2003-2004 Teaching Effectiveness Program
Creating Teaching Portfolios - Getting Started
Prof. Deborah Berrill, School of Education and Professional Learning
August 11, 2003; 3 hrs
The Teaching Portfolio can serve many purposes; it can provide faculty with a means for summative evaluation (teaching awards, promotion, tenure and merit) and a means for formative evaluation and feedback, allowing faculty to make their teaching practice congruent with their beliefs. In preparation for this hands-on workshop, participants are encouraged to bring any pages they have created, up to full portfolios. The focus of the workshop is to come away with very specific ideas, and possibly to do some creating as well. Contact the IDC for a Dossier Preparation Guide.
Working Successfully with Aboriginal Students
Vern Douglas, Cultural Advisor, Native Studies
September 18, 2003; 1 hr
This session is designed to create awareness about the issues related to Aboriginal student success in the classroom/university environment, and to build relationships with faculty, staff and graduate students who work with students of Aboriginal ancestry that are not enrolled in the Native Studies program. Some of the issues that will be covered in this session include: cultural implications, political realities, learning styles and the services/support that are available to Aboriginal students and instructional staff.
Promoting Student Participation
Prof. Deborah Berrill, School of Education and Professional Learning; Prof. Susan Wurtele, Geography; and Prof. Julia Harrison, Anthropology
September 25, 2003; 1.5 hrs
This teaching conversation focused on strategies people use to (1) ensure that students have done assigned reading before class and (2) get discussion started in tutorials or seminars.
Teaching to Learning Styles
Nancy M. Smith, Academic Coach, Special Needs Office and Robert Silvestri, Learning Strategist, Special Needs Office
October 1, 2003; 1 hr
This workshop will investigate new methods of appraising learning styles and providing instruction and curriculum based assessment to your class' varied learning styles.
Working with ESL Students: Challenges and Strategies
Peggy Kruger and Tania Pattison, ESL Instructors, Academic Skills Centre
October 10, 2003; 1.5 hrs
This workshop is designed to allow faculty to identify and discuss some of the challenges that ESL students present in credit courses. Topics will include linguistic and cultural issues, aspects of course design and delivery, and student expectations. Based on their experience teaching ESL, the workshop facilitators will present some practical advice for dealing with many of these challenges.
Infusing Critical Thinking Skills into Assignment Requirements
Maged El Komos, Writing Instructor, Academic Skills Centre
October 14, 2003; 1 hr
This workshop offers means of explicitly including critical thinking in the requirements of an assignment. Naturally, professors expect students to think critically when addressing an assignment. Given that students are not always familiar with procedures for doing so, however, it may be advisable to include some steps in the assignment structure whereby students identify and evaluate the claims in material they are discussing - and possibly in their own writing.
Assessment as Pedagogy
Prof. Deborah Berrill, School of Education and Professional Learning
October 30, 2003; 1.5 hrs
This teaching conversation will focus on the way we assess and evaluate our students' work, recognizing this as part of how we teach. Please bring assessment issues in your area, or a sample/description of a mode of an assessment which you use that provides one of the following: rich opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning; to deepen their learning; to provide them with scaffolding for later learning; or to demonstrate learning in a non-standard format.
Encouraging and Promoting Critical Thinking
Prof. Deborah Berrill, School of Education and Professional Learning
November 13, 2003; 1.5 hrs
We mean different things when we say "critical thinking." This teaching conversation will explore higher order thinking such as synthesis, application, evaluation of theory and content, as well as critiquing ideas from a post-modern sense. The session will focus particularly on specific strategies used in different disciplines and interdisciplinary contexts.
Building Learning Communities Online and in the Classroom
Prof. Denise Stockley, Queen's University
November 27, 2003; 1.5 hrs
This workshop focuses on one strategy: the building and fostering of learning communities to encourage active participation of students in both classroom-based and online teaching environments. Learning communities emerge when a group of people participate in common activities, depend on one another, and make decisions together. The strategies offered in this session can be used in many different learning environments, and are not tied to a particular technology or classroom setting.
