Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) Information

Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) make an important contribution to the quality of undergraduate and graduate education at Western University. GTAs inspire, encourage, and guide students who embark on a learning journey in hundreds of programs in our 11 Faculties across campus. 

Employment of full-time registered graduate students as graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) is governed by the provisions of The Collective Agreement between The University of Western Ontario and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), in accordance with the PSAC Collective Agreement for GTAs.

Some information and resources are provided below

How to become a Graduate Teaching Assistant:

What is the process for assigning GTAs in the Faculty of Engineering?

  • Approximately 2 months prior to an academic term, students are given the opportunity to provide their preferences for graduate teaching assistantship assignments for the upcoming term, in accordance with Article 13.02.
  • Student preferences are  reviewed by the hiring units of those courses and GTA assignments are assigned, following the procedure set forth by individual departments.
  • Hiring units make offerings using the GTA Offer Generator provided by SGPS, typically no later than one month prior to the start of the academic term. Students who receive the GTA offer are  required to accept or decline their offer within two weeks of the offer date.

Am I Eligible?

Eligibility for a GTA appointment:

  • Only full-time registered graduate students are eligible to hold a GTA appointment at Western University. Priority is given to those students who are within the funding eligibility period.
  • Students who were hired as GTA in the past academic year as per the GTA hours obligation (they must still be within the funding eligibility period)

Request for GTA Appointment Outside of Western Engineering

  • Engineering Graduate Students who are offered GTA position outside of Engineering are required to seek approval from their home department prior to accepting the GTA offer to ensure compliance with SGPS regulations pertaining to GTA appointments. Please see Request for GTA Appointment Outside of Western University Form. 

Roles of a Teaching Assistant:

Marking

A survey of Western University GTAs revealed that 100% of teaching assistants will mark at some point in their university careers. Marking can be daunting, but preparation and endurance can get you through.

Facilitating Labs

TAing a laboratory course, whether in the sciences, engineering, mathematics, computer sciences or even social sciences, can be a challenging and rewarding teaching experience. Lab GTA's primary responsibilities are in laboratories, providing pre-lab talks and assisting students in-lab with experiments or assignments.

Teaching Tutorials/Leading Discussions

As a GTA in any number of faculties you may find yourself in the role of a tutorial or discussion facilitator. Tutorials are often assignment driven and are an opportunity for students to ask questions and attempt problems they were not able to in larger lecture sections. Discussion classes are usually associated with arts and humanities, social sciences and education lecture courses with heavy reading. Discussion classes are also an opportunity for students to ask questions and discuss both about lecture topics and course readings.

Proctoring Tests and Exams

Be sure you are familiar with your role as a proctor and the rules for your students.

Preparing for your GTA Role:

Before the Semester:

The following resources will help you prepare for your GTA role, plan out your semester, and make the most of your first class.

Get Certified

Make sure you have all necessary certification. For example, all employees (including graduate Teaching Assistants) must have at the least:

Your specific role in labs may require additional certificates. Please visit Human Resources to learn more.

Know your contacts, your room and your technology

Seek Guidance

Build a community with other TAs

  • Speak with the course instructor or your supervisor if you have any questions
  • By participating in Centre for Teaching and Learning programming, you will meet Western TAs from departments across the university

Making the Most of the 1st Day of Class

Your first class is your opportunity to introduce yourself to your students, build community among your students and introduce the course and classroom guidelines. Explore the resources listed below for planning out a great first day.

General Skills to Teach Undergrad Students

  • Writing Support Handouts: explanations and examples of university appropriate English language grammar and style from the Writing Support Centre
  • Skill Building Handouts: information and tools for student success on academic skills, time management strategies, memory and thinking skills, and exams.

Additional Resources

Post-Course Reflection and Portfolio Building

Recognize your Success and Keep Growing

  • A teaching journal allows you to reflect on the course and your role and is an excellent resource to return to year after year. Think about: what worked in a course? What were great teaching examples? What would you do differently? Also keep note of your specific contribution to the course
  • Create a Smile File: a physical or digital folder where you keep outstanding feedback, thank you notes from students and other evidence of your excellence as a teacher!
  • Submit successful teaching strategy to Great Ideas in Teaching, our annual teaching assistant award competition
  • Register for advanced program such as ATP or SGPS 9500
  • Register for the Teaching Mentor Program
  • Remind course instructor to tell students about TA Awards

Write a Teaching Philosophy Statement

You can begin building your Teaching Philosophy Statement by reflecting on your teaching pedagogy and using concrete examples from your TA teaching experience.

  • Guidelines for Preparing a Teaching Dossier
  • Tips on writing Teaching Philosophy Statements
  • Watch for our annual workshops on Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement and Building a Teaching Dossier through our Future Prof Series
  • Think about all the activities and roles you completed as a TA (e.g. were you on time for office hours? Did you give written feedback on assignments? Did you ask questions of students to help guide them in labs?) and relate these to your teaching philosophy.This will give you some concrete teaching strategies you can draw on for your teaching philosophy even if you haven’t taught a class.

Keep Syllabi

Keep a folder of syllabi for courses in which you have been a Teaching Assistant. You can include these in the appendix of your Teaching Dossier. These documents are also a great resource to reference when you start to design your own course outlines. Consider annotating your copies of the syllabi by taking notes on your classroom activities, taking photos of classroom activities, and keeping copies of great student work (with persmissison, of course).

Additional Opportunities

  • Give a guest lecture: Ask the course instructor if you can give a guest lecture for the course. This experience is valuable for professional development as an educator and can be documented in your Teaching Dossier.
  • Assist in Assessment Design: Ask the course instructor if you can contribute test questions or assignment ideas. This is a great teaching experience and can also be documented in your Teaching Dossier.
  • Request Feedback: Ask the course instructor or a colleague to sit in on your tutorial/lab/guest lecture and provide you with written and verbal feedback. If you are interested in additional colleague feedback, sign-up for the Teaching Mentor Program to receive further verbal and written feedback on your teaching.

Useful Online Resources

Centre for Teaching and Learning

For more information please visit the Centre for Teaching and Learning. 

Examination and Protoring

Examination and Proctoring Guidelines at Western - Administration of Examinations (Academic Calendar 2021)

Career Development

Career Development is the result of a campus wide collaboration including the CTL, SGPS, Writing Studies, Academic and Learning Support, the Student Success Centre, Wellness and Equity Education, the International Exchange and Student Centre, Western Libraries and SOGS.

For more information, please visit the Career Development page.

MyGradSkills

MyGradSkills is a resource available to Western graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to enhance their professional skills so that they can succeed during their studies and research. It includes over 18 free self-paced, online modules on a range of topics including: teaching & learning, career development, community engagement, entrepreneurship and more! To access modules, you must register with your western e-mail.

For more information, please visit the MyGradSkills Website.