The Teaching Assistant Institute is open to all those with graduate teaching assistant, research assistant, or staff assistant appointments at NIU during the semester it is offered.
Spring 2024 Teaching Assistant Institute
Fully online starting January 8, 2024
Overview
The Spring Teaching Assistant Institute is a re-mix of pre-recorded videos and recordings of live sessions offered in the fall institute, plus asynchronous activities to promote connection and community. While there are core requirements that everyone must complete, you will also be able to choose from a selection of elective activities based on your experience and role.
The spring institute is an opportunity for new TAs or those who could not attend in the fall. The content is the same, so those who attended in the fall do not need to participate again.
Recordings of Live Sessions
The fall institute featured live presentations and discussions. In the spring institute, you can review the recordings of these sessions and post any questions to the discussion board where a facilitator will answer them or connect you with the right resource at NIU.
Session topics:
- Supporting Student Success
- Culturally Responsive Teaching
- Preparing to Work with Students
- Q&A with a panel of experienced TAs
Recorded Modules
The recorded modules offer an overview of key resources available at NIU or techniques to use when you work with your students. There are two types of modules - Core and Elective. Together, these should require about two hours to complete.
Sample module topics include: Reducing Barriers for Students with Disabilities, Assisting Students with Mental Health Concerns, Imposter Syndrome, Communicating Effectively, Engaging with Students via Web Conferencing, Supporting Success in Gateway Courses, Supporting First Generation Students, and more.
Certificate of Completion
You will receive a certificate of completion if you watch the recordings of the three "live" sessions and watch the required and elective modules. While completion of the TA Institute is encouraged, it is not required by the university. It may, however, be required by your department. Check with your supervisor to determine whether you are required to receive a certificate of completion for the TA Institute.
Registration Information
This institute is open to all graduate teaching assistants, research assistants, and staff assistants at NIU. The institute is designed for new graduate assistants, but continuing graduate assistants are welcome to attend. The sessions cover general teaching and teaching-related responsibilities which are applicable to all disciplines; individual departments may provide more detailed discipline-specific training.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions? View answers to commonly asked questions below.
Attendance FAQs
The Teaching Assistant Institute is designed for new graduate assistants at NIU who need a basic overview of teaching and teaching-related responsibilities, policies, and campus support resources. Returning graduate assistants are also welcome to attend to refresh their knowledge about teaching and related issues.
The Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning does not require graduate assistants to attend the Teaching Assistant Institute. However, participating in the institute may be required by some departments on campus. Check with your department about participation requirements.
While we strive to ensure that the Teaching Assistant Institute is relevant and up-to-date, the majority of the content remains the same each year. The Keynote session is changed periodically and new topics are added to the recorded modules, however, so returning graduate teaching assistants should find something new and relevant to them.
We understand that the week before classes is busy for many graduate assistants. We encourage you to attend as many of the live sessions as possible, but there will be recordings available, if you are not able to attend live. You must attend live or watch the recording for your participation to be recorded. Please note that certificates of completion are only awarded if you have participated in or watched the recording for each of the live sessions and watched the core and elective modules. Participation and completion will be reported to your department.
All of the live sessions will be recorded, and the modules will be available on an ongoing basis. If you are hired after the Teaching Assistant Institute has begun, you can still register; you will have access to the Institute within 2 business days.
Yes, attendance at the Teaching Assistant Institute is one of the requirements to receive the Graduate Teaching Certificate offered by the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. You will also have to attend 5 additional workshops offered by the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. Attending one day-long workshop can be substituted for two of the required five workshops. Learn more about the Graduate Teaching Certificate.
You will need a computer with speakers or headphones for the live sessions, or a smartphone (Android or iOS). You will need a webcam or microphone to share your audio or video with other participants, but this is not required. There is a text chat for discussion if you do not have a microphone built in to your computer or headphones. You will also need a reliable Internet connection.
You may be able to come to campus to connect to the Institute if you do not have a reliable Internet connection at home. Check with your supervisor to find out if there is an office space that you can use, or find a space in the Holmes Student Center or Founders Memorial Library.
You may be able to come to campus to connect to the live sessions. Check with your supervisor to find out if there is an office space that you can use, or find a space in the Holmes Student Center or Founders Memorial Library.
There is no fee for attending the Teaching Assistant Institute; the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning offers the institute free of charge.
