TA Orientation

TAs at the outdoor TA Orientation breakfast. Photo by Rod Searcey for Stanford CTL.

Teaching at Stanford: An Orientation for Teaching Assistants

Each year, on the Friday before classes begin in Autumn Quarter, VPTL presents a TA Orientation for all who will be TAing in the coming year.

2016 TA ORIENTATION: Friday, Sept. 23, 7:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Hewlett Building

Grad students at outdoor breakfast for TA OrientationBreakfast is served at 7:30, followed by a plenary session and three breakout sessions.

This TA Orientation is the only one offered for the academic year, so be sure to attend no matter what quarter you'll be teaching. Experienced TAs are welcome, too!

2016 event details will be posted here later. To get an idea of the event, read last year's lineup, below.

2015 Program

8:00 Opening Session for all participants:

  • Welcome to Teaching at Stanford
  • Navigating Your Teaching Career

Then, during each of the three breakout sessions, you have five workshops to choose from:

9:00 Session:

  • Classroom Expectations at Stanford (hear from real TAs and students)
  • The First Day: Starting Off Right
  • Leading Discussions in Science and Engineering
  • Leading Discussions in Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Major Stanford Policies every TA Should Know (Honor Code, sexual harassment, accessibility guidelines) - video and Q&A session

10:00 Session:

  • Creating an Inclusive Classroom
  • Leading Discussions in Science and Engineering
  • Office Hours and Review Sessions
  • Effective Lectures and Presentations
  • Major Stanford Policies every TA Should Know (Honor Code, sexual harassment, accessibility guidelines) - video and Q&A session

11:00 Session:

  • Teaching in the U.S. Classroom: Advice for International TAs
  • The First Day: Starting Off Right
  • Grading Papers and Essays
  • Grading Problem Sets, Labs, and Exams
  • Using Canvas to Enrich Your Class

Can't attend TA Orientation? 

Try these options:

  1. Read the story of the 2014 Orientation.
  2. Read the handouts from 2014 (below).
  3. See the report of the 2013 TA Orientation, which includes a lot of the material presented.
  4. Watch this video on key Stanford policies: "Major Policies & Practices Every TA Should Know" [20 min].
  5. To get event notices and teaching reminders, join the VPTL mailing list. 
  6. Scroll down this page for more printable resources for new TAs.

Getting Started as a Successful TA

TAs in a workshop, discussing, smilingStarting anything new is a challenge. Being successful at a new endeavor requires a combination of skills, knowledge, and the right attitude, as well as access to supportive resources. This set of handouts will arm you with some of the best tools we know of for more effective teaching. Once you’ve digested this, please take advantage of Stanford’s and VPTL’s many other resources for improving your teaching, outlined in Teaching Commons, and the offerings of your department. 

Handouts from the 2014 TA Orientation