2002-2003 Teaching Effectiveness Program
Learning Styles III
Nicole Benoit, Allison Ley and Jacqueline Northey, students; Eunice Lund-Lucas, Coordinator, Special Needs; and Robert Silvestri, Learning Strategist, Special Needs
October 8, 2002; 2hrs
In this third part of a workshop series on Learning Styles, student panelists Nicole Benoit, Allison Ley and Jacqueline Northey shared their experiences as students with special needs and suggested strategies that faculty could incorporate into their teaching. Participants of the
workshop gained a better understanding of multi-modal teaching and how to incorporate the principles of Universal Instructional Design into their courses.
Partners in learning: supporting faculty and supporting students with disabilities
Eunice Lund-Lucas, Coordinator, Special Needs and Robert Silvestri, Learning Strategist, Special Needs
October 21, 2002; 30 min
In this workshop faculty learned about the structure of the Special Needs office, the flow of information and how Special Needs interfaces with faculty in providing services for students with disabilities. The "who-what-where-when-how" of examination accommodations was also
addressed.
Getting the most from the ASC: how faculty can help students succeed
Mr. Martin Boyne, Director, Academic Skills Centre
October 21, 2002; 30 min
This workshop covered how faculty can help students make the most of ASC services. Topics included: ASC in-course workshops, faculty referrals and ASC publications; the ESL program: what ASC does for ESL students and tips for dealing with ESL students and a preview of upcoming IDC workshops on effective marking commentary and plagiarism.
Establishing effective communication with large science classes
Prof. Cheryl McKenna Neuman, Department of Geography
October 21, 2002; 30 min
This talk was a personal perspective on what students have taught Cheryl McKenna Neuman about developing effective communication with large science classes, both inside and outside of the lecture hall. It was targeted towards first year students, but similar strategies can be used
at all levels. These include extensive use of the web for lecture summary distribution and administrative duties, and the use of multimedia and assignments designed to accommodate a wide range of learning styles.
Alternative assessments
Prof. Magda Havas, Environmental & Resources Science/Studies
October 21, 2002; 30 min
In her presentation, Magda Havas provided examples of alternative assessments that are used in her courses: Posters in Arts 110 - Thinking & Learning; Printed papers journal style in ERSC 266 - Biological effects of electromagnetic fields; External partners in SCIE 350 - Communicating Science; and Reflective journals.
Simple technology solutions for good practice in undergraduate education
Dr. Jonathan Swallow, Instructional Development Centre
October 21, 2002; 30 min
In this workshop, Jonathan Swallow presented some technological solutions which are relatively quick and easy to employ, and which meet some general guidelines for good undergraduate teaching. The solutions included: creating interactive assignments using web based learning objects ; placing (audio) comments in students' Microsoft word files; student created web pages as alternatives to traditional essays ; and pairing more capable students with their less capable peers.
Teaching online with WebCT
Mary-Jane Pilgrim, WebCT Administrator
October 21, 2002; 30 min
Teaching "online" is so much more than posting lecture notes to a web site - and WebCT allows you to do so much more. In this mini-workshop, Mary-Jane Pilgrim provided a demonstration of some of the WebCT tools that you can use to promote discussion, do quick quizzing for subject reinforcement, post grades, and link to interesting web sites.
Just-In-Time-Teaching applied with Peer Instruction
Prof. Alan Slavin and Prof. Rachel Wortis, Department of Physics; and Dr. Jonathon Swallow, Instructional Development Centre
November 12, 2002; 1 hr
In this brown-bag presentation, Dr. Alan Slavin, Dr. Rachel Wortis (Physics) and Dr. Jonathan Swallow (IDC) discussed the application of WebCT to encourage students to do assigned readings before coming to class. This has been used to improve the level of small-group discussion in a lecture setting.
Instructional Design Open House
November 20, 2002; 2 hrs
The Instructional Development Centre invites faculty to an Instructional Design open house to discuss collaboration on the development of materials for their courses.
