The LTO TA/GA Awards

DEADLINE EXTENDED: The deadline for the TA/GA Awards has been extended until 4PM, Monday, May 28th, 2012.

Purpose

The purpose of the Learning & Teaching Office's (LTO's) TA/GA Awards Program is to recognize, promote and reward the contributions that teaching and graduate assistants (TA/GAs) make to enhance the quality of undergraduate student learning experiences at Ryerson.

Background

As the Academic Plan for 2008-2013 states, Ryerson is a place where teaching matters, where graduate student development matters, and where the student experience remains the central and uniting aim of academic activity. The LTO's TA/GA Awards Program lends itself to this mission and supports Ryerson's distinct Faculties, Schools and Departments as they develop their own local TA/GA initiatives.

TA/GAs play a significant role at the university. TA/GAs, as both students and employees, must juggle responsibilities while managing a steep learning curve involved in mastering the complex skills required for marking and running tutorials or labs. In addition, TA/GAs need to remain accountable to both the supervisor's and the students' expectations and work within a contracted number of hours.

These TA/GA Awards, created in collaboration with the Department of Human Resources, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 3904 Unit 3, faculty, staff and TA/GAs themselves, centre on the development of self-directedness in the TA/GA role by emphasizing three criteria: (1) community building, (2) employee relations and (3) the student experience. The Awards Committee (see below) is looking for evidence of the TA/GA's ability to ask questions, discuss complex situations with peers, negotiate expectations with a supervisor, and provide undergraduate students with a high quality educational experience. By encouraging a thoughtful and collaborative approach to the TA/GA role, the LTO's TA/GA Awards program seeks to contribute to Ryerson's academic mission and a higher quality learning and teaching experience for all.

Amount

Each year, up to 5 awards of $500 for TA/GAs will be available.

Eligibility

Nominees must have worked as a teaching assistant or graduate teaching assistant (TA or GA) at Ryerson over the 2011/2012 academic year. Note: Research Assistants (RAs) are not eligible. A person can receive this award only once throughout his/her time at Ryerson. Nominees must not have any affiliation with the Awards Committee that may constitute a conflict of interest.

Nomination Process (see detailed instructions below)

Candidates may nominate themselves or be nominated. To be nominated for a TA/GA award, the nomination package must be received by 4pm on January 27, 2012 (for fall term contracts) or May 25, 2012 (for winter term or full-year contracts). The nomination package must include the following:

1. Nomination form [pdf]
2. Letter of reference from the Supervising Instructor (SI)*
3. Letter of reference from a student
4. Letter of reference from a peer, colleague, or other TA/GA
5. Reflection/portfolio from the TA/GA

* "Supervising Instructor" (SI) is a Faculty member, Instructor, School Director, Department Chair, or Learning Support Coordinator who is responsible for supervising the Assistant in the TA/GA role.

The nomination package, including each of these five components, must be delivered to John Paul Foxe, at the Learning & Teaching Office (KHW 373). The three letters of reference must be in signed, sealed envelopes with the TA/GA's name written on the front.

Criteria

This Awards program reflects the LTO's commitment to educational development. When it comes to the TA/GA role, this means that nominees (whether markers, lab assistants, studio or tutorial leaders) must describe a variety of ways and/or occasions in which they have excelled in the following three criteria:

Community building:

This criterion should be understood in a broad sense, including any number of activities that demonstrate an awareness of education as a collective enterprise. For example, TA/GAs who share ideas, practices, anxieties, strengths, and experiences with other TA/GAs, faculty, or staff, are helping to make learning and teaching happen more effectively within the community. Measuring the efficacy of one's role means reflecting on its purpose and developing that role in relation to others in the community. Community building also means helping others find their roles and operate within them more effectively; this community building may happen by listening to the needs of others and checking-in with them regularly. Some examples of community building include:

• connecting with peers and colleagues (for example, over coffee or lunch)
• participating in TA/GA events, such as Faculty-specific orientations and training sessions
• participating in workshops or events hosted by the LTO
• organizing marking meetings or sharing tutorial lesson plans and approaches
• familiarizing yourself with Ryerson's student services and other resources
• developing communication and interpersonal skills that support exchange and interaction among colleagues, peers etc.

Employee relations:

This criterion refers to the formal requirements of the TA/GA role, focusing on the professional relationship with the supervising instructor, colleagues and students; some areas of consideration here include:

• developing a productive working relationship with the course instructor
• working collaboratively with colleagues (other TA/GAs, librarians, student services staff)
• completing duties on time, keeping open lines of communication
• working within the guidelines of the CUPE 3904 Collective Agreement.

