Social Class in Our Classrooms

Eligibility: The TA Institute is open to undergraduate and graduate TAs, and all graduate students who are interested in teaching. This session is not open staff, or faculty.

Socioeconomic inequality is a real issue that shapes patterns of injustice in the wider culture and at the university—from ideas about the role of education in society at large to the material realities of students’ lives—and yet it is seldom openly discussed. In this session, we will explore meanings of “class” and how they might factor into the classroom experiences of students through access to resources, time, and opportunities to exercise agency. We will discuss how TAs can address these class-related issues, both proactively and as they arise, while actively fostering class consciousness through their teaching practices.

Facilitator:

• Kayla Kenney, Graduate Facilitator, PhD Student in Social Work
• Rodrigo Sierra-Rosales, Graduate facilitator, PhD Student in Population and Public Health

Themes:

If you wish to complete this workshop as part of either of the themes below to receive a Letter of Completion, you must complete a theme completion form by January 22nd, 2025 at 11:59 PM (only complete this form once—make sure to indicate all themes and all sessions that you have completed).

This session falls into the following themes:

• Experiential and Transformative Learning
• Exploring and Supporting Inclusivity, Equity, Accessibility and Wellness

TA Institute

This year, workshops in the TA institute are organized into 3 themes. If you complete all the workshops in a theme, and submit a theme completion form, you are eligible for a Letter of Completion that you can include in your Teaching Portfolio and CV. The Letter of Completion will include a brief description of the theme(s) that you completed, and how the work you did in the theme(s) support your development as a teacher.