Teaching Assistant Help

As a teaching assistant (TA), you play a vital role in providing effective classroom instruction. As you go about your duties, know that you are not alone. You have fellow teaching assistants and faculty members who will share guidance, experiences, and materials with you. Additionally, the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) instructional design team will be one of your first lines of support in your role as a TA.

Who to Contact for Help?

If you feel uncomfortable with a situation that has arisen during your assignment, contact your academic coordinator or your department's faculty academic chair, associate chair, or equivalent.

If you have a question not answered on this page, please contact CTL at CTLHelp@jhu.edu.

Issue	Resource
Technology logistics, course email, course-specific technology needs	See the Technology Support page
Classroom logistics, room scheduling, food service, etc.	See the Classroom Support page
Teaching virtually during campus closure (Zoom, Panopto, virtual student engagement, etc.)	BSPH resources for the hybrid and virtual classroom approach
Multimedia (LiveTalk studio, classroom technical support)	BSPH Multimedia Request Form
CoursePlus technical support	CTL Help: Open a Help Call
Teaching and learning support (consultations for student engagement, one-on-one CoursePlus training, assessments, course administration, efficiency, course organization and design, etc.)	Instructional Design Team, Kathy Gresh, Assistant Director, Learning and Innovation
Departmental information, payment, and TA job inquiries	The department's academic coordinator
Course questions, TA role and responsibilities	Course Faculty

Annual Programming

CTL hosts workshops and events during the academic year focused on teaching assistants' problems and issues. For a calendar of events and registration information, visit the events calendar.

Teaching Toolkit Workshops

Teaching Toolkit Workshops are designed for Bloomberg School of Public Health faculty and teaching assistants. These workshops occur throughout the academic year and feature numerous topics, including best pedagogical practices for teaching graduate-level students and training in various educational technologies.

CoursePlus Refresher Training

Sometime around the start of the academic term, CTL offers an hour-long CoursePlus refresher training. The session is geared primarily for teaching assistants, though all are welcome. The (in-person) workshop aims to provide an overview of some of the tools in CoursePlus, focusing on those that TAs ask about most frequently. Up-to-date information on upcoming dates, times, and locations for this Toolkit session are available on the events calendar.

See CoursePlus Refresher videos on-demand.

LiveTalk Training

Every term, CTL hosts on-site LiveTalk training sessions. This training is for those who are new to online teaching at the Bloomberg School. And though there are video tutorials available for those who have completed the training in prior terms, we also welcome anyone who might just need a refresher. The in-studio training provides an overview of the studio equipment and role of the multimedia technician, and an opportunity to work hands-on with some of the more common functions, such as polling and allowing students to use their microphones.

Register for LiveTalk Training. (This link shows the sessions that are currently available. New sessions are added periodically.)

Teaching Assistantship Training Course

CTL facilitates the Teaching Assistantship Training Course, a self-paced course with rolling admission. The course introduces some of the critical skills and knowledge needed to be an effective teaching assistant. The course consists of online learning modules and requires attendance at a minimum of two CTL Toolkit on-campus workshops over a semester. Students can complete activities at their convenience. The CTL course facilitators are always available to answer questions.

Learn more about the Teaching Assistantship Training course.