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 them build key knowledge and practical skills to prepare for their upcoming teaching responsibilities.
Who attends 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.
As we do not assume prior teaching experience or familiarity with Ohio State resources and policies, GTO may be most beneficial for GTAs who are either new to the university or who will be teaching for the first time. However, some GTAs attend multiple times throughout the course of their graduate careers 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 Ohio State graduate student is welcome to attend.
Get Connected
Registration for GTO typically opens in early June and remains open until shortly before orientation week. The orientation schedule and 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 to schedule an informational meeting or update their contact information.
- Individual graduate students can email drakeinstitute@osu.edu to indicate their interest in attending.
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, one day of in-person learning, and a variety of elective virtual workshops that allow participants to tailor their learning to their interests.
Unless a participant’s department conveys other expectations, the only component required to complete GTO 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, most sessions are offered virtually and occur multiple times during the week. However, GTO also features at least one full day of in-person activities, which typically includes a resource fair, a workshop on active learning and a hands-on opportunity to practice teaching.
To present a broad range of perspectives, experiences and teaching strategies at GTO, we hire a team of experienced GTAs to facilitate workshop sessions. And many units from across Ohio State contribute workshop sessions, online content or other resources.
What You Will 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.
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.
To meet these goals, GTO activities focus on:
- Building 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.
- Introducing basic pedagogical principles that are helpful for all GTAs, regardless of discipline or appointment type.
- Connecting participants to campus resources for further support and professional development.
See teaching and learning topics 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
See additional topics addressed 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 Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) offer ongoing training opportunities that are available to Ohio State graduate instructors and future faculty.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a "teaching context" and why do I have to choose one?
Although all GTAs are teachers, not all GTAs have the same responsibilities. We’ve identified six different teaching contexts that describe the work that most GTAs do. Each context is defined below.
Sharing your teaching context with us at registration helps us understand your orientation needs. Since some sessions are designed for those who teach in a specific context, clarity about your teaching context will help you decide which sessions are most relevant to you.
If you are unsure what your teaching context will be at the time of registration—or even when orientation week arrives—don’t worry! You can choose either the teaching context that you expect to be assigned to or the one with the greatest amount of responsibility. Much of the orientation experience will be the same no matter which you choose.
The teaching contexts include:
- Independent: Independent instructors are typically responsible for all aspects of the course, including lesson planning, lesson facilitation and grading. Many independent instructors also determine aspects of course design, such as course policies and assignments. A course syllabus and goals may already be written for an independent instructor or the instructor may be expected to write and distribute the syllabus on their own or in collaboration with others.
- Grader: Graders assist with a class led by another instructor by grading assignments and providing feedback to students. Graders may also hold office hours to answer student questions.
- Recitation: Recitation leaders are responsible for running a separate discussion session, often for a smaller number of students, which accompanies a lead instructor’s lecture. In these sessions, GTAs may clarify and discuss lecture content or texts, work through cases or problems, provide feedback, or give assignments. Some departments call recitations “discussion sections."
- Lab: Lab instructors supervise as students engage in hands-on application of disciplinary principles that have been presented in lecture. Labs can involve activities such as examining preserved or live specimens, conducting experiments, data collection and analysis or computer programming.
- Lab/Recitation: These instructors have responsibilities typical of both lab and recitation teaching contexts.
- Studio: Studio instructors help students engage in the practice and application of techniques for art forms such as visual art, theatre, dance, and music. In many studio classes, GTAs provide or facilitate critique sessions to help students reflect and grow as artists. GTAs who lead studio classes may also have responsibilities typical of recitation, lab or independent instructors.
I don't have an Ohio State email address yet. Can I still register?
Once you are admitted to Ohio State, you will be assigned a username (lastname.#) and associated email address (lastname.#@osu.edu). This identifying information allows others at the university to send you official communications, as well as giving you access to important university technologies, systems, and information including financial aid, registration, grades and much more.
We need your Ohio State email address to add you to the online course for Graduate Teaching Orientation, and you will need it to log in.
Once you have been admitted to Ohio State, activate your Ohio State account and begin regularly checking your Ohio State email. For guidance, check the email address you shared in your application to Ohio State or visit the links below.
I missed registration. Can I still attend GTO?
Although the initial registration deadline is August 1, a late registration window opens until the Friday prior to orientation week. After this time, the link to the registration survey expires, and you must email us at drakeinstitute@osu.edu to be added to the online course. If your email reaches us after orientation week has concluded, we may still be able to provide you with training and support.
How do I access the online course?
Those who register for orientation will be added to the online course on the Friday prior to orientation week. At that time, you can access the introductory module of the course by logging into CarmenCanvas, Ohio State’s Learning Management System, with your Ohio State account information and finding Graduate Teaching Orientation in your course list. The rest of the course content will unlock on Monday morning of orientation week. Don’t worry about getting a head start prior to orientation week—the course is designed to be completed over one week.
Where do I find the Zoom links for synchronous sessions?
Locations for all sessions, including Zoom links for virtual sessions, can be found in the finalized orientation schedule in the introductory module of the online course.
I forgot which sessions I registered for. Can I still attend sessions?
Registering for sessions in advance helps us book spaces, plan sessions and purchase session materials. However, we understand that sometimes plans or teaching appointments change, so you can attend any session at teaching orientation, regardless of whether you registered.
Location information, including Zoom links for virtual sessions, are provided to all participants in the final orientation schedule located in the first module of the online course.
If you want to know which sessions you registered for, check your Ohio State email address. A copy of your registration survey responses should have been automatically emailed to you at the time of registration. (It may be in your Spam folder.)