No, parking permits are not issued for attending the TA Institute. You may attend most of the sessions from anywhere, so you do not have to come to campus to attend the TA Institute.
If you plan to attend the in-person networking session during the Fall offering or you need to be on campus to have a reliable Internet connection, you can park in the visitor pay lot located on Carroll Avenue for a fee for the day. Alternatively, you can purchase the appropriate parking permit for the following academic year or semester from Campus Parking Services and use it to park in the parking deck located on Normal Road or any of the approved lots. For more information, visit the Campus Parking Services website.
You may attend most of the TA Institute sessions from anywhere, so you do not have to come to campus to attend the TA Institute. If you plan to attend the in-person networking session or you need to be on campus to have a reliable Internet connection, you can park in the visitor pay lot located on Carroll Avenue for a fee for the day. Alternatively, you can purchase the appropriate parking permit for the following academic year or semester from Campus Parking Services and use it to park in the parking deck located on Normal Road or any of the approved lots. For more information, visit the Campus Parking Services website.
Light refreshments will be available at the in-person networking session. The menu has not been finalized at this time, but it will include gluten-free and vegan options.
The live sessions of the TA Institute will be recorded for you to review in the Blackboard Course for the TA Institute. You will have access to this course for at least a year. There may be a 24-48 hour delay before the recording is made available.
The in-person networking session will neither be streamed nor recorded. Attendance at this session is optional.
Yes, if the presenters have made any handouts or resources available, they will be shared in the Blackboard Course for the TA Institute. You will have access to this course for at least a year.
Registration FAQs
Registration is open. You will need to know your NIU account ID (such as your Z-ID) and NIU email address to register. Learn more about your ID and password. Register Now!
If you are no longer required to attend, we encourage you to still access the Institute to determine whether the content might still be valuable for you, in which case there is no need to cancel.
If you will be unable to attend and wish to be removed from the registration list so that you do not receive any communication about the event, please email us at citl@niu.edu.
In the past, the Teaching Assistant Institute was scheduled to occur after classes started. However, overwhelming feedback received from graduate assistants indicated that it would be more convenient before the semester began. TAs found it difficult to attend the institute after classes started because of schedule conflicts. TAs also stated that they would like to have the information presented at the Teaching Assistant Institute before they started teaching or providing teaching-related support. This is why the institute is scheduled during the week before classes start and between other programs scheduled for faculty.
If you don't currently have an appointment because your department is waiting until after the semester begins, you can still register and participate in the institute.
Agenda FAQs
The Teaching Assistant Institute introduces graduate teaching assistants to basic principles of teaching and related responsibilities that are applicable to all disciplines. Session presenters will also share information about campus support resources.
Yes, the Teaching Assistant Institute is relevant for all graduate assistants at NIU, including graders, tutors, research assistants, and staff assistants. The live sessions and core modules will provide valuable information about working with students regardless of your role. The elective modules will allow you to choose topics that are relevant to your specific responsibilities.
The Teaching Assistant Institute sessions are presented by faculty, administrators, and staff who have considerable experience and expertise on the various topics covered by the sessions. They volunteer their time and effort to present the sessions and prepare graduate assistants for their responsibilities.
The requirements of being a graduate assistant certainly differ by department, but the majority of the basic information graduate assistants need to be successful is the same, regardless of department or type of assistantship. The Teaching Assistant Institute is designed to give all graduate assistants an overview of the requirements of being a GA; it is up to individual departments to communicate and train their graduate assistants on their own discipline-specific expectations. Please check with your department for discipline-specific training for graduate assistants.
Hands-on technology workshops require more time than can be accommodated as part of the full agenda of programming, and the technologies that TAs need to learn vary widely be department and teaching modality. Instead of including hands-on technology workshops during the TA Institute, we encourage you to attend any of the upcoming programs that are available for graduate teaching assistants. These programs also count toward the Graduate Teaching Certificate.
Certificate FAQs
Along with useful information presented at the sessions and opportunities to network with graduate assistants from other disciplines, registered participants will receive institute materials and a certificate of completion.
Certificates of completion are awarded to all participants who attend all of the live sessions (or watch the recordings), view all of the core modules, and complete the required number of elective modules.
Your certificate will be sent to you via email within a few weeks of the Teaching Assistant Institute