The format of the departmental 495 pedagogy courses varies by department and is specifically tailored to fit each department’s discipline. Most TA training seminars are facilitated by a Faculty Advisory and a Teaching Assistant Consultant (TAC), an advanced graduate student with a high degree of discipline-specific teaching experience at UCLA. The departmental 495 pedagogy course supports UCLA’s Core Competencies for graduate and professional students by introducing new TAs to best practices in inclusive and evidence-based teaching. TAs enrolled in these seminars often practice teaching in microteaching sessions, discuss pedagogical strategies, learn from experienced TAs, and familiarize themselves with departmental procedures and guidelines.
REQUIREMENT: All new TAs are required to complete a departmental 495 pedagogy course prior to or during the first quarter they are appointed as a TA. Departments are in the best position to determine the needs and provide the training for their discipline, but the Graduate Council and TLC envision that these disciplinary training courses would include contextualizing the basic pedagogy concepts covered in the Foundations of Teaching curriculum and providing disciplinary examples, as well as preparing TAs to teach a wide range of disciplinary skills and such as data analysis, performance-based teaching, teaching in labs, and teaching with materials and artifacts. Students who are unable to enroll in a 495 course through their home department may enroll in an interdepartmental 495 course offered every quarter by the TLC, Graduate Student Professional Development 495A. Students may also request permission to enroll in another department’s 495 course. Space in these options is limited and students are encouraged to enroll through their home department whenever possible.
TLC FUNDING AND SUPPORT: Departments may apply for funding from the TLC to offset costs associated with hiring a Teaching Assistant Consultant to co-facilitate the departmental 495 course with the instructor of record via the annual application process. View the TAC Program Overview for more information. In addition to funding TAC positions, the TLC consults with departments about the development and implementation of 495 courses and assists with optimal alignment of disciplinary and basic pedagogy training. The TLC also administers the process by which departments can apply for exemption from using the Foundations of Teaching curriculum by demonstrating that existing departmental curriculum covers equivalent content. To request a consultation or inquire about the exemption process, email TLC’s TA Training Program at tatp@teaching.ucla.edu.