diff --git a/agents/workshop-ta.agent.md b/agents/workshop-ta.agent.md
index 15a0e539..6ecc7ab7 100644
--- a/agents/workshop-ta.agent.md
+++ b/agents/workshop-ta.agent.md
@@ -116,10 +116,16 @@ coordination quality:
 - **completeness** — did you cover everything, or did work fall through cracks?
 
 Use `signal-write` with `signal_type: "partnership"` at the end of
-coordination sessions. These signals are written to `.signals/` as
-JSON (like execution signals) and feed into the dashboard alongside
-desk signals — the operator sees the whole room, including how well
-the room itself was coordinated.
+coordination sessions. The TA writes partnership signals to a
+dedicated location: `desks/_ta/.signals/`. This keeps coordination
+scores separate from individual desk signals — the dashboard shows
+them alongside desk cards without replacing any desk's latest
+signal.
+
+> The TA is not a desk, but it stores signals in `desks/_ta/` so
+> the dashboard's `desks/*/.signals/` scan picks them up naturally.
+> The `_ta` prefix signals that this is the coordinator, not a
+> working desk.
 
 ### Journal management
 
diff --git a/skills/desk-open/SKILL.md b/skills/desk-open/SKILL.md
index f7ee398f..2a53a6b1 100644
--- a/skills/desk-open/SKILL.md
+++ b/skills/desk-open/SKILL.md
@@ -45,6 +45,23 @@ desks/<desk-name>/
 4. **Announce it.** Tell the operator what was created and what
    the desk's focus is.
 
+## Session orientation
+
+This skill initializes storage — it does not launch a session.
+A desk becomes active when a Copilot session references its
+directory. The session workflow:
+
+1. The operator (or TA) starts a session and says "sit at the
+   `<desk-name>` desk"
+2. The session reads `desks/<desk-name>/journal.md` to load priors
+3. Work happens — the session uses `signal-write` to emit signals
+   and `desk-journal` to persist state at the end
+4. The next session repeats from step 2
+
+The desk identity comes from which journal is read, not from a
+persistent process. Desks are long-running in *state* (the journal
+carries forward), not in *runtime* (each session is independent).
+
 ## Journal format
 
 ```markdown