As Instructors of Record, faculty advisors for 495 courses are vested with the sole and final responsibility for course content, work assignments, performance evaluations, and grading in the course. The primary duty of TACs is to assist in all aspects of instruction (tutoring, grading, advising, sectional teaching, sectional laboratory teaching, fieldwork teaching, limited lecturing). In addition to providing support for new TAs in the department, the TAC program also aims to provide a professional development opportunity for graduate students to advance their own teaching practices and leadership skills. The role of the Faculty Advisor in this program is to provide support and mentorship for the TACs in this endeavor. In addition, the involvement of the Faculty Advisor in a department’s TA Training program can help to set the tone and create an environment that promotes the importance of undergraduate teaching at UCLA.
The following guidelines detail the recommended involvement of the Faculty Advisor:
- Faculty Advisors and TACs should develop and plan the 495 (or equivalent) seminar and any other TA training activities together.
- Faculty Advisors should serve as the lead instructor for the 495, working in collaboration with the TAC.
- Faculty Advisors should meet regularly with their department’s TAC(s) and be available to support the TAC(s) as needed.
- Faculty Advisors should provide support for evidence-based and inclusive teaching practices, and suggest discipline-based pedagogical techniques for the classroom.
- Faculty Advisors should at minimum help develop criteria for providing feedback to new TAs in their department on their teaching. Ideally, Faculty Advisors would also participate in this feedback process.
- Faculty Advisors and TACs should work together to develop an assessment plan for learning outcomes of the department’s overall TA training program.
- Faculty Advisors should inform new TAs about the annual Fall TA Conference and other available TA training workshops.