2021 Teaching Conference

We look forward to your participation in the 2021 Teaching Conference on Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021! 

September 22, 2021, 10:00 - 11:30 am on Zoom

Information and plans have also been shared with incoming graduate students via email.

Please note that the Teaching Conference is a required component of Graduate Orientation and trains you to be a TA at Caltech. It is also a valuable professional development activity as it addresses aspects of professional teaching, mentoring, and communication that are more broadly applicable to your graduate career. All incoming graduate students should plan to participate in the Teaching Conference.

This conference is held annually - please find plentiful resources and information from previous Teaching Conferences here.

The 2021 Teaching Conference has three required components:

1) Complete the online module about Caltech's teaching policies

To self-enroll in the online policies module, please follow these steps:
a) Using Firefox, Chrome or Internet Explorer, with pop-ups enabled, log-in using your Caltech credentials here. (The MyLearn application is also available via access.caltech.edu, under the "Self Service" heading).

b) From the MyLearn homepage, enter "teaching" in the search box in the upper right hand corner of the window to find the course entitled "Caltech Policies for Teaching Assistants".

c) Click on the "Launch Course" button next to the course name.

Note: instructions with screenshots can be found here.

2) Watch at least four of these videos featuring experienced Caltech TAs *before* the day of the Teaching Conference

Image Lightbox

Download Full Image

• Inclusive Classrooms (Video, PDF of Slides, Video Transcript)
• Effective Recitations (Video, PDF of Slides, Video Transcript)
• Leading Successful (and Popular!) Office Hours (Video, PDF of Slides, Video Transcript)
• Fair Grading and Effective Feedback (Video, PDF of Slides, Video Transcript, Bonus Handout)
• Life as a (Remote and/or In-Person!) Lab TA (Video, PDF of Slides, Video Transcript)
• Engaging Students via Active Learning (Video, PDF of Slides, Video Transcript)
• Classroom Communication for International TAs and Others (Video, PDF of Slides, Video Transcript)
• Your First Class: Setting the Tone and Building Rapport with your Students (Video, PDF of Slides, Video Transcript)
  

3) Attend the Teaching Conference live on September 22nd, 10 - 11:30 am PDT

• We'll start with a welcome from the Center for Teaching, Learning and Outreach (CTLO) and the Caltech Project for Effective Teaching (CPET). We'll then break into small group discussions and demos, which will be facilitated by experienced teaching assistants. You should have received an email from the CTLO with all pertinent information - please reach out to us if you have not yet received this email!

More Resources for Teaching Assistants and Graduate Students Interested in Teaching

Check out the following:

• 2021-22 TA Short Guide to Key Resources: a handy guide to academic and non-academic resources to keep nearby while you are TA'ing
• Remote Teaching at Caltech: resources, guides to technology and tools, many more videos!
• Remote Learning at Caltech: resources, guides to technology and tools
• TA Handbook: an official guide to TA'ing at Caltech.
• Caltech Project for Effective Teaching (CPET): Find out more about CPET, a graduate student-led initiative dedicated to improving Caltech graduate students and post-docs' teaching skills.
• CPET Certificate Programs: Find out more about the CPET Certificate of Interest in University Teaching and the CPET Certificate of Practice in University Teaching.
• E110 Principles of University Teaching and Learning in STEM:  This graduate course examines the research on university-level STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) teaching and learning. It will be offered in Winter 2022 and Spring 2022. 
• Instructional Technology at Caltech - A Brief Tour for Instructors and TAs: This brief tour highlights Caltech's instructional technology landscape, including (1) Choosing technology in support of learning, (2) the Canvas learning management system, and (3) Other supported tools.
• CTLO K-12 Outreach Approach: An explanation of CTLO's educational outreach approach and priorities, including who our community partners are and how outreach benefits the Caltech community in return.
• CTLO K-12 Outreach Programs: A list of educational outreach programs conducted by CTLO with local K-12 partners that Caltech graduate students may participate in.
• CTLO Outreach Resources: How to develop, fund and implement outreach programs.
• Caltech Educational Outreach YouTube Channel: Mentored high school summer research presentations, elementary classroom lessons, and video STEM demonstrations from CTLO Outreach participants.
• Outreach Interest form: Let CTLO's Outreach team know what your outreach interests are, and sign up to receive our monthly outreach newsletter.

Thank you! The CTLO would like to thank our dedicated team of graduate students, post-docs, staff and faculty who contributed to the 2021 Teaching Conference.