Presentation at the meeting of the Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy, Blacksburg, VA.

As departments manage the opportunities and challenges of introducing new graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) to the expectations of their positions, developing training opportunities to facilitate their successful transition to the classroom as first time college teachers has become increasingly important. However, while many departments employ GTAs within their programs, formal orientation beyond that provided by the university’s graduate school is often limited. This interactive presentation will discuss the weeklong orientation program developed by the Virginia Tech Department of Communication, specifically highlighting the topics covered during our presemester orientation, how we incorporate weekly team meetings to offer continued support and explore common challenges, as well as the creation of mentorships between first and second year GTAs. Participants of this practice session will engage in a lively discussion of common scenarios applicable to the initial experience of GTAs across departments and universities, and explore training materials and teaching techniques through various forms of active audience participation. Second year graduate students will give their perspective on the success of orientation and weekly training meetings as preparation for first-time teachers, discussing both their experience as first semester GTAs as well as their newfound role as mentors to the new cohort of GTAs. Additionally, assessment of the training mechanisms from the director’s, student’s and department’s perspectives will also be discussed.