Writing Instruction for Teaching Assistants (WIT) Project
New Application
Applications due March 1, 2011
The Writing Instruction for TAs (WIT) Project is a CRIF-funded teaching assistant training
initiative that addresses the goals of improved writing within the context of curriculum renewal.
This year, thirteen academic units are participating. For 2011-12, approximately 20 units will be
able to participate, with approximately six new WIT units planned. We invite applications from
interested units across the Faculty.
New units will be able to apply for one year of WIT funding for 2011-12, with the option to
apply for an additional two years upon a successful review of their first year in the program.
This document describes how applicants new to WIT apply to participate in the first year of the
project.
Brief WIT Project Description and Funding Structure
In this project, a unit selects one TA to designate as the unit’s Lead Writing TA (LWTA).
LWTAs receive special training from the Teaching Assistants’ Training Program (TATP) in the
summer on how best both to teach writing skills to students and to train TAs to teach writing,
and receive continuing guidance from the WIT Coordinator (a writing instructor assigned to their
unit) throughout the year. LWTAs are expected to use their disciplinary expertise to develop
strategies for applying these general methods for teaching writing and TA-training in their home
units. Please see the attached WIT project description for further details on the project and
expected commitments.
LWTAs are expected to have 100-120 hours of duties throughout the year (including the TATP
training time). The precise number of hours required will depend on how much writing is already
included in the targeted courses, and the increased needs to support the additional WIT activities.
Thus around $4500-5500 of the budget allocated to a unit is expected to go toward funding for
the LWTA. At the end of this document, we have included for your information a sample posting
to CUPE 3902 (Unit 1) for an LWTA. We have also included a sample allocation of hours for
the LWTA in an attached excel file. If you are accepted for participation in WIT, this position
will need to be advertised by April 8, 2011 to ensure hiring before the June 6, 2011 training
session.
Units selected for WIT also will receive up to 280 hours of TA funding (beyond the LWTA) for
WIT activities. This funding is intended to enable the TAs in designated courses to have the time
needed to improve their capacity for teaching writing and to implement new writing strategies in
the courses (such as an increase in writing assignments, sequencing of writing tasks among
assignments, use of formative feedback on drafts, peer review, or time allocated in class or
tutorials for instruction on specific aspects of disciplinary writing). Any WIT funding must go
beyond the standard TA allocations for the designated courses; in other words, it is on top of the
standard TA allocation for a course. Preference will be given to units committed to using WIT
funding for larger courses.
In the WIT application, a unit must indicate which courses they would like to designate for
focused WIT activity, and how they expect WIT to impact writing in the course. The current and
expanded number of TA hours should be specified, along with a detailed breakdown of the
activities supported by the new TA hours.
Those units that participate in WIT are expected to develop writing goals for their curriculum
over the course of the year. A preliminary draft of such goals must also be included as part of
the unit’s application for WIT funding.
Each academic unit participating in WIT must specify a lead WIT contact for the unit (the
Chair/Director/Principal or the Undergraduate Coordinator, or equivalent). The WIT contact
must commit to supervising the LWTA and to carrying out a mid-year review meeting with the
LWTA no later than December 2011. The unit must also file a progress report no later than
January 2012. WIT units will also be expected to support the collection of data necessary for
evaluating the project and to meet with the WIT Coordinator occasionally throughout the year.
Applications for WIT participation should include the following:
1) A 1-2 page statement describing:
a. a draft of the unit’s writing goals and plans for further development of these goals
b. the commitment from the academic unit head to working with WIT, and
specification of the departmental WIT contact.
.
2) Using the fillable Budget forms in the attached Excel files, a list of planned LWTA
duties (with specification of the hours needed), a list of courses in which the LWTA will
work with unit TAs, and the expected TA activities and costs. Details of TA hours
devoted to writing activities must be specified. (NOTE: The instructors of all courses
listed for participation next year must be consulted in devising this plan.) In your
projections, please assume an allocation of 100-120 hours for the LWTA, and a total
allocation of no more than 280 hours for additional WIT duties for course TAs. (The
forms use the current Unit 1 wage structure to calculate the cost of the hours you
designate.) Precise allocations to units will be determined following the adjudication of
these proposals.