Teaching Large Classes
Prof. Deborah Berrill, School of Education and Professional Learning; Prof. David Poole, Associate Dean ( Teaching and Learning); and
Prof. Josie Aubrey, Department of Psychology
December 4, 2003; 1.5 hrs
Large classes provide challenges in teaching, especially in a context which so values small group teaching and learning. Sometimes we dismiss the opportunities for different kinds of learning in large group formats. This conversation will focus on strategies for large group teaching/learning, and ways of actively engaging students.
Deborah and David will begin by sharing their strategies. Josie will follow with a summary of information she recently gathered while attending McGraw-Hill Ryerson's Technology and Learning Conference on Active Learning. Participants are encouraged to bring examples of strategies that have worked well for them, to share with the group.
Teaching first year classes
Prof. Rachel Wortis, Department of Physics
January 15, 2004; 1.5 hrs
First year classes present special opportunities and special challenges in university teaching. Rachel will begin the conversation by sharing a list of common issues that were identified by a group of first-year science instructors. Participants in the teaching conversations often find strategies and approaches used in other disciplines to be very helpful and transferable to their own courses. To that end, we will, as always, look to participants to bring their experiences to bear and to share strategies that they have found to be successful.
Academic Emotions: Simple ways to reduce anxiety in our students
Wendy Kelly,Department of Psychology
January 21, 2004; 1.5 hrs
This teaching conversation will focus on the interplay between students' emotions and their comfort and performance in academic settings. Specifically, the forum will focus on methods to reduce student anxiety in different disciplines. Please come prepared to share examples of how anxiety affects your students' progress and ways that you may explicitly or implicitly reduce that anxiety.
facultydevelopment.ca
Prof. Aline Germain-Rutherford, University of Ottawa
February 4, 2004; 2 hrs
Facultydevelopment.ca is a broadband-intensive learning resource designed to enable new and existing faculty in Canadian universities to enhance teaching and learning. By providing flexible access to interactive learning materials and a collaborative virtual environment, it addresses barriers that faculty face in their pursuit of lifelong learning - access and time. This project draws on a unique partnership amongst key Canadian organizations in higher education, including 3M Teaching Fellows, the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE), Educational Development Offices from across Canada, and a leading publisher in higher education, McGraw-Hill Ryerson. The project is currently hosted at the University of Ottawa and is co-directed by Dr. Aline Germain-Rutherford, University of Ottawa, and Dr. Tim Pychyl, Carleton University. Facultydevelopment.ca is funded by CANARIE Inc., Canada's Advanced Internet Organization, an industry-led not-for-profit corporation. During the session, participants will have the chance to explore the learning unit on "How To Teach Large Classes" and to try its web based learning modules dealing with such issues as: lecturing, active learning in a large class, connecting with my students, teaching and learning in a hybrid environment.
Occasioning
Prof. Deborah Berrill and Prof. Kelly Young, School of Education and Professional Learning
February 12, 2004; 1.5 hrs
This teaching conversation will focus on an instructional strategy called "occasioning". Occasioning is allowing yourself as the teacher to be receptive to learning opportunities which arise which you did not plan. Allowing yourself to not stick hard and fast to your plan for the class but rather to take advantage of 'teachable moments.' There are certain kinds of things that can happen which might make you feel that you are 'off track' because you are not following your plan, when in fact if you do follow those 'detours' and other 'occasionings' your teaching is often more powerful and more meaningful to students. Identifying what constitute 'occasionings' helps us take advantage of them. Participants are encouraged to bring examples of 'teachable moments' to share with the group.
Online Teaching Strategies
Prof. Deborah Berrill, Wilif Gray and Darryl Papke, School of Education and Professional Learning
March 11, 2004; 1.5 hrs
This teaching conversation will cover some of the more recent research and usage strategies that have been used in online learning (from a variety of educational levels), in addition to ideas that can be tailored to particular subject areas (e.g., collaborative projects, reflective journaling, debates, role playing, brainstorming, and guest speakers).
