Photo by Paula Yu / UW–Madison

Supporting Students through Challenges

The end of the semester can be challenging for your students (and yourself). TAs are often the first to notice these difficulties. The Office of Student Assistance and Support provides Guides to help you navigate student absences, life events, academic complaints, and general concerns about how a student is doing.

Refer a student you are concerned about and OSAS will connect them with resources.

You can also access OSAS services for yourself. The Graduate and Professional Student Assistance Specialist Elaine Goetz is a great place to start.

Teaching Tips from Experienced TAs

Teaching Mentors facilitate the annual Fall TA Training event. Those selected to be Teaching Mentors have a proven track record of excellence as educators and a strong desire to mentor TAs.

This Week's Teaching Mentor:

Laura Broman is a PhD candidate in Media and Cultural Studies in the Communication Arts department.

"Students in Distress" with Laura Broman

While students are often vaguely aware of the resources available to them through something like the Office of Student Assistance and Support, they may be hesitant to seek out those resources for themselves due to a sense of stigma around seeking mental health treatment or pressure from family to prioritize school above all else. As a TA, it’s not your job to act as a therapist for your students, but you can help them reorient their priorities away from perfect performance in school and towards their own wellbeing. Submitting a student of concern report through the Office of Student Assistance and Support is great because it means someone is going to reach out to them to offer help, so they don’t need to seek out help on their own if they’re scared to do so.

Proctoring Exams

If you are proctoring exams this finals season, tips and best practices can help you run a fair and equitable exam session.

This resource comes from the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards.

Responding to Academic Misconduct

While handling academic misconduct is often the responsibility of your course lead instructor, TAs may be the first to notice a concern. See examples of academic misconduct in this resource from the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards.

Teaching and Learning Symposium Returns May 14

The annual Teaching and Learning Symposium provides an opportunity for the UW–Madison teaching and learning community to share best practices, celebrate accomplishments, and discuss new learning and teaching practices and theories in a forum dedicated to enriching the student learning experience.

The theme for 2026 is “Cultivating Connection.” Proposals are invited from faculty, staff, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows for breakout sessions and poster presentations.

Teaching & Learning Symposium Call for Proposals

New Campus-Wide Survey

If you are an International Teaching Assistant (ITA), please take a moment to participate in a new campus-wide survey designed to enhance support for ITAs at UW. The purpose of this survey is to provide insight that will inform initiatives and optimize support for ITAs across campus.

Please take a moment to complete the survey or copy and paste this link in your browser: https://forms.gle/WFAt99ADdPZPhv4q8.

Important Dates for the End of the Semester

Last class day: Dec 10, 2025 (Wednesday)

Study day: Dec 11, 2025 (Thursday)

Exams: Dec 12 (Friday) - Dec 18 (Thursday), 2025

Commencement: Dec 14, 2025 (Sunday)

Grading deadline: Dec 21, 2025 (Sunday)

Learning Forward is brought to you by the L&S TA Training & Support Team.