Teaching Assistant Foundational Training
We collaborate with academic units across UBC Okanagan to deliver a centralized Teaching Assistant (TA) training program. This non-credit credential is available to all new-to-UBC Teaching Assistants with active TA appointments.
The foundational online, asynchronous training program takes approximately six hours to complete and consists of six modules designed to help TAs:
- Understand and identify the UBC policies, services, and systems that inform and support their role as a Teaching Assistant.
- Understand UBC’s expectations of Teaching Assistants.
- Recognize and navigate factors that contribute to a positive classroom climate and student engagement.
- Develop learner-centered facilitation and feedback strategies.
TAs who successfully complete all six modules will receive a Certificate of Completion.
The training is offered twice each academic year:
- Term 1: August 1 – September 30, 2026
- Term 2: December 1, 2026 – January 31, 2027
In addition to the online training, optional in-person workshops will be offered throughout September and are open to all Teaching Assistants. Please visit our Events page to learn more.
Registration for Winter 2026 Term 1 Foundational Training is now open!
For any questions related to the TA program or registration, please email Riley Petillion (riley.petillion@ubc.ca).
Overview of PROGRAM AND Module Learning Outcomes
- Understand and identify the UBC policies, services, and systems that inform and support your role as a teaching assistant.
- Understand UBC’s expectations of being a teaching assistant.
- Recognize and navigate factors that contribute to classroom climate and student engagement with learning.
- Develop learner-centered facilitation and feedback strategies.
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) considerations in the classroom;
- Identify three strategies for addressing EDI concerns; and
- Identify frameworks and policies that shape inclusive practice at UBC.
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe mental health literacy;
- Identify signs of mental health concerns in your students;
- Apply appropriate referral pathways to connect students with support; and
- Evaluate your own emotional boundaries as a TA.
Learning Outcomes:
- Consider expectations/criteria for assessment;
- Recognize various ways students can demonstrate understanding;
- Differentiate between assessment for/of/as learning;
- Identify what constitutes good practice in marking; and
- Develop strategies for giving effective feedback
Learning Outcomes:
- Understand the common motivations and pressures that contribute to academic misconduct among students;
- Apply strategies within your role to promote a positive culture of academic integrity;
- Identify appropriate steps for reporting suspected instances of misconduct according to policy;
- Demonstrate professional communication by practicing how to discuss suspected cases with course instructors using realistic scenarios;
- Describe how ethics, professionalism, and boundaries affect your role as a TA;
- Identify what shapes your own ethics, values, and boundaries;
- Anticipate situations that may challenge professional boundaries and plan how to navigate them; and
- Choose professionally appropriate ways to communicate with students.
Learning Outcomes:
- Review what we know about our learners;
- Examine principles of good teaching; and
- Consider a plan for your first day of class
Learning Outcomes:
- Describe how generative artificial intelligence (AI) works in plain language students can understand;
- Locate UBC’s AI policies and accurately explain them to students;
- Recognize AI-generated writing patterns as part of thoughtful integrity support;
- Use AI ethically and appropriately in your own TA work;
- Navigate common student AI scenarios with confidence; and
- Consider the privacy, environmental, and equity dimensions of AI