Working with TAs Online

As announced on March 18, 2022, the Institute will return fully to in-person instruction by Monday, April 4, 2022. Resources for remote and online teaching are provided on this site if Caltech must shift to remote instruction in the future.

Outside of special emergency permissions granted during the pandemic, Caltech's accreditation is limited to in-person instruction.

Communicate with your Instructional Team

Develop a communication plan for your instructional team (co-instructors, head TA, TAs, support staff). Decide when and how often you will meet, who will be in charge of organizing and facilitating those meetings and what pre-work should be done before meetings.

Ask your TAs to co-teach recitations where possible

Depending on your course structure, it may be possible to have your TAs co-teach recitations. Having each other for instructional and technical support may help to mitigate any issues that arise. One TA could be in charge of instruction, while another TA can play a support role in terms of technology, responding to questions in the discussion forum, or fielding questions for the instructional TA to respond to in real-time.

Clearly delineate TA roles

In the online environment it may be necessary to change how your TA roles are structured. Each TA should have a clear idea of what their roles and responsibilities are. For example, who should respond to student emails? Who responds to student questions in the discussion forum? Who is in charge of uploading assignments to Canvas? Who is holding office hours or recitations, and how/when? How will grading be handled?