9. Working with laboratory instructors, teaching assistants, and clinical nursing instructors 

Are there general rules or policies for working with laboratory instructors, teaching assistants, and clinical nursing instructors?

The working conditions for these colleagues who work in partnership with faculty instructors can be found in their respective collective agreements (CUPE 1870 for laboratory technicians and instructors, Faculty Association BU1 for clinical nursing instructors). Graduate student teaching assistants and post-doctoral researchers are represented by a different union and are in the process of negotiating a first contract, which would include working conditions. Upper-year undergraduate students may also be available to provide support with laboratory activities or grading, for example. Please consult your department chair for more information on the practices and processes in your unit.

What do laboratory instructors, teaching assistants, and clinical nursing instructors typically do?

Laboratory instructors and teaching assistants at UPEI lead tutorials, supervise labs, answer student questions in drop-in tutorials, and mark assignments and exams. Often, they will have more direct interaction with the students than you, the instructor. Their work is crucial for undergraduate education at UPEI. Some are full-time/part-time employees at UPEI while others may be upper-level undergraduate students or graduate students who have to juggle these tasks with taking classes or conducting research for their theses, so it’s important not to expect an unrealistic time commitment. On the other hand, these students will learn many transferable skills from teaching, and they have a big responsibility for the undergraduate students’ learning, so it’s important for them to take this work seriously.

Clinical nursing instructors (CNIs) are an integral part of the delivery of the curriculum in the Faculty of Nursing and are members of the UPEI Faculty Association. CNIs are full-time/part-time clinical teachers with specialized nursing expertise (i.e., community health, mental health, medical surgical, maternal child, long-term care, etc.) who support the work of the Faculty of Nursing in clinical and laboratory assignments. CNIs are registered nurses and must maintain active registration with the College of Registered Nurses of PEI. CNIs supervise nursing students in clinical practice to facilitate the development of entry-level competencies for the profession of nursing. CNIs help nursing students relate theory to practice. They grade clinical assignments and evaluate students’ clinical practice based on Faculty of Nursing clinical evaluation policies.

Will I get to choose my laboratory instructors or teaching assistants?

Typically, the department chair will assign the laboratory instructors and teaching assistants.

How can I support my laboratory instructors and teaching assistants?

Depending on how experienced and skilled your laboratory instructors or teaching assistants are, they will need more or less guidance. For those who are students, you have an important role to play as a mentor in guiding them and helping them develop as educators. You should meet as an instructional team to ensure that everyone understands expectations and practices for grading, etc., and to give them an opportunity for feedback.

You may also want to let graduate students who are interested in developing their teaching skills, perhaps in preparation for a career in post-secondary teaching, know about the academic instructional skills program offered at UPEI.

How will the laboratory instructor, teaching assistant, or clinical nursing instructor be evaluated?

In many departments, laboratory instructor evaluation is integrated into the course evaluation (Student Opinion of Teaching Survey or SOTS) done by students. In the Faculty of Nursing, CNI evaluation is conducted as a separate component of SOTS.