Future GTA Workshops

One thing I really liked about our orientation workshops this semester was the message that, as a teacher, it's okay to make mistakes. I think Tracy and Susan did a really nice job of getting that message out there loud and clear. I feel like I got a lot of "big picture" support from those meetings that did me a lot of good during my first semester teaching.

I would have liked to have more practical, specific support in terms of syllabus construction, mainly the daily plan portion. I think it would also be helpful if some portion of the orientation was devoted to writing and presenting a teaching philosophy along side of our syllabi and assignments. That way, Tracy and Susan would have a bit more context and could offer us more specific advice.

What kinds of things did people really like about our workshops? What about those things worked so well, and how did you end up using the stuff you learned? What do you think you could have used more of? Why? What suggestions do you have for future GTA orientation workshops?