Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA)
Needles Hall, second floor, room 2201
In this interactive workshop, you'll discuss the value of making connections, learn effective networking strategies and develop a "next steps" action plan.
Additional information: Registration required.
This introductory workshop is a requirement for participating in the Professional Skills Foundations program, a new professional skills credential for graduate students at the University of Waterloo.
Many graduate students experience low confidence in roles as teaching assistants and instructors, as they suddenly find themselves in the role of the "expert", rather than the learner. In this workshop, we will first explore the common roots of this lack of confidence. We will then consider different ways of thinking and strategies that can help all of us to increase our confidence in the classroom.
Additional information: Registration is required.
Write together. Connect to our grad writing community to stay focused and motivated!
Writing regularly helps with productivity and motivation. The Writing and Communication Centre hosts weekly group writing sessions for grad students. These loosely-structured sessions are designed to help grad students connect to a larger writing community, stay focused, and to keep making writing progress.
In this interactive workshop, you'll discuss the value of making connections, learn effective networking strategies and develop a "next steps" action plan.
Additional information: Registration required.
3 Minutes Thesis (3MT) finalists from across six University of Waterloo faculties will compete to win money and advance to the 3MT Provincial finals!
Competitors will have 1 static slide and 3 minutes to present the breadth and significance of their graduate research to a non-specialist panel of judges.
Write together. Connect to our grad writing community to stay focused and motivated!
Writing regularly helps with productivity and motivation. The Writing and Communication Centre hosts weekly group writing sessions for grad students. These loosely-structured sessions are designed to help grad students connect to a larger writing community, stay focused, and to keep making writing progress.
This workshop offers graduate students an introduction to the world of academic publishing. You will learn about the steps in the publication process, including revising course work before submitting it to journals, communicating effectively with journal editors, and handling comments from reviewers.
Additional information: Registration required.
You’re about to finish your course work or comprehensive exams and have started to think about writing your thesis or dissertation. Where do you begin?
Fundamentals for Writing your Thesis is a full-day workshop that will guide early stage graduate students through some of the first phases of planning and writing a thesis or dissertation.
In this interactive workshop, you'll practice translating academic language to industry language, apply strategies for answering interview questions and evaluate the effectiveness of responses to interview questions.
Additional information: Registration required.
This full-day event offered by GRADventure, the Library, the Writing and Communication Centre and other campus partners will offer graduate students and postdoctoral fellows an overview of the world of academic publishing.
This interactive workshop will provide teaching assistants with the techniques and confidence to effectively deliver an engaging lesson in the classroom. Topics covered in this workshop include: (i) methods for structuring your delivery, (ii) developing visual aids, (ii) strategies for preparation, (iv) dealing with nerves and anxiety and (iv) tips for engaging your students throughout the lesson.
Additional information: Registration is required.
Finding and building a rewarding career involves gaining a clear understanding of the key problems you want to solve. Exceptional employees recognize the value of using strategic problem identification to advance quickly in their careers. We invite you to hear from Larry Smith, Director of The Problem Lab and Adjunct Associate Professor of Economics, as he discusses practical tactics to position yourself for developing and advancing rapidly in your career. Pizza will be provided.
Additional information: Registration required.
Most instructors teach the way they were taught, which may or may not be a good thing. This interactive workshop will provide participants with a toolbox of activities suitable for any classroom. We will introduce the concept of active learning and teacher-centred versus student-centred classrooms. In this workshop we will also discuss some of the reasons for using different teaching methods and help you decide which ones are right for your classroom.
Bring your laptop or pen and paper and get drafting or improving your résumé and cover letter. Career Advisors and your peers will be available for feedback and guidance.
**NOTE: To attend this writing session, you must attend the morning workshop Résumé and Cover Letter Writing for PhDs and Postdocs.**
Additional information: Registration required, coming soon.
You already know about the Matrix Method from Literature Review Part A and have completed one. Now in Part B, learn to situate your research within the body of existing related scholarship. Bring your completed matrix and your ideas for how best to organize and present the research so that it meshes with your own contribution to the field.
Additional information: Registration required.
Through discussion and hands-on activities in this half-day workshop, you will learn how to prepare an effective résumé and cover letter by analyzing job descriptions, assessing the relevance of your transferable skills and articulating these transferable skills in an action-oriented way.
Additional information: Registration required.
Student mental health and well-being is a crucial dimension of the academic environment. In this workshop, you will learn about your role and responsibilities as a Teaching Assistant in supporting student mental health on campus. The focus will be on explaining relevant University policies and identifying the resources and services that both you and your students can draw upon. Together, we will explore how to proactively promote mental well-being in the classroom, as well as how to respond to specific mental health needs that come to your attention.
Planning tutorials, labs, and guest lectures requires careful attention to goals, content, activities, and timing. In this workshop, you'll learn to streamline your lesson preparations and strengthen your teaching. Using a popular model of lesson planning called “BOPPPS,” you’ll learn to design lessons that align learning activities and assessments with learning outcomes. Together, we’ll analyse examples of successful lesson plans, and you'll begin to develop a lesson plan that is compatible with your teaching context and instructional style.
Our classrooms are filled with students who represent a broad range of racial, cultural, linguistic, physical, and intellectual backgrounds. This workshop provides a starting point for honouring and benefiting from this diversity in our classrooms. Through self-reflection and discussion, we'll provide teaching strategies for optimizing our diverse students' engagement, comprehension, and retention.
Literature reviews are a keystone of academic writing. This workshop explores using the Matrix Method to manage your literature review. Bring a laptop or mobile device so that you can begin applying this method to your own work.
Additional information: Registration required.
Write together. Connect to our grad writing community to stay focused and motivated!
Writing regularly helps with productivity and motivation. The Writing and Communication Centre hosts weekly group writing sessions for grad students. These loosely-structured sessions are designed to help grad students connect to a larger writing community, stay focused, and to keep making writing progress.
Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA)
Needles Hall, second floor, room 2201
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is centralized within our Office of Indigenous Relations.