Graduate Teaching Orientation (GTO) is a week-long, annual event for graduate students serving in teaching roles at Ohio State. This foundational learning experience helps graduate instructors build the key knowledge and practical skills that prepare them for their upcoming teaching responsibilities. Delivered in a hybrid format, activities include a self-paced online course, one day of in-person programming, and a variety of Zoom workshop sessions that allow participants to tailor their learning to their interests.
Who should attend GTO?
Graduate Teaching Orientation is for any Graduate Teaching Associates (GTAs) serving in formal teaching roles at Ohio State. Participants come from a wide variety of colleges and departments, and they hold a wide range of responsibilities in the classroom, from graders to recitation leaders to independent instructors.
Orientation facilitators do not assume attendees have prior teaching experience or familiarity with Ohio State resources and policies, so it may be most beneficial for GTAs who are either new to Ohio State or who will be teaching for the first time. However, some GTAs attend multiple times throughout the course of their graduate career as they take on new responsibilities.
Many participants attend because the experience is required or recommended by their department as they begin teaching. But some graduate students enroll themselves in orientation, and any graduate student is welcome to attend.
Goals of GTO
By the end of orientation, new GTAs will:
- Feel more confident about teaching their upcoming courses
- Connect with a community of fellow teachers
- Identify and practice evidence-based techniques and strategies for effective teaching
- Identify resources on campus for further assistance
What to Expect
Each year, GTO takes place the week before the start of autumn semester. In order to make activities available to as many GTAs as possible, orientation is delivered in a multi-modal format that includes a self-paced online course in CarmenCanvas, a variety of elective virtual workshops, and one day of in-person learning.
Unless a participant’s department conveys other expectations, the only component required to complete orientation is the self-paced, online course in CarmenCanvas. Participants are added to the course the Friday prior to orientation week and course content becomes available when orientation week begins. To complete the course, participants must submit two assignments during the week: one discussion board post and one worksheet that accompanies the modules of the online course.
In addition, a variety of optional workshop sessions are offered throughout orientation week. To accommodate participant schedules as fall semester approaches, most sessions are offered virtually and occur multiple times during the week. However, orientation also features at least one full day of in person activities, which typically includes a resource fair, in person workshop on active learning, and a hands-on opportunity for participants to practice their teaching.
To present a broad range of perspectives, experiences, and teaching strategies at orientation, we hire a team of experienced GTAs to facilitate workshop sessions at orientation each year. And many offices at Ohio State contribute workshop sessions, online content, or other resources.
What will I learn?
Orientation is designed as a “just-in-time” training that provides the basics that GTAs need before they begin teaching at Ohio State. It is a foundational learning experience, rather than a complete or in-depth guide to evidence-based teaching.
The content covered in GTO focuses on:
- Building participant confidence and a sense of identity as an instructor.
- Planning for the first day or week of class.
- Addressing questions and concerns about teaching for the first time, including in specific teaching scenarios.
- Helping GTAs gather questions to take back to their instructional teams or departments.
- Introducing basic pedagogical principles that are helpful for all GTAs, regardless of department or appointment type.
- Connecting participants to resources on campus for further professional development and support.
The following topics are addressed in the self-paced online course:
- Cultivating Your Teaching Identity
- Getting to Know Ohio State Students
- Planning for the First Day of Class
- Transparent Communication
- Communicating with an Instructional Team
- Creating a Positive Learning Environment
- Active Learning
- Universal Design for Learning
- Collecting and Analyzing Student Feedback
- Ohio State policies and procedures (e.g., FERPA, Academic Misconduct)
- Ohio State resources for graduate students and GTAs
Additional topics are covered in interactive workshop sessions:
- Difficult Teaching Scenarios
- Facilitating Classroom Discussions
- Effective Presentation Skills
- Supporting Students with Universal Design for Learning
- Teaching Online
- Teaching in the United States
- Responding to Student Writing
- Writing and Critical Thinking
- Navigating Difficult Conversations
- Planning and Facilitating Active Learning
After orientation ends, we encourage participants to continue pursuing professional development opportunities related to their teaching. The Drake Institute and the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning each offer ongoing training opportunities for graduate student instructors or future faculty.
Get Connected
Registration for GTO typically opens in early June and remains open until shortly before orientation week. The orientation schedule and link to the registration survey are shared directly with academic departments and advertised in Drake Institute Digest, the institute's monthly email newsletter.
Academic departments interested in sending their GTAs to GTO can reach out to the Drake Institute’s Assistant Director for Graduate Initiatives any time to schedule an informational meeting or update their contact information.
Individual graduate students interested in enrolling can email drakeinstitute@osu.edu to indicate interest in attending.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Graduate Teaching Orientation for?
GTO is intended for all graduate students who are new to teaching at Ohio State or to their particular assignments. This includes first-year GTAs (graduate teaching associates), GTAs who are not new to Ohio State but are teaching for the first time, or GTAs who have taught at Ohio State in a different context and are starting a new type of assignment (e.g., a former grader now teaching an independent course). Even if your teaching appointment does not start immediately, you are welcome to attend. You may also attend more than once.
