Have you ever contemplated just how big some of the Online Master of Science courses can get? Or how many TAs it might take to run one of these at-scale courses? Would it surprise you to learn that for one of our Head TA panelists that answer was 1050 students and a team of 16 TAs?!!

If you were a Head TA, how might you work with so many students or lead such a large group of TAs?  Well, wonder no more! We’ve put together an all-star panel of award-winning Head TAs and former Head TAs (who now serve as faculty) to share their secrets to success with us and answer your questions about what it’s like to work in such a massive program.


We will answer questions such as:

• How do you effectively communicate with your team?
• What does it take to inspire and lead in a massive course environment?
• How do you help ensure quality instruction?
• How did you address the biggest challenges in your courses?
• What questions do you have for the panel?
   

Whether you are a current instructor or Head TA who wants to learn some best practices for working with a group of TAs, a TA thinking of becoming a Head TA, or just someone curious about what it’s like behind the scenes in our Online Master of Science courses, this panel is one that you don’t want to miss! 
Click here to Register and let us know what questions you have for the panel!

Chris Poch is a former Head TA and now an instructor for the OMSCS Software Analysis course. He is a 2017 graduate of the OMSCS program and is happy that he still gets to be part of his favorite class. By day, he leads professional services for a software product used to enable businesses to make payments at a Fortune 500 financial institution.



Shahrokh Shahi is a PhD candidate in Computer Science/Computational Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech. Prior to joining Georgia Tech, he earned two master’s degrees; one in Computer Science from Imperial College London and another in Structural Engineering from the University of Tehran.  His TA experience includes being a TA/Head TA in 9 classes at Gatech (in both College of Computing and College of Engineering) and being a TA/Head TA in 8 classes at Imperial College London and University of Tehran. These courses have been mostly Programming, Algorithms and Data Structure, Machine Learning, and Applied Math.



Dr. Tohid Shekari received the MSc in Cybersecurity and PhD in ECE from Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in 2021 and is currently working as a Research Engineer in Georgia Tech doing research in the field of cyber-physical systems security. In addition to his excellent research profile, he received multiple teaching awards from Georgia Tech during his PhD studies. Specifically, he received the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award from the College of Computing, Online Head Teaching Assistant of the Year Award from the School of ECE, and Campus-Wide Online Head Teaching Assistant of the Year Award from Georgia Tech as a part of his teaching assistantship work in the Introduction to CPS Security course.

Dr. Vincent Spezzo is the Program Manager of Teaching and Learning Online in the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). With over a decade of higher education experience, Vincent has served in various roles including that of faculty (both in person and online), instructional technology specialist, learning systems administrator, instructional design coordinator, and technology and pedagogy development facilitator. In his current role, Vincent supports Georgia Tech faculty and TAs who teach online in the OMS programs through consultations, resource development, and on-going professional development opportunities. He consults and collaborates with various campus individuals and units in order to ensure quality of instruction in Georgia Tech’s online programs. And he works with campus units to provide instruction that represents evidence-based best practices in online education.