In 1992, the Office of Instructional Development and Technology (OIDT) took the initiative to establish the President's Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards in order to recognize, on an annual basis, the outstanding achievements of three Teaching Assistants. Selection Committee members have been favourably impressed by the very high calibre of the dossiers filed on behalf of the nominees; a large number of undergraduate students and faculty have written strong letters praising the teaching accomplishments and dedication of some of Dalhousie's finest Teaching Assistants.

University Teaching and Learning: An Instructional Resource Guide for Teaching Assistants at Dalhousie University was first published in 1992 and represents another element of the University's overall effort to address the professional development needs of Teaching Assistants. The OIDT takes particular pride in the fact 20 Dalhousie faculty and staff contributed to the Resource Guide. This collective project demonstrates the growing involvement of members of the academic community in instructional development strategies on campus and beyond.

Moreover, the previous editions of this Resource Guide have been purchased by 46 institutions in Canada, 51 in the United States, and 35 in other countries. In addition, 26 universities around the world have purchased the diskette version of this Resource Guide in order to adapt it to their own institutional setting and print copies for distribution across their campuses. (See Appendix 1.)

Although the OIDT contributes in various ways in preparing TAs to assume their pedagogical role, it is primarily at the level of the academic department that TAs will receive daily guidance in fulfilling their growing professional responsibilities. Conscious of the essential part the individual academic unit plays in the development of TAs, we include a Checklist for Departments. Where does your department stand?

The OIDT staff and the Resource Guide contributors are confident that you will find this edition useful. In any case, we welcome your comments and suggestions for future editions.

The Editor would like to recognize the work of Natalie Pomerleau of OIDT in creating this electronic version of the guide in the summer of 1997.

W. Alan Wright
Executive Director
Office of Instructional Development
& Technology