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Engineering GSI & IA Teaching Orientation Department Coordinators

Department Coordinators Information

This page contains information for the College of Engineering department GSI and IA coordinators about the College’s required training for IAs and GSIs. This training is conducted through the Engineering GSI/IA Teaching Orientation (E-GSI/IA TO), administered by the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching in Engineering (CRLT-Engin).

Click here more information, including the timeline for completing each part of the Michigan Engineering GSI/IA Training.

Relevant Instructor Responsibilities

Training enables GSIs and IAs in the College of Engineering to:

    • Prepare or assist in preparing instructional materials
    • Instruct or assist in instructing courses
    • Lecture
    • Give lab or clinical demonstrations
    • Lead lab sessions
    • Lead recitation sessions
    • Prepare, administer, or score exams
    • Consult with or tutor students

Training Participants

    • All persons who work as IAs or GSIs in the College of Engineering are required to complete training.
    • GSIs in all departments must complete the entire training course.
    • IAs in CSE and ECE must complete the entire training course.
    • IAs in all other departments must complete Part 1 and Part 2 only. (See “Training Elements,” below.) They will be required to complete Part 3 if they become an IA for CSE/ECE or a GSI in future semesters.
    • Some departments have alternate training requirements as pre-approved by the ADUE’s office and CRLT-Engin.

Training Elements

The Engineering GSI/IA Teaching Orientation (E-GSI/IA TO) consists of three (3) parts.
Part 1 (Online Training Modules)

Part 1 (Online Training Modules) is a set of asynchronous Canvas course modules available to GSIs and IAs. Part 1 contains the following required modules:

    • 0: Navigating the Course
    • 1: Welcome to Teaching in the College of Engineering
    • 2: Teaching Policies
    • 3: Act for Equity: A Presentation by the CRLT Players
    • 4: Inclusive & Equitable Teaching
    • 5: Introduction to the Science of Learning
    • 6: Planning Effective Lessons 
    • 7: Teaching Engineering at the University of Michigan
    • 8: Mental Health & Well-Being for Instructors & Students
    • 9: Teaching with Technology
    • 10: Resources

Based on reports from IAs and GSIs in previous semesters, Part 1 of the orientation takes, on average, 6 hours 10 minutes (for IAs) and 6 hours 25 minutes (for GSIs).

The timeline for completing each part of training is availabe here: Michigan Engineering GSI/IA Training

Part 2 (Practice Teaching)

Part 2 (Practice Teaching) consists of a synchronous Practice Teaching session (one meeting where each participant presents a short lesson to a small group and offers feedback on the presentations of others). Sign-up takes place during Part 1 of the training, and sessions are held remotely via Zoom.

GSIs / IAs who are added to the course too late in the semester to attend a Part 2 Practice Teaching session, or who are unable to attend for any other reason, will be offered a makeup option to complete later in the semester.

Part 2 takes about 3 hours to 3 hours 15 minutes to complete, which includes a 2-hour practice teaching session plus preparation time.

Part 3 (Ongoing Professional Development)

Part 3 (Ongoing Professional Development) consists of further teaching training in the student’s choice of modalities.

  • Option #1: The student attends one of several approved workshops, held throughout the semester at various times / dates and in various modes (online / in-person / hybrid). Afterward, the student writes a brief reflection on the workshop and submits the reflection to the orientation Canvas course. 
  • Option #2: The student signs up for and participates in a Midterm Student Feedback (MSF) session with one of our Engineering Teaching Consultants (ETCs).

Both Part 3 options take around 2-3 hours to complete, including meeting and event time.

Participants must attend and complete at least 75% of any given requirement in order to receive credit for completion.

View the GSI/IA Resource Packet

 

Payment for Training

Departments should compensate GSIs and IAs for the hours spent in training.

Tracking Training Progress

Department IA and GSI coordinators receive an email each semester from the ADUE’s office with a link to a Google Drive folder containing a file that lists all IAs and GSIs from their department. Please upload or input information for all GSIs and IAs hired in your department for the term into this file, and edit the list as needed.

CRLT-Engin staff will periodically update the file with completion status for your department’s IAs/GSIs. You can use this document to check on your student instructors’ training completion throughout the term.

If you did not receive an email with a link to this folder, please contact coe-new-instructor-training@umich.edu. 

Missed or Incomplete Training

Students who do not complete training during the semester in which it is required (i.e., students in their first semester as an IA / GSI, or returning students who are required to complete additional training) will not be allowed to serve as a College of Engineering GSI/IA in future terms. Exceptions are made on a case-by-case basis by the ADUE’s office.

In order to reflect the increased costs of additional training, departments will be charged $100 for each GSI and IA who misses training.

Additional Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact coe-new-instructor-training@umich.edu. This email address goes to Karen Revill in the ADUE office and to Carol Lagemann and Linda LaNoue at CRLT-Engin.