Instilling best educational practices into future physics professionals and faculty

A primary aim of the New Faculty Workshop (NFW) has been to communicate best educational practices in faculty beginning their teaching careers. However, further amplification of NFW goals is achieved by providing similar content and training to Ph.D. candidates working as Teaching Assistants (TAs). NFW experience led to the successful creation at UCI of a relatively extensive, 30-hour training course now required of every graduate student in the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy. Half of the training occurs before the first week of classes, and focuses on peer instruction, active learning, and results from Physics Education Research. This orientation segues into peer evaluation as first-time TAs and soon-to-be TAs practice teaching styles for each other and evaluate videos of each other teaching their actual courses. This course directly trains 25-30 graduate students each year, indirectly affecting dozens of discussion sections and the experience of nearly 2000 students per quarter.