Student experience:

This criterion recognizes that, whether marking or running labs and tutorials, TA/GAs play a critical role in facilitating the undergraduate student experience at Ryerson. Reflecting on ways of enhancing this experience means thinking about pedagogy and may include but is not limited to:

• identifying and supporting student needs
• providing effective feedback on marked assignments
• facilitating discussion that is inclusive and educational
• developing rubrics, lesson plans, learning objectives or other pedagogical tools
• familiarizing oneself with the vast literature on the student experience (for a list of resources see the LTO’s TA/GA website)

Awards Committee

The Awards Committee will be comprised of five members of the Ryerson Graduate Professional Development in Teaching Program Governance Body (two of whom will be Faculty, two of whom will be students, plus Awards Committee Chair, John Paul Foxe, Educational Developer at the LTO), plus a past award recipient, where possible. The Awards Committee must reach a decision by the end of June for that year’s awards. Committee deliberations are confidential. This Awards Program has no connection to the official hiring process for TA/GAs at Ryerson.

Nomination Process Instructions

Please note that any incomplete or late applications will not be considered for this award.

Nomination form:

The nomination template can be downloaded here [pdf]

Letter of reference from the Supervising  Instructor (SI):

Instructions to the referee:
Please include your name, position, departmental association and contact details. All letters of support should be in a signed and sealed envelope with the nominees name clearly written on the front of the envelope. Your letter of reference should include:

1. the nominees name
2. the course(s) for which the nominee acted as a TA/GA
3. the primary duties of the TA/GA (these may include but are not limited to: lab assistant, tutorial/studio leader, marker)
4. a ranking of the TA/GA in one of the following percentiles: top 2%, top 5%, top 10%, top 25%
5. evidence of the TA/GA’s strengths as they relate to the following three criteria (please refer to the Criteria section of the TA/GA Awards announcement for more details, 250 word maximum for each criterion): Community Building, Employee Relations, Student Experience

Letter of reference from a student:

Instructions to the referee:
Please include your name, position, departmental association, capacity in which you are associated with the TA/GA e.g. student of TA/GA and contact details. All letters of reference should be in a signed and sealed envelope with the nominees name clearly written on the front of the envelope. Your letter of support should include:

1. the nominees name
2. evidence of the TA/GA's strengths as they relate to the following three criteria (please refer to the Criteria section of the TA/GA Awards announcement for more details, 250 word maximum for each criterion): Community Building, Employee Relations, Student Experience
3. a description of the impact of the TA/GA on the referee's own learning

Letter of reference from a peer, colleague, or other TA/GA:

Instructions to the referee:
Please include your name, position, departmental association, capacity in which you are associated with the TA/GA e.g. TA/GA for the same course and contact details. All letters of reference should be in a signed and sealed envelope with the nominees name clearly written on the front of the envelope. Your letter of support should include:

1. the nominees name
2. evidence of the TA/GA's strengths as they relate to the following three criteria (please refer to the Criteria section of the TA/GA Awards announcement for more details, 250 word maximum for each criterion): Community Building, Employee Relations, Student Experience
3. a description of the impact of the TA/GA on the referee's own learning or teaching practice

Reflection/portfolio from the TA/GA:

Instructions to the nominee:
Please include your name, position, departmental association and contact details. Your reflection/portfolio should include:

1. A statement of teaching philosophy (1-2 pages maximum). In this statement, you should refer to your role as it relates to each of the following three criteria: (please refer to the Criteria section of the TA/GA Awards announcement for more details): Community Building, Employee Relations, Student Experience. In addition, you may chose to use the following as guiding questions:
   • How has your understanding of community building, employee relations, and/or the student experience changed through your role as a TA/GA?
   • What strategies have you employed to become the most effective TA/GA you can be?
   • Have you participated in any TA/GA training, orientation, and professional development? What other resources have you considered?
   • What do you think students need from you and how have you tried to support them?
2. Up to three additional pages documenting your commitment to learning and teaching. For example, you may wish to include a sample lesson plan, a grading scheme you have developed or an example of effective feedback you provided to your students. Please do not submit more than three additional pages. Any additional pages will be discarded and will not be considered as part of your application.

Questions/Primary Contact

John Paul Foxe MSc PhD
Educational Developer
Learning and Teaching Office (LTO)
Kerr Hall West 373 (416) 979-5000 x. 6570
johnpaul.foxe@ryerson.ca

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