3)
Statements from the following key participants affirming their interest and commitment:
a. head of the academic unit (department chair/EDU-A director/college principal);
b. designated departmental WIT contact (UG coordinator/program director/other);
c. each course instructor assigned to teach a designated WIT course.
All key participants should read the attached WIT project description to ensure that
they are informed about the project goals and operational issues.
Each application must be submitted on March 1, 2011, by email as an attachment in Word
or PDF format to: kafayat.matti@utoronto.ca (Kafayat Matti, assistant to the Acting ViceDean, Teaching and Learning). Applications should be submitted by the head of the academic
unit (department, college, EDU) sponsoring it. Applications related to college programs should
be submitted by the relevant Principal.
Applications cannot be accepted after the deadline. If you have any questions or require any
assistance with your application, please contact Acting Vice-Dean Welsh, at 978-6982. To
discuss your writing plan or WIT activities in courses, you may wish to contact one of the WIT
Coordinators, Margaret Procter (procter@chass.utoronto.ca) or Allyson Skene
(allyson.skene@utoronto.ca), in advance of the deadline. If you would like to consult with a
WIT coordinator, you are advised to do so before Reading Week.
The Dean’s Writing Committee will review the applications; decisions will be announced to
academic units in March 2011, with funds available in May 2011. For 2011-12, units involved in
WIT may be invited to participate in the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HECQO)
funded project, Developing Teaching Assistants as Members of the University Teaching Team at
the University of Toronto.
SAMPLE JOB POSTING FOR LWTA POSITION
Department of__________________________________
Posted on________________________[[before April 8, 2011]]
Fall and Winter Terms 2011-12
Applications due [[before May 9, 2011]]
Position
Title
Number
of
Positions
Size of
Appointment
Lead
Writing
TA
(LWTA)
1
[[100-120
hours]]
at the SGS II
rate as of
Sept 1, 2010
($39.92)
Dates of
Appointments
Qualifications
Required:
June 1, 2011*
to
April 30, 2012
* must be
available for
14 hours
training
during the
week of June
6 and for
consultation
with course
instructors
during
Summer 2011
 Currently registered graduate student
in Unit 1 of CUPE3902
 At least two years' experience as a
course TA, including tutorial, lab, or
in-class instruction as well as grading
 Knowledge of effective teaching
practices in the discipline
 Evidence of superior writing skills
Preferred, though not required:
 Experience as a student or a TA in a
course with significant writing
requirements
 TA experience in more than one
course in the department
 Experience in a leadership or
coordinating role among course TAs
 Facilitation skills and experience
leading workshops
 Administrative skills, including time
management and planning
Duties
As part of a Writing Instruction Initiative in Arts and
Science, the Lead Writing TA will work with a writing
coordinator and the TA Training Program to provide
training and coordination to regular course TAs in
selected departmental courses. The LWTA will
perform the following duties:
 Participate in training sessions with LWTAs from
other units in early June and through the year
 Meet with designated course instructors and the
departmental WIT coordinator during the summer
to discuss course goals, assignment and tutorial
design, and TA coordination
 Contribute to the development and
implementation of departmental statements of
writing expectations
 Conduct training sessions and consultations for
course TAs through Fall and Winter terms
(especially for responding to and grading
assignments, tutorial preparation, etc.)
 Communicate regularly throughout Fall and Winter
terms with course instructors, the departmental
WIT coordinator, the departmental contact
(usually the Undergraduate Chair) and others for
liaison and coordination of activities
 Help collect data on the program's effectiveness
 Document activities and write a reflective analysis
of the program's success and challenges.
This job is posted in accordance with the CUPE 3902 Unit 1 Collective Agreement. Standards and Policies are available in the Departmental office and the
CUPE Local 3902 office. Please submit a letter of interest, a curriculum vitae, a writing sample (no more than 2 pages in length), and the names of two
referees who have supervised you in course TAships by May 9, 2011. Applications should be sent to _______________________.