The University of Wisconsin-Madison's College of Letters & Science Teaching Assistant Training is a labor of love I have worked on for 8 years. I designed the College of Letters & Science's TA Training with two complementary components—an online Canvas curriculum and immersive in-person pedagogy workshops—so that new graduate instructors could receive both a durable foundation of teaching resources and a supportive, hands-on introduction to classroom practice. The online course provided a well-organized, long-term repository of best practices, teaching strategies, and evidence-based guidance. This structure recognized that new instructors would not be able to retain every detail from an initial training session and that their needs would evolve over the semester. By presenting material in a format they could revisit as they encountered new challenges in their teaching, the online curriculum helped TAs not only learn about effective pedagogy but also integrate it into their practice at a pace aligned with their growing experience and confidence.

The in-person pedagogy workshops were intentionally crafted to complement this digital foundation by fostering interpersonal connection and providing space for active skill development. New TAs worked in small groups alongside their assigned Teaching Mentors and peers, allowing them to begin building professional relationships and a sense of belonging in the instructional community from the outset. These sessions modeled innovative teaching design, incorporated opportunities for hands-on practice, and encouraged reflective discussion about classroom challenges, all aimed at boosting confidence before the first day of teaching.