The Faculty Center for Teaching & Learning offers several programs for the professional development of Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) at UCF. For questions about becoming a GTA, please contact Graduate Studies.
GTA Training
Online Training
Graduate Studies and the University’s accrediting body require training before graduate students are permitted to work as Associates (instructors of record), Assistants, or Graders. All three levels of employment require online training. Graduate Studies will contact you about enrolling in training after they receive information from your department that you have been hired as a GTA or grader.
GTA Associate Meeting
If you are going to be a Graduate Teaching Associate (i.e., Instructor of Record), you need to take the one-day face-to-face training.
The only reasons you would NOT need to take the training are if you:
- will NOT be a GTA Associate / Instructor of Record for the next semester OR
- have already successfully completed the face-to-face training during the previous semester.
There are no exceptions to this training.
To enroll in the training, you must separately register at the Grad Studies website. Please address any questions to gradassistantship@ucf.edu.
GTA Performance Assessment
UCF requires that the teaching-related performances of all Graduate Teaching Associates (Position Code 9183), Graduate Teaching Assistants (Position Code 9184), and Graduate Teaching Assistant-Graders (Position Code 9187) be assessed at the end of each term that the student serves as a GTA.
Departments and colleges may use any assessment tool available and gather information from any source that they determine to be relevant in order to conduct assessments of GTAs and to supplement the UCF GTA Performance Assessment Form. For example, departments may rely upon classroom visits, other informational observations, student ratings of instruction, other input from students, interviews and discussions with the GTA, and other evidences of performance that are available to the department.
The Assessment Form can be accessed on the Graduate Studies website.
Preparing Tomorrow’s Faculty Program
Every semester we offer IDS 6513, a voluntary face-to-face course on teaching at the college level that is open to all UCF Graduate Students. This course can serve as a replacement to the GTA Training if completed the semester prior to your appointment.
Grad students in the Preparing Tomorrow’s Faculty (PTF) course meet weekly and engage in a learning community facilitated by Faculty Center staff. Texts will be provided, and the course is free to all graduate students who are registered in at least one credit hour of other coursework at UCF. By the end of the semester you will have assembled a first draft of your teaching portfolio.
Course modules:
- Student learning and motivation
- Integrated course design
- Teaching pedagogies
- Assessment and feedback
- Course climate
- Career development
If you have questions about our Preparing Tomorrow’s Faculty course, please contact us.
Register for Fall 2023: https://ucf.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0PWSWPMBrpMoBGC
PTF Registration Information
PTF is offered as a zero-credit-hour face-to-face course every semester. Register for IDS 6513 here: https://ucf.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0PWSWPMBrpMoBGC
Contact fctl@ucf.edu with any questions.
The meeting times are Fridays, 1:00–4:00 p.m., in person on the main campus. Currently, there are no online options for this program.