Self-Direct Learning

Be honest and confident in your knowledge and skills. The following resources are designed to help you address gaps in your knowledge or to respond to new career opportunities.

  • Teaching Assistant Training Program

    The Teaching Assistant Training Program is a hands-on, two-and-a-half- day session taught by current Teaching Assistants (TAs) and designed for new TAs embarking on their teaching careers. Learn about fair grading practices, diversity in the classroom, lecturing, and giving students feedback on written work. Choose from concurrent sessions designed to meet your specific discipline-related teaching needs such as vocal health for lecturers or using small group discussion methods in the classroom for tutorial leaders. Get real-time, hands-on teaching experience in our unique micro-teaching sessions, where you can try out your teaching skills and techniques with a small group of your peers and receive helpful, constructive feedback. At the end of the session, you’ll receive a certificate as evidence of your commitment to the development of your knowledge and skill as a teacher.

  • Teaching & Learning in Higher Education: Active Learning

    Use active learning to spark the interests of your students by creating a more engaging learning experience. This online module explains the benefits of active learning, provides a number of active learning strategies and shares ways to evaluate the effectiveness of various active learning activities.

  • Future Prof Series

    These interactive seminars for future professors and professionals provide valuable insight into teaching and career-strategies across the disciplines. The workshops in this series are constantly evolving to meet the current interests of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.

  • Teaching Mentor Program

    The Teaching Mentor Program is a unique opportunity for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars to receive feedback on their teaching and classroom management approaches from peers in their own teaching environment. Four to five participants will work together and visit each other’s classes, tutorials or labs* over the course of the semester.

  • Advanced Teaching Program

    The Advanced Teaching Program (ATP) is a 20-hour short course designed for advanced graduate students who would like to develop practical teaching skills for current and future teaching roles. Topics include course design strategies, active learning, authentic assessment of student learning, and maintaining a culture of respect and community in the classroom. Participants gain hands-on experience by practicing instructional techniques in microteaching sessions where they receive constructive feedback from peers and an experienced team of instructors. Participants also design a workshop on teaching in their discipline. Graduates of the program have the opportunity to submit their capstone projects for publication in the Teaching Innovation Projects Journal.

  • TA Day: Graduate Student Conference on Teaching

    This one-day conference introduces graduate students to teaching at Western and helps prepare them for their roles as Teaching Assistants. Conference highlights include a keynote presentation by an award-winning faculty member and a panel of experienced Teaching Assistants from across the disciplines. Participants choose from a variety concurrent workshops that focus on different teaching topics including: facilitating discussions, managing difficult situations, communication strategies, and more. Graduate students also have the opportunity to hear from key campus partners including Western Libraries, the Writing Support Centre, Learning Skills Services, the Wellness Education Centre, the TA Union (PSAC Local 610), and the Society of Graduate Students.