August 14, 2012 — New faculty members and graduate teaching assistants will all face the first day of class. To help them get off to a great start, the Vice Provost for Faculty Development and the Teaching Resource Center are offering a workshop for each group.

For faculty, a three-day event, Aug. 20 to 22, is designed to welcome professors to U.Va., build community, connect new faculty to useful resources, provide practical, concrete information and encourage a healthy work-life balance. See the full schedule and register at this website. The workshop will be held at Morven Farms Meeting Barn, and carpooling will be arranged.

The plenary session on Tuesday at 9 a.m. will address the question, "What Do the Best College Teachers Do?" Dorothe Bach, assistant director of the Teaching Resource Center and associate professor of German in the College of Arts & Sciences, and Judith Reagan, the center's associate director and an associate professor of drama, have developed the presentation based on the 2004 book by Ken Bain, "What the Best College Teachers Do."

There will also be a panel discussion during lunch that day on "Lessons from the First Year at U.Va.: What I Wish I'd Known." In addition, small-group meetings will cover topics from "Motivating Students for Learning" to "Measuring Students for Learning."

The workshop will culminate with a reception hosted by President Teresa Sullivan at her residence, Carr's Hill, on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. The event requires a separate RSVP; contact Stacy Smith at ss9ug@virginia.edu or 434-982-2392.

The graduate teaching assistants' workshop will be held Aug. 22 and 23 at the South Lawn's Nau and Gibson halls. It will include sessions such as "Troubleshooting Teaching Challenges" and "'Presence' when Presenting." See the full schedule. Register here.

The program receives additional support from the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Office of the Assistant Vice President for Graduate Studies.