Events for graduate student educators, TAs, & postdocs
Play, Practice, Learn: Gamification as a Teaching Strategy
Date and Time: March 5, 2026, 2:00-3:30pm,
Location: Mackintosh-Corry Hall, Room D405
Lead Facilitator: Hebatalla Ouda, Telecommunications Research Lab at Queen’s University
Are your students scrolling instead of listening in class? Is seminar participation a struggle, and do assignments feel like a chore for everyone involved? Then it’s time to level up your teaching and gamify!
Join us for an interactive workshop designed for graduate student and postdoctoral instructors, and teaching assistants. Moving beyond theory to explore how the core principles of games can be developed to create dynamic, engaging, and effective learning activities.
We'll explore how intentional, pedagogical gamification creates a structure for mastery. Gamification can empower students by making progress visible, rewarding effort and strategic thinking, and fundamentally shifting their role from passive recipients to active agents in their education.
Craft & Connect: Thriving as a Graduate Student Teacher
Date and Time: March 17, 2026, 12:30-2:30pm,
Location: Mackintosh-Corry Hall, Room F200, Centre for Teaching and Learning
Lead Facilitator: Jesse Hendriks, Faculty of Education
Audience: All graduate students
Looking to schedule a break near the end of the Winter term? Craft & Connect is a cozy, low-pressure space for graduate student teachers to de-stress and connect with other TAs, TFs, and graduate students at Queen’s to share tips and tricks for thriving in your teaching. No prior crafting experience required!
Pick up a craft, enjoy some snacks and a beverage (provided), and chat about your teaching-related experiences, strategies, questions, and challenges. You’ll also have the opportunity to connect with staff and faculty with diverse backgrounds and teaching experiences, such as Educational Development Associates and teaching experts from the Centre for Teaching and Learning and academic skills experts from Student Academic Success Services.
Feel free to bring along any projects you are working on or let us know when you register what crafts might interest you!
TA and GTF Symposium - Let’s Hear From You!
Date and Time: April 1, 2026, 11:30-1:00pm,
Location: Robert Sutherland Hall, Room 202
Lead Facilitator: Paul Akpomuje, Faculty of Education
Teaching Assistants (TAs) and Graduate Teaching Fellows (GTFs) play an essential role in the teaching and learning ecosystem at Queen’s. Yet, many may be navigating their responsibilities as new educators with limited structured support and varying levels of pedagogical training. To strengthen the quality of teaching across the university, it is crucial that we create intentional spaces where TAs and GTFs can voice their experiences, challenges, and ideas.
TA and GTF Symposium titled: Let’s Hear From You is an interactive event designed to bring together TAs, GTFs, the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), and departmental partners/graduate coordinators in conversation. The goal is to better understand how TAs and GTFs are experiencing their roles, what supports are helpful, and what other resources can support their goals.
Participants are encouraged to bring their lunch to the event as we aim to curate a space where people will feel free to eat and talk. Light refreshments (snacks and tea) will be provided as well.
This event will serve as:
- A forum for TAs and GTFs to share challenges, insights, and success stories from their teaching roles.
- A collaborative learning space where CTL staff and departmental coordinators can identify emerging needs in pedagogical training, mentorship, workload clarity, and inclusive teaching practices.
- A platform for co-creating solutions that strengthen TA and GTF experiences and enhance student learning across the university.
- By centering the voices of TAs and GTFs, the CTL can deepen its understanding of current realities and shape future programming such as targeted workshops, and graduate coordinators can better support the success of TAs and GTFs.