Our do's and don'ts of lectures and seminars
Prof. Carolyn Kay, Department of History and Prof. David Page, Ancient History and Classics
March 19, 2004; 1.5 hrs
This discussion will consider some of the strategies for strengthening our skills in lectures and seminars, at a time when student numbers are rising. How can instructors improve their lecturing to address the demands of crowded lecture halls? We will offer some ideas from our own experience, including the use of audio-visual material, the need to engage students directly through questions and invited comments, and ways to keep the lecture challenging, comprehensible and interesting for students. How can instructors create a stimulating environment in seminars? Here we will consider the lengths of reading assignments, how to encourage more discussion between students, how to shape class discussion, engaging student attention, and what to do when the class falls silent ...
Peer Assessment of Student Work
Prof. Alison Bain, Department of Geography and Prof. Sarah Keefer, Department of English Literature
March 22, 2004; 1.5 hrs
Peer review is an underutilized, yet valuable, resource for undergraduate student learning. While the use of peer review for student assignments may require additional organization and planning in the preparation of a course syllabus, it is worth the investment of time and effort. Peer review can facilitate the sharing of ideas, the development of independent study and research groups, and the building of seminar morale. Sarah and Alison will discuss their use of the peer review process in three different upper-year undergraduate courses at Trent University, and will share student feedback on perceived learning outcomes and benefits from participation in this teaching strategy.
Learning to be a Critical Thinker using the Case Study Approach
Lisa-Anne Hagerman, Nursing and Michael Konopaski, Business Administration
March 29, 2004; 1.5 hrs
Critical thinking skill development has become one of the key outcomes of many higher-learning curriculum objectives. Richard Paul (1993) defines critical thinking as the "art of thinking about your thinking while you are thinking in order to make your thinking better". Critical thinking is integral to effective decision making and requires the student to ask questions, consider possible answers, and to arrive at a solution after considering all possible internal and external factors that may affect the decision reached. There exists a multitude of definitions as to what it means to think critically, methods to instruct students in this essential skill, and how to assess and evaluate a student's ability to think critically and to problem-solve. The purpose of this workshop is to examine the use of case studies in developing a student's ability to problem-solve and to think critically. Workshop participants will be engaged in discussion regarding what is critical thinking, research surrounding case study utilization in classroom settings, how to develop a case study, and the ten characteristics of an effective case study. The facts, constraints, and objectives that structure a case study will assist students in diagnosing, analyzing and prescribing (recommending) possible solutions to real life situations.
Using Technology to Teach Ojibway Language
Prof. Shirley Williams, Native Studies
March 31, 2004; 1 hr
"Zhooshkwaadekamogad" Rip Roaring Hockey is an Ojibway CD-ROM. It uses hockey as the central idea, translating the concepts, words and conversation into the Ojibway language. The CD-ROM teaches the Aboriginal language Nishinaabe and it is bilingual so English speakers can understand what is being said. The CD-ROM has eleven themes, like arena, with sub themes such shapes, colors and the content of the arena. It has hockey equipment, players, values, food and nutrition and includes Aboriginal hockey heroes. Also included are the Ojibway Vowel Song and the National anthem sung in the Ojibway language. This presentation will share some of this new technical work that has been produced and is helping to teach and learn the Ojibway language.
Library Skills Program
Jean Luyben, Information Services Librarian
April 5, 2004; 1.5 hrs
Are you unhappy with the level of research your students are doing for their course papers? Would you like to see your students make better use of the available resources? The Library offers a "Library Skills Program" for all Trent courses. This program uses WebCT and the library web site to show students how to use library resources effectively. It is prepared and run by Trent librarians, and relates directly with course content and level. From its meager beginnings in 1997, the program has come a long way and has adapted to the new technologies available. This year, there were 2300 participants from 16 courses.