. The Institute is open to all Rice instructors from all academic disciplines.
What is it?
The Self-Paced Adaptive Course Design Institute provides instructors with access to a Canvas course with readings, resources, and planning activities to help you refine and revise your course materials for remote, asynchronous, and face-to-face students. By the end of the Self-Paced Adaptive Course Design Institute, participants will be able to:
- Articulate their approach to a dual-learning, online, and/or in-person course format
- Develop a course design that is adaptable to the changing context of teaching and learning
- Apply the principles of backward design to make their course flexible, equitable, and learner-centered
- Modify, design, or re-design learning activities and assessments that provide equitable and equivalent learning experiences for a) in-person classes under social-distancing conditions and b) students in synchronous and asynchronous online delivery modes
- Identify ways of effectively organizing an adaptive course and of managing course administration
The materials and activities can be accessed at any time allowing instructors to work at their own pace. You can register for and start the self-paced Institute at any time.
If you have any questions please contact us at cte@rice.edu.