A well-designed syllabus featuring strong and achievable learning objectives is one of the keys to a successful course. A complete and engaging syllabus represents both a contract and an instructional road map outlining what students are expected to know and be able to do as a result of having participated in the course. A concise outline of a course of study, it is also the students' introduction to you and to the course's subject matter, assignments, readings, and activities. At the end of this session you'll be able to construct a syllabus.

Interactive teaching is a hot topic in education and something that many universities strive to employ. How can you make your teaching more interactive? This session will provide several methods you can use in your own classes to motivate and engage your students in learning.

The way in which information is presented strongly influences the way in which students recall the information. In this session, we'll examine aspects of effective presentations such as: organization, use of examples, and pacing. We'll also discuss other presentation principles that will help your students be more effective learners.

This session presents important considerations for assessing student work, including: grading consistently, communicating your grading criteria to students, giving constructive feedback, and managing your time when grading large amounts of student work. Because grading practices vary widely, we will also discuss strategies for learning more about grading in your specific TA assignment.

Learn how weblogs (blogs) and wikis and even Facebook can be used to enhance student learning in the classroom. In this session we'll consider some of the pedagogical implications of using these tools and review best practices and possible challenges that you'll want to be aware of.

In this session we'll focus on ways to gather student feedback and how to use this feedback to improve your teaching.

Did you ever watch an instructor provide elegant solutions to problems in class, only to be frustrated later while trying to do homework problems on your own? In this session, you'll learn how to lead students to think through problems on their own. This session is most appropriate for quantitative problem-solving recitation sections.

Teaching in a laboratory presents some unique challenges. What can you do to make the lab experience a positive one for you and your students? This session is suitable for any TA who is teaching in a science or engineering laboratory.

This session will focus on strategies for facilitating effective recitations and lectures. Topics will include how to prepare for a discussion, getting a good discussion started, and strategies for keeping the discussion going (and on track). You'll learn how to get feedback from your students on their understanding of the material and your teaching, how to motivate students to become actively involved, and how to review and integrate material covered in lectures.

Studio situations present their own unique problems; especially in performance areas, the role of individual judgment becomes extremely significant. In this session, we'll discuss the importance of developing clear expectations, ways to measure performance, and strategies for giving students feedback.

Learn about your UNL students before you meet them on the first day of class! Information generated by various programs and research projects on this campus will provide you with a sense of UNL undergraduates' expectations, backgrounds, and concerns.

Supervising and mentoring undergraduates is likely to be a prominent part of many graduate student careers. In this session, graduate students with experience supervising and mentoring undergraduates will offer anecdotes, suggestions, and tips for mentoring success when working with undergraduates. Important aspects unique to the role of graduate student supervisor will be discussed, including transitioning to the role of supervisor, building a team of undergraduate research assistants, running an effective meeting, rewarding a job well done, and accountability and the "tough talks."

Watch video scenarios of several critical situations that may at some point reflect your own experience as a GTA. Then discuss strategies you might use to manage the situations or — better yet — prevent such situations from occurring in the first place.
**Note: Due to popular demand of this workshop, Dr. Lombardo will facilitate a follow-up session immediately following the closing session.

This session will cover various aspects of the grading process, including managing student expectations, setting a marking scheme, the actual grading process, and dealing with appeals.

PowerPoint and Apple Keynote presentations are popular and convenient ways to organize and present basic lecture materials. But the ineffective use of presentation software can produce what some might call "PowerPoint-induced sleep". In this workshop, we'll focus on how best to use presentation software to engage students in the learning process.

A teaching portfolio includes both work samples of one's teaching (teaching plans, videotapes, evaluations, etc.) and reflective commentary on those samples. In this session, you'll learn the basics for constructing your teaching portfolio and for documenting your teaching.