Outstanding TA Awards – 2013-14

April 1, 2014

The Department of Political Science is pleased to request nominations for the 2013-14 Outstanding TA Awards. The awards seek to recognize outstanding work performed by teaching assistants employed by the department in the previous academic year.

Three awards will be granted, one for each campus: St.George, UTM and UTSC.

Evaluation Criteria

• Performance in the 2013-14 academic year.
• Organizational skills (in relation to organizing, structuring and preparing tutorials)
• Comprehensive knowledge of the subject area
• Effective communication skills (including clarity of examples and explanations, effective communication of expectations, relation of current issues/research to student experiences and concrete applications)
• Enthusiasm for the subject area
• Ability to provide effective feedback to students
• Ability to encourage student participation

 

Nomination Procedure
Nominations must be received by October 17, 2014. A nomination form can be found here:

TA NOMINATION FORM

• Undergraduate Students: Students in a particular course may nominate a teaching assistant for the award. They are encouraged to provide supporting documentation, such as comments from a number of students on the qualities and excellent work of their TA.
• Course instructors: course instructors may nominate a teaching assistant based on comments received from students, evidence of excellent work, or direct observation of the TA’s performance. Nominations should include details of performance, preferably with supporting documentation (i.e. notes from students).

 

Selection process

The selection committee will base its decision on the following evidence:

• Information provided in the nomination package;
• Teaching evaluations;
• Consultation with faculty in other courses in which the TA has taught, as needed. In the event of a large number of nominations, the committee will create a shortlist of three candidates and may seek additional supporting documentation.

 

Timeline and value of the award

• Deadline for nominations: October 17, 2014.
• Award announcement: January/February 2015.

Value of the award: $500.00