The expectations for grading, lesson planning, and interacting with students often differs dramatically between online/hybrid and face-to-face courses. Specifically, TAs in online and hybrid courses often spend much more of their hourly time working independently, giving feedback on assignments submitted through the learning management system, and interacting with students in the online environment. You get to choose your hours flexibly when you TA for a online or hybrid course, especially since you don’t have as much dedicated face-to-face class time. However, ask the instructor for whom you’re working about how they expect you to divide your time among different course tasks and responsibilities and remind them of your contractual hourly commitment (as a reminder, 25% and 50% teaching appointments have work hour limits). Also, the instructor and the TA should be sure to work together to delegate tasks for the course; specifically, it is valuable to decide who will be responsible for writing email reminders for students or for responding to comments in an informal Q&A space, like CCLE discussion boards or other chat tools.

• For additional strategies, view this webinar on Effective Instructor-TA Communications
• Use the Instructor-TA Communications Checklist and the Establishing Shared Expectations Worksheet with your instructor of record to help set clear goals and expectations.

Benefit from others’ experiences. Talk to others who have taught the class before and get their perspective on what they wish they had known prior to TAing for the course, especially for elements of the course that may be unique to the hybrid or online format. You can anticipate some of their concerns, but learning from others’ experience is often the best way to be prepared for teaching a hybrid or online course.

As a TA for a hybrid or online course, you’ll spend significantly more time working within the learning management system than you would during a face-to-face class. Before the term begins, spend some time tinkering within the CCLE learning management system, making sure you feel comfortable with all of the tasks you’ll be expected to do. Learn how to integrate Zoom with CCLE and learn key features of running Zoom meetings, like breakout rooms and polls. You will feel more confident as a TA if you are already comfortable within the learning environment. Technical difficulties will still happen regardless of how much you prepare yourself, but confidence within the system goes a long way towards improving your own instruction. Do not hesitate to reach out for support if you’re struggling with the technology.

• A Beginner’s Guide to Remote Teaching (this is a page within a larger site with additional help on online teaching)
• CCLE support for your department or division
• Troubleshooting other apps (Zoom, Box, BOL Logins, etc.)

Additional support may be available for your division (e.g., HumTech,Social Sciences Computing)

In order for you, as a TA, to feel like a central part of the course, it is vital to understand how each task and major assignment contributes to the course’s major learning outcomes. If you do not know why a certain activity is included or how a particular activity will facilitate a particular outcome, it is important to get clarity from the course instructor so you can communicate expectations to students clearly.

Learn more about setting learning objectives and aligning them with activities and assessments in CAT’s Foundations series workshop The Nuts and Bolts of Lesson Planning. The workshop schedule is updated regularly.

In an online or hybrid course, it is essential to develop a clear, early understanding of how the course will move. Become familiar with the syllabus and the lesson plans so that you feel prepared to anticipate questions during face-to-face times in a hybrid course or during synchronous discussion sections in an online course.

The rapid shift to online learning for all UCLA students quickly revealed that many students were facing significant obstacles in accessing learning, such as lack of adequate technology, having no quiet place to study, sharing computers with other family members, being in a completely different time zone, working full time to help support their families, loss of childcare, and the list goes on. Having a clear understanding of what obstacles may be preventing your students from accessing your course and participating fully can help you plan alternate ways for engaging these students. You can use a pre-quarter survey to learn more. In addition, using inclusive teaching strategies helps all students succeed. 

• Use this Google form template as a starting point to create your own survey.
• Check out this Inclusive Remote Teaching Checklist to create more effective online learning experiences.

Often, students do not know what to expect from a hybrid or online class and for many UCLA students, your hybrid or online class may be the first one they ever take! Even if the course instructor has already established some of the differences students will experience in a hybrid or online class, be sure to take some extra time to establish your own role in the class and clarify how you will interact with students. For example, explain that you are not online at all times of the day and let them know when you will respond to emails or questions from students. Your students may also need support for the learning tools they will be expected to use. Here are a few resources specifically aimed at students:

• A Guide to CCLE for Students
• Student resources for remote learning

In an online or hybrid course, it can be much harder to build rapport and community with the entire class. However, incorporating small suggestions into the course – like asking students to include a photo of themselves in an avatar or including an activity in a synchronous webinar where students have to share something about themselves – can help build rapport. You may not have the full engagement of a class as you would in a face-to-face environment, but work towards thinking about how you can communicate with students and learn more about them using the tools with which you are equipped.

• For some strategies that current TAs are using, view this webinar on Creating Community Remotely.
• See this checklist for additional ideas: Guide to Creating Community Remotely

It’s tempting to pick and use new tools just because they seem exciting or have a lot of potential. Hybrid and online courses don’t need to use a panoply of tools to be effective either. Collaborate with your other teammates to decide first what you want students to learn and do. From there, picking an appropriate tool will be much easier.

• Try this Short Guide to Active Learning Strategies for ideas.

No matter how well you know the tools and the learning management system, something will likely go wrong during the course of the quarter. Don’t panic! Think through in advance what you’ll do in case a particular tool fails you or doesn’t work well. Be sure to communicate clearly to your students ahead of time what they should do should technology fail.

• For example:
  • Always assign a “co-host” to your Zoom session so the meeting can continue in case your internet fails. If the host leaves the meeting without a co-host assigned, the meeting ends for everyone, and it is much harder to get your students back into the Zoom room. If you have a co-host and you lose your connection, the meeting continues until you can rejoin.
  • Have an online quiz, activity, or discussion board that students can access to continue the lesson in case something goes wrong.

TAing for a hybrid or online course can afford you with some creative freedom and innovation you may not otherwise have in a face-to-face classroom. Take advantage of that opportunity to reflect on and make thoughtful choices about your teaching!

• Additional online teaching resources:
  • Keep Teaching (CAT)
  • Resources for Teaching Online for Grad Students and Post-Docs (CIRTL@UCLA)
  • CAT Resources for Remote Teaching
  • CEILS Teaching Guides