Join us for the 2024 IU Indianapolis TA Orientation!
Calling all new teaching assistants! (Or current TAs who want to brush up on fundamentals)
TA Orientation (both the in-person event and the online Canvas course) is required for all first-time TAs. For more information, please see the FAQs.
At the TA Orientation, you will…
Learn about the expectations and responsibilities associated with your specific teaching role in an online and face-to-face class.
Develop strategies to confidently and effectively interact with faculty and undergraduate students.
Meet and build relationships with other new and experienced TAs at IU Indianapolis
Integrate inclusive and equitable practices throughout your TA experiences.
Identify campus resources that can provide both you and your students with educational and personal assistance.
The 2024 TA Orientation will consist of an in-person Event and an online Canvas course. You must attend both the in-person session and complete the online modules in order to successfully complete the TA orientation.
2024 TA Orientation
Event Details & Registration
The in-person event, led by experienced TAs, CTL staff, and faculty members, features a combination of whole group sessions that focus on strategies for creating inclusive learning environments and breakout sessions which address topics and challenges specific to primary instructors, recitation leaders, lab instructors, and graders.
The online Canvas Course introduces graduate students to policies, procedures, and campus resources relevant to their teaching roles. The course also features additional modules on using the university library and being an international TA.
The in-person event will be held on Thursday, August 22, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and includes lunch for participants. The Online Canvas Course will open on August 2nd, with its modules available for completion until August 31st.
We understand how important it is to save dates as soon as possible and invite departments to plan ahead for future TA Orientations. Here are the dates of TA Orientation for the next five years:
August 22, 2025
August 21, 2026
August 20, 2027
August 18, 2028
August 17, 2029
Frequently Asked Questions
New and current IU Indianapolis graduate and undergraduate students with first-time teaching responsibilities during the fall, spring, or summer semesters of the current academic year should attend both the in-person TA Orientation and complete the Canvas TA Orientation course. If you plan to teach at any point in your graduate career, even if you are not teaching in your first year, we recommend that you complete the TA Orientation.
Teaching responsibilities can include being primary instructors, recitation leaders, lab instructors, or graders.
Note: Indiana University Indianapolis-Fort Wayne-Columbus Faculty Council has decided in 2023 to require students in their first year of teaching to complete the hybrid TA Orientation, including the Canvas course and the in-person orientation.
Registration requires using your IU username and password through the CAS login system. Please have Two-Step Login (Duo) set up for your IU account to successfully login to the CAS system and access the registration page.
The TA Orientation is offered at the start of the current academic year. The session is held on the Thursday before the fall semester classes begin. Note: Academic year starts in the fall semester and ends with the summer semester.
The in-person session for 2024 will be held on Thursday, August 22, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Campus Center.
Graduate students expecting to be first-time TAs in the fall, spring, or summer semester of the current academic year should attend the TA Orientation. If you will not have a TA role this year but hope to do so at some point in your graduate career, you should still participate in TA Orientation. Please check with your department to confirm if you need to attend. If you are unsure about your role, please contact the organizers to determine which breakout session is best suited for you.
PowerPoint presentations and recordings of select sessions from the TA Orientation will be made available in the Canvas course after the event; however, the entire event is not recorded.
Note: Graduate students who miss the TA Orientation will have to discuss next steps with their respective departments. Apart from providing online resources from the TA Orientation, the CTL does not conduct make-up orientations.
A post-event email will sent to all attendees after the in-person TA Orientation event. This post-event email can be submitted as proof of attendance to program coordinators in departments that require mandatory attendance of the in-person orientation.
In addition, once you have completed the Canvas course requirements, you will receive a completion certificate.
To verify that you have finished the entire TA Orientation requirements, you should provide both the post-event email and your Canvas completion certificate.
We do not offer a TA Orientation during the spring or summer semesters. Graduate students anticipating to be first-time TAs later in the year should attend the TA Orientation in the prior fall.
For more information, contact:
Boyun Kim
Instructional Design Consultant IU Indianapolis Center for Teaching and Learning boyukim@iu.edu Office: 317-278-0585
Maggie Gilchrist
Instructional Technology Consultant IU Indianapolis Center for Teaching and Learning magilch@iu.edu Office: 317-274-1300
IU Indianapolis Center for Teaching and Learning iuictl@iu.edu Office: 317-274-1300
After TA Orientation, your school or department may require you to participate in teaching workshops, seminars, or yearly programs to refine and deepen your teaching practice.
We offer fall and spring workshops and webinars on various general and discipline-specific teaching topics.
CTL consultants are also available for one-on-one or group consultations to discuss specific teaching challenges and concerns in face-to-face and online classrooms. We also offer consultations to help graduate students with their teaching careers, such as assistance for teaching statements or teaching demos.
Graduate students interested in future faculty positions are encouraged to pursue the Emerging Scholars of College Instruction Program(ESCIP) and participate in various CTL webinars to build strong teaching portfolios.
