Instructional support for TAs and IAs
The Instructional Support Group (ISG) employs temporary staff each term to make up course teams to support instructors in their teaching roles. The temporary staff members include Teaching Assistants (TAs) and Instructional Apprentices (IAs). TAs and IAs are assigned positions by the CS TA Assignment Team.
For ISG-supported course, the Instructional Support Coordinator (ISC) is responsible for coordinating the duties assigned to TAs and IAs. For some courses, the Instructional Support Assistants (ISA) will coordinate some of the TA duties on behalf of their ISC.
Teaching Assistants
A Teaching Assistant (TA) is a graduate Computer Science student who is assigned work units to help in supporting their schooling. Most new graduate students will be assigned TA positions in ISG courses to ensure that they are given clear expectations and proper training.
The TAs' primary mandate is to assist the full-time staff by marking assignments, marking and proctoring exams.
Instructional Apprentices
An Instructional Apprentice (IA) is a graduate Computer Science student who is assigned work units to help in supporting their schooling. IAs usually have duties that differ from that of TAs.
The IAs' primary mandate is to assist the full-time staff by doing some of the following: marking assignments/coordinating TAs for marking, creating marking schemes and/or solution sets, holding office hours, monitoring Piazza/edX, proctoring exams, assisting in staffing labs, and leading tutorials.
Visit our Instructional Apprentice FAQ to learn more about the differences between a TA and an IA.
Other TA resources
TA/IA or teaching-related resources can be found in our Resources tab.
Lecturing opporutunities
While most graduate students will gain teaching experience through teaching assistantships, some senior graduate students may have the opportunity to be sessional instructors.
Interested Graduate Students should keep an eye out for these opportunities each term as available positions are emailed to all graduate students and their supervisors. These sessional terms must be approved by the student's supervisor and the Director of the School.