Preparing the Future Professoriate
2009 GTA Workshop

Phase I of the GTA Workshop on Preparing the Future Professoriate will be held:

Monday, August 17 (1 pm - 5 pm); and
Tuesday, August 18 (8 am - 12 noon)

Phase II consists of about 35 different sessions held late August through October. Each GTA needs to enroll in three of the Phase II sessions.

Location:
The Phase I session on Monday afternoon will be held in the Graduate Life Center (GLC) Auditorium. The Concurrent Sessions on Tuesday will be held in the GLC and in Squires Student Center (rooms will be listed in the workshop brochure available on Monday).

Program Overview
Phase I of the workshop will consist of two half days of sessions that address educational pedagogy, learning principles and a variety of strategies that will be useful to GTAs in different contexts. Phase II, for which GTAs need to attend any three sessions, will consist of Blackboard training sessions in August following Phase I and a variety of sessions during September and October. To promote and strengthen our emphasis on Preparing the Future Professoriate and Virginia Tech's Principles of Community, sessions with emphasis on pedagogy, professional ethics, and sensitivity to students with different backgrounds will be included. A copy of the final schedule will be posted in August prior to the workshop.

Enrollment for Workshop Credit
All new GTAs must be enrolled in and complete GRAD 5004 (CRN 93289) and many departments expect all their new graduate students to attend.  Enrollment in the workshop is done by departments (designated graduate coordinators) using a special electronic site in the Graduate School, so students should not enroll themselves.  Students who are required to take the workshop but find that they have not been enrolled should contact their department for clarification and registration. Registration by the department will automatically enroll students in the GRAD 5004 course, and Blackboard (Virginia Tech's online course-management tool) during the weekend before the workshop starts. The course materials will be accessible in Blackboard on the first day of the workshop, August 17.

Registration for Phase II Sessions
Seats will be limited in most of the Phase II sessions, so students must register early using the sign-up address given in the workshop brochure. Those who register for a session but can't attend should unenroll so someone else can have that seat.

Evaluation and Credit for GRAD 5004
To receive credit for GRAD 5004, students must attend and evaluate both half-day sessions in Phase I and three Phase II sessions of their choice. The evaluations are done on the Blackboard site and consist of descriptions of the value of the sessions for students' teaching.