Please note: While new faculty members are welcome to attend, the Office of Academic Affairs sponsors an orientation specifically for new faculty members. We encourage new faculty members to attend new faculty orientation, but you may supplement that orientation with sessions from ours if you so choose.
Who are my fellow participants?
There are generally around 500-600 participants each year across 50-60 departments, coming from a diverse array of backgrounds. GTAs teach in a broad variety of teaching contexts and programs across Ohio State.
Some of our participants in past years have shared that they valued orientation for the chance to meet other graduate students on campus. Orientation sessions are designed to be interactive and collaborative, giving graduate student instructors a chance to share their thoughts, ideas, and questions about teaching with their peers.
What is the format of orientation this year?
GTO will be held remotely with some optional in-person components during the week of August 12 to 16. It will comprise both a set of required, asynchronous modules (CarmenCanvas) and optional, synchronous (CarmenZoom) workshops. The content in CarmenCanvas includes an introduction to fundamental principles of teaching and opportunities to learn about teaching in different contexts. The optional Zoom sessions are offered Tuesday through Friday, and you can sign up for sessions that are of interest to you. Sign-ups will be available in the CarmenCanvas course. In-person components will be held on Thursday, Aug. 15.
What is a "teaching context", and why do I have to choose one?
There are many different ways that instructors interact with students. You may teach in an independent course, or you may be one of several teachers working in a team. You may also teach in the studio, lab, or clinical setting, or work one-on-one with students in independent study courses.
Below are descriptions of each context.
Independent: GTA is typically responsible for all aspects of the course, including detailing assignments, grading, and facilitating lessons. The syllabus may already be written and the GTA is expected to apply it, or the GTA may be expected to write and distribute the syllabus on their own or in collaboration with other GTAS and instructors.
Grader: GTA assists in grading for a class led by another instructor. GTA may also hold office hours to answer student questions.
Recitation: GTA leads a separate discussion session, often for a smaller number of students, which accompanies the lead instructor’s lecture. In these sessions, GTAs may clarify lectures or texts, work through examples, and design, give, and/or assess assignments, all while relating it to the course lecture material. Some departments at Ohio State refer to recitations as “discussion sections."
Lab: GTA supervises as students practice the application of disciplinary principles of information presented in lecture. Labs can involve examining preserved or live specimens, conducting experiments, or writing or applying computer programs to solve problems. If the lab includes a recitation-like portion, GTAs may clarify or augment lectures or texts, and design, give, and/or assess assignments, all while relating it to the course lecture material.
Studio: students are engaged in the practice and application of techniques for productions in art forms such as art, theatre, dance, and music. GTAs of studio classes may have responsibilities typical of recitation, lab, or independent courses.
I don't have an Ohio State email address yet. Can I still register?
Yes, you may use an alternate email address. However, it makes the registration process much simpler if you use your OSU email address. If you do not have an OSU email address yet, please check with your department or the Ohio State directory.
How do I register for Orientation?
I missed registration. Can I still attend GTO?
Yes, you may. Please contact us for more information.
I registered for GTO but need to cancel. What should I do?
Please contact us and let us know if you cannot attend. If your department has required you to attend orientation, you should contact your department as welll to let them know you can’t be there. Your department may make alternate arrangements for you to receive the training you need.
How do I complete the Orientation requirements?
You will be required to complete a set of curated modules for GTO in CarmenCanvas. As part of the work in the modules, you will submit a discussion post and complete a worksheet that guides you to reflect on concepts you learned in course and how you will apply what you learned in your own teaching practice. We also ask that you complete a brief survey at the end about your teaching context and a brief self-assessment of your work. All of these requirements need to be completed by Friday, Aug. 16, at 5 p.m. The Drake Institute will send lists of students who completed requirements to their respective departments the week of Aug. 19.
What are some of the synchronous Zoom sessions that will be offered?
There are three types of optional, synchronous Zoom sessions: panels, teaching contexts, and teaching topics. This year, we will have panels on Online Teaching and International TA experiences.
Our teaching contexts sessions reflect the teaching contexts in which many will teach, such as: Independent Instruction, Recitation, Studio, Lab, and Recitation/Lab. The teaching context sessions are led by experienced GTAs and are opportunities to connect with others who will be teaching in similar contexts and ask questions specific to your teaching context.
The teaching topics sessions include: Facilitating Discussions, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) in Learning Environments, and Effective Presentation Skills.
We also have invited campus partners, such as Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC), the Suicide Prevention Program, and the Office of Technology and Digital Innovation (OTDI) to facilitate GTO sessions.
You can access the schedule here.
How do I sign up for the synchronous Zoom sessions?
Schedules and sign up will be available in the Carmen course when it goes live.
Are the synchronous Zoom sessions required?
No. You may choose to attend as few or as many synchronous Zoom sessions as you wish.