Engaged Learning
Prof. John Earnshaw, Department of Physics
November 27, 2002; 1 hr
Great changes are underway in the way physics is learned and taught. Research over the past two decades has shown how traditional "lecture teaching" at universities without student engagement is ineffective; many new teaching methods are being used that might be relevant to other disciplines beyond physics. Dr. John Earnshaw will describe a totally different pedagogy being used in his course for future elementary teachers in which students in groups teach themselves using a structured curriculum, hands-on-explorations, discussions, etc., and in which traditional lectures are totally abandoned. His uses of multimedia in WebCT, structured faculty-student and student-student activities and a curriculum called PIPS (Powerful Ideas) will be demonstrated. The session will take place in the Bata Library computer lab behind the circulation desk. His presentation will include some hands-on activities.
The Mysteries of Reserves Revealed
Janice Millard, Gift Collections and Technical Services Librarian, and Chris Walsh, Reserves Coordinator
November 28, 2002; 1.5 hrs
This information session will address what reserves are and the practicalities of the Bata reserves system. For example, timing of reserve requests, time saving tips when submitting items for reserves and our policies and procedures for dealing with a variety of situations that arise with material to be placed on reserve will be addressed. The session will also provide an overview of copyright law and how it applies to materials on reserves and how the law governs what can and cannot be placed on reserves.
The Copyright Act intends to balance the interests of the creators of intellectual property and the users of it. As an academic institution, Trent includes people on both sides of the issue. Luckily, the University, as a post-secondary institution, has a signed CANCOPY agreement which permits the copying of materials for private study and research without the necessity of gaining the permission of the copyright holder. Learn more about this agreement and others which affect the copying of materials at Trent.
Strategies to Discourage Plagiarism
Martin Boyne, Academic Skills Centre; Prof. David Glassco, Department of English Literature; and Prof. Elaine Scharfe, Department of Psychology
January 20, 2003; 1.5 hrs
The intention of this session was to provide a venue for the Trent academic community to discuss strategies for discouraging plagiarism. In achieving this goal, the session set out to: (1) discuss how to start a dialogue on plagiarism with students, that is, why faculty take the issue
of plagiarism seriously, why it matters and why it should matter to them; (2) discuss strategies to discourage plagiarism; (3) identify and discuss the cross-cultural dimensions of plagiarism; and (4) describe some of the ASC student resources that are designed to help students avoid plagiarism pitfalls.
Effective Marking Commentary
Martin Boyne and Kevin Spooner, Academic Skills Centre
February 4, 2003; 1 hr
This session focused on using marking commentary (along with marking keys and pre-assignment information sheets) to encourage dialogue with students. Some comments can discourage students, while others that are highly corrective or prescriptive in nature can be confusing if students are unaware of the reasons for the errors. To complement the suggestions given in this workshop, participants shared effective marking commentary strategies that they have used.
Assignment Group Work
Prof. Brian Patrick, Computer Science
March 5, 2003; 1 hr
In this session, Brian Patrick will discussed the advantages and disadvantages of group assignments for both labs and term papers. Brian touched upon the rationale of group work, the creation of groups, the bonding of groups, the evaluation of group work, and the reformation of groups due to course drops and personality conflicts.
Preparing a Teaching Dossier
Prof. Deborah Berrill, School of Education and Professional Learning; Prof. Sarah Keefer, Department of English Literature; and Prof. David Poole, Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning)
April 1, 2003; 1 hr
In this session Professors Berrill, Keefer and Poole will acted as a panel for facilitating discussion on the following topics: (1) background information on what a Teaching Dossier is and the rationale behind preparing one; (2) how a Teaching Dossier differs from, and complements, a traditional curriculum vitae; (3) developing a statement about one's teaching philosophy; (4) possible items to include in a Teaching Dossier; (5) creating a context in which an instructor's actual teaching experience and student responses can best be understood when the instructor chooses to present their Teaching Dossiers for others to interpret.