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Teaching as Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs)

All full-time Research Postgraduate (RPg) students will be taking teaching roles as Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) as part of the teaching training in postgraduate education. They will take on ancillary duties in teaching and research work as assigned by the Postgraduate Programs Coordinators (PGCs) and supervising faculty in their department.

Responsibilities and Duties of GTAs

Responsibilities and duties of GTAs vary across disciplines and departments, but generally involve marking and grading assignments, teaching tutorials and/or laboratory sections, answering questions/queries from students, invigilating tests/exams, and managing courses on the learning management system. While a thorough understanding of the subject area is needed for GTAs to take on the teaching challenge, they also need to possess a good standard of transferable skills in teaching, communication, management, and presentation.

GTAs at HKUST may be required to work for 36 effective hours per month on average. “Effective hours” includes both contact hours and preparation time. In the case of research-related duties, if the duties performed are directly related to the student’s thesis research or project, the 36-hour limit shall not apply. Details of the terms and conditions of Postgraduate Studentships (PGSs) regulating the rights and duties of GTAs at HKUST are accessible at the Handbook for Research Postgraduate Studies.

 

Graduate Teaching Assistant Program

To support RPgs in developing the necessary teaching competencies, CEI offers a structured series of training and support initiatives under the Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) Program. These initiatives are designed to guide GTAs from initial orientation to continuous professional development.

 

GTA Briefing

The GTA Briefing aims to orient new RPgs with their duties, responsibilities, and other requirements needed to fulfill their roles as a GTA. All new RPgs are expected to attend this session.

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PDEV6800 - Introduction to Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Following the initial briefing, RPgs are required to complete PDEV6800, a graduation requirement course for all new RPgs who are admitted from Academic Year 2029-20 onwards.

The course is designed with highly hands-on and interactive teaching activities to build up students’ knowledge, skills and confidence in teaching and learning. To fulfill the course requirements, students need to complete two parts:

  1. attend all five modules and pass all the assessments co-ordinated by CEI (course code: PDEV6800Z), and
  2. teach one 30-min session (for RPgs in MPhil program) or two 30-min sessions (for RPgs in PhD program) as assigned by the supervising department (course code: PDEV6800A-J).

The first part is a prerequisite to proceed to the second part of the course.

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GTA Teaching and Learning Support

Beyond formal training, CEI provides RPgs with extensive teaching and learning resources to help GTAs continuously enhance their teaching practices. RPgs can access a collection of teaching and learning resources, including recordings of previous workshops and events.

RPgs who encounter issues related to their departmental duties may seek guidance from Teaching Assistant Coordinators (TACs), experienced GTAs who work closely with CEI to support departmental teaching activities. TACs also collaborate with CEI and PGCs to provide developmental programs and activities for the continued progression of GTAs.

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