The Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) will offer Winter 2025 GSI Teaching Orientation (GSITO) as an online Canvas course. In addition to engaging with asynchronous modules, GSIs will have the opportunity to participate in an online, synchronous practice teaching session (GSIs will choose from practice teaching sessions offered from January 3, and January 6 - 7). Completion of online GSITO must occur by 5:00pm Friday, January 10, 2025.

If you are a graduate student, this website should provide all the information you need to know about how to become enrolled in GSITO, what you may need to complete, and answers to frequently asked questions. If you are a GSI Contact (an individual responsible for or involved in the training of incoming Graduate Student instructors) for your specific department, please go to the Guide to GSITO for GSI Contacts webpage for information that pertains to you.

The GSITO Canvas course comprises 12 modules:

• Module 1 - Welcome to Teaching at U-M
  • Remarks from the Dean of Rackham
  • GSI Role and Responsibilities, including policy information such as:
    • religious-academic conflicts
    • prohibited instructor-student relationships
    • grading, FERPA, and academic integrity
• Module 2 - Act for Equity: A Presentation by the CRLT Players
• Module 3 - Teaching for Equity During the First Week and Beyond
• Module 4 - Mental Health and Well-being for GSIs and Students
• Module 5 - Graduate Employees' Organization (GEO) Resources, is an optional module for participants to learn more about the various benefits and workplace protections Graduate Student Instructors have
• Module 6 - Planning a Class Session
• Module 7 - Engaging Students in Face-to-Face and Online Classes
• Module 8 - Teaching for Accessibility
• Module 9 - Technology for the First Days of Teaching
• Module 10 - Facilitating Group Work to Maximize Learning
• Module 11 - Grading Assignments and Exams
• Module 12 - Preparing for Practice Teaching

Completion of Modules 1-4 is a prerequisite for access to Modules 6-12. Participants who want to participate in an online, synchronous practice teaching session must complete at least Modules 1-4 and Module 12 - Preparing for Practice Teaching, before participating in a practice teaching session.

How GSIs Will Enroll in GSITO:

1. If you already have a GSI appointment: We will receive your name and contact information from your department, and we will directly add you to the GSITO Canvas site, which will launch on Monday, December 9, at noon. We will also send you an email with instructions for selecting a Practice Teaching session.
2. If you:
   • will not have a GSI appointment in Winter 2025,
   • do not yet know whether you will have a GSI appointment,
   • wish to participate in a portion of GSITO again,
   • would like to fulfill GTC-related requirements,
   • or would like to complete Practice Teaching please fill out this form

If you are required to complete GSITO for an upcoming teaching position, the GSI contact (e.g., Graduate Student Services Coordinator or Student Services Manager) for the department in which you will teach should have informed you about whether you are required to participate in GSITO, and which portions of the orientation you are required to complete to satisfy departmental training requirements.

If you are interested in pursuing the U-M Graduate Teacher Certificate (GTC), please note that in order for your participation in GSITO to satisfy Requirement A of the GTC, completion of GSITO must include:

• Modules 1-4
• 2 modules on teaching topics (selected from Modules 6-11)
• the Preparing for Practice Teaching module (Module 12)
• a synchronous online Practice Teaching session (Modules 1-4 and 12 are prerequisites for this session)

If you have any questions about GSITO, please email us at [email protected].

Frequently Asked Questions about GSITO

CRLT's GSI Teaching Orientation is designed to help new GSIs teaching on the Ann Arbor campus to prepare for their initial teaching experiences. It also has proven to be a valuable event for experienced GSIs and for graduate students who anticipate teaching in the future.