Dr. Kazi Abdur Rouf Social Economy Centre Paper presented to the

1. Moving towards democratic classrooms for the students at the University of Toronto through Teaching Assistant Workshops: The Centre for Teaching Support and Innovation (CTSI), University of Toronto. Dr. KaziAbdurRouf Social Economy Centre Paper presented to the 12th Annual Dean’s Graduate Student Research Conference Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) University of Toronto. March 22-23, 2012

2. Objectives of CTSI Workshops CTSI organizing teaching assistant teaching sessions called “Teaching Assistants Training Program” (TATP) since 2002 Average number of participants are 30 The U f T Scarborough campus and U f T Mississauga campus also facilitate some teaching learning workshops for TATP For the promotion of democratic classroom learning to U f T students. To prepare TAs and students to be democratic in their practices of teaching and learning. To facilitate peer teaching and peer learning process among students.

3. CTSI University of Toronto workshops in Fall 2011 CTSI facilitated 17 workshops in Fall 2011 The researcher attended 11 of them. CTSI workshops held from September 2011 to November 2011. In Winter many e-learning/practicing workshops like On line Black Board E-grade centre (grade recording) and Power point slides presentations.

4. Strategies to facilitate TAs workshops TATP workshops discussions and exercises were in the form of Group conversations and dialogue Collaborative learning among TAs and the graduate students.

5. TAPA workshop series TAPA workshop series themes were : Your first class Icebreakers: getting to know your class Elements of effective lesson planning Responding to student diversity Supporting and developing blackboard techniques Blackboard grade centre PowerPoint and classroom presentations Great expectations: a workshop on marking papers in humanities and social sciences

6. TAPA workshop series, continued -2 Dealing with students in difficulty Fostering academic integrity What do I do if I don’t know the answers? Making the syllabus work for TAs and the students Questioning techniques Demystifying library research Preparing the teaching dossier Syllabus clinic: designing TAs’ Syllabus as a learning tool Microteaching sessions

7. Descriptions of group discussion Great expectations Standards of techniques marking students Dealing with students in difficulty Focuses on how to identify, engage, refer and manage students who may be challenging Fostering academic integrity Discusses about various academic policies, issues like plagiarism PowerPoint and classroom presentations Introduces participants to the basics of preparing and Using PowerPoint. Demystifying library research Ref-works Scholarly article search Library book search

8. Descriptions of group discussion, continued-2 Preparing teaching dossiers A comprehensive record of teaching activities and accomplishments of TAs and instructors What do I do if I don’t know the answer? Clarifies subject matters the TAs are not confident teaching. Making TAs’ syllabi work for them and for their students How syllabi can help guide student learning and serve as an effective course management tool. Syllabus clinic: Designing/redesigning syllabus Participants work in small groups to review and assess each other’s syllabi. Microteaching sessions A group of TAs and an instructor get together in a classroom. Each TA presents a short (5-7 minutes) lesson on a topic has taught or will be teaching

9. Types of group discussions in the classrooms Buzz group discussions Groups of four or five students discuss issues from their course material Poster tour groups Students tour the classroom Discuss subjects on the flip charts or posters displayed on the classroom walls Snowballing discussions Social Economy Centre (SEC) workshops: students are rotating and progressively expanding their groups Students prepare a question alone Discuss it with their group partners Then join another pairs to form new groups Cocktail party group: popular at OISE Students or teachers voluntarily bring food to the classroom Make the classroom discussions very lively jigsaw discussion Students become “experts” by researching a topic, Explain it to other students in class

10. Types of group discussion, continued -2 Critical class debate sessions Students take an informal vote on a contentious issue. Then asked to form a debating team favoring the opposite side Debate style discussion Line-up or “Stand Where You Stand” Theatre based non-violence communication Drawing Discussion” Students are supplied with flip chart sheets, pens, rulers, scissors and tape Asked to provide a visual representation of the important themes in their discussions. Teller program group discussion Students get ideas from their classmates about their works Play card discussions Blackboard/Mail/Online Discussion

11. Feedback on TATP workshops CTSI workshops encouraged lively two-way interactions Facilitated democratic teaching exercises Lively discussions Exchanges between facilitators and students/participants After the workshops, participants (TAs) become open, flexible and democratic) Many mature TAs had attended who had different learning styles CTSI should be aware of the adult learning strategies Better if TAs talk less and facilitate adult students’ conversations Facilitate more dialogue process for democratic discussion

12. TAs might face challenges Address the possibility for tension arising from ethnic, cultural, social class and gender differences Attentive to handling sensitive discussions Review how to balance the voices of students Preserving the moral, political and pedagogic integrity of discussion Make a safe space for everyone to discuss through ground rules Questions arise about the grading of the assignments TAs should monitor students’ progress/regress in their different assignments

13. TA Manual TA manual could help TAs get everything together in a one-stop information site The University of California Los Angles (U of CLA) has a TA training manual Consists of formal training, apprenticeship and situation-based components U f T could develop a manual The handbook could be developed through regular discussion in classrooms. Lesson plan TAs can develop a weekly class preparation plan Prioritizing goals Class discussion plans and class lecture plans.

14. Deal with students with physical disabilities TAs should be aware about the issues with students with disabilities and provide them with information TAs may identify disruptive students at the beginning Face the situation diplomatically and inform the instructor Know emergency contact number Report it to security personnel if necessary

15. Conclusion As students’ numbers are increasing at the U of T and many TAs are recruited by the University, the CTSI training is very important for development of TAs for democratic learning environment in the classrooms.

16. Questions/Suggestions Thank you