When
Where
Inspired by the conversations and connections sparked at the UCATT Teaching Exchange Symposium, this virtual workshop series invites participants to revisit popular sessions, explore new perspectives, and continue exchanging ideas throughout the year.
This session directly engages The Joy of Teaching by focusing on the people who sustain our classrooms: undergraduate TAs and Learning Assistants. When teaching team members feel they belong, their motivation and care ripple outward—strengthening student learning while renewing instructor joy and sustainability.
The insight: Research with 60 TAs and LAs reveals that belonging isn't built through major initiatives but through small, consistent practices—weekly icebreakers, soliciting course improvement ideas, acknowledging invisible struggles, and including individual voices.
The question: What small gestures can instructors implement immediately to help teaching team members feel valued, heard, and motivated?
The practice: This session shares discipline-agnostic, evidence-based strategies that any instructor supervising even one TA can implement without redesigning courses or adding significant workload. By centering intentional micro-practices rather than systemic overhauls, we acknowledge the reality of busy semesters while offering concrete ways to reduce isolation and restore energizing human connection.
Speakers
Sarah Grace, PhD
Assistant Professor of Practice
Psychology
Corin Gray, PhD
Assistant Professor of Practice
Molecular and Cellular Biology
AC Haverland, PhD
Associate Professor of Practice
Environmental Sciences
John Kanady, PhD
Senior Lecturer
Physiology