welcome to my classroom Archives - Teaching and Learning Services

Explore how to boost class attendance at our upcoming workshop

CCMS Editor — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 14:03:08 +0000

Class attendance is “well-known” to be highly correlated with student success. If this is true, then why don’t our students always come to class? And, more to the point, how can we encourage our students to come to class more often?

On Feb. 17, join Professor Simon Power (Department of Economics) for the second Welcome to My Classroom session of the term, as he explores the issue of class attendance, or maybe the issue of class non-attendance, and provides some practical suggestions as to what we can do about it.

The session runs from noon – 1:30 p.m. in room 422 Dunton Tower. Space is limited, so please .

Become a more productive academic writer

CCMS Editor — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 14:10:30 +0000

On Jan. 27, join us at the EDC for the first Welcome to My Classroom session of the year as Merridee Bujaki (Associate Professor, Sprott School of Business and Director, Centre for Research and Education on Women and Work) shares some of her hard-won insights on how to be a more productive academic writer.

Come prepared to join in the discussion with your own best practices and your current challenges.

The session runs from 12-1:30 p.m. in room 422 Dunton Tower. Space is limited, so please.

If you could build the ideal science lab TA, what would they be like?

CCMS Editor — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 14:32:33 +0000

In an undergraduate science lab, teaching assistants are the direct point of contact for learning support for students, and as such they can have an immediate and significant impact on the student learning experience.

If you could build the ideal science laboratory TA, what qualities and skills would they have? How and where could they get and develop these skills?

On Wednesday, Dec. 14, join Claudia Buttera, a laboratory coordinator from the Department of Biology, in a discussion on what makes a great lab TA and how we can improve the experience both for the TAs and for the students they serve.

The session runs from 12-1:30 p.m. in room 422 Dunton Tower. Space is limited, so please in advance.

How to write an effective course outline

CCMS Editor — Tue, 08 Nov 2016 21:00:45 +0000

In spite of spending time and energy crafting the perfect course outline, it can seem as though the majority of students never bother to read them. But is it really written for them?

On November 25, join your colleagues as part of the Welcome to My Classroom series for a discussion on how to create a streamlined, concise, and clear course outline. Plus share your tips and advice on how to ensure students pay attention to the important details.

The session runs from 12-1:30 p.m. in room 422 Dunton Tower. Space is limited so please .

Welcome to My Classroom: Teaching Writing by Teaching Reading

CCMS Editor — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 14:42:45 +0000

Students in FASS and FPA are evaluated on their writing, but very few of them arrive at �Ӱ�ԭ�� knowing how to write a basic essay. At best they turn in five-paragraph essays and at worst their efforts are incoherent. To remedy this situation, Prof. Gregory MacIsaac has designed HUMS 1200 – Humanities and Classical Civilisation, the required first-year writing course in the Bachelor of Humanities program.

On Sept. 30, join Prof. MacIsaac as he shares the procedure he developed that has yielded very good results, which includes a five-step graduated assignment sequence, in-class group-work and an extensive writing guide. His aim is to help other departments implement or adapt his model to develop their own first-year writing courses.

The session runs from 12-1:30 p.m. in room 422 Dunton Tower. Space is limited, so please .

Organizing the teaching year

CCMS Editor — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 13:45:22 +0000

Are there parts of your teaching that are less organized and efficient than you’d like? Do you have systems for dealing with student emails, monitoring deadlines and extensions, or recording all the great ideas you want to implement next year?

Join Prof. Jim Davies and Teaching and Learning Services for the first Welcome to My Classroom session of the year and share ideas about keeping track of the nitty-gritty of teaching to get your year off to a good start.

The session runs on August 26 from 12-1:30 p.m. in room 422 Dunton Tower.

Space is limited, so !

Threshold concepts and course design

CCMS Editor — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 15:19:08 +0000

Each discipline has a set of concepts that are notoriously troublesome for student to learn, not for lack of trying, but for the fundamental shift in perspective that they both enable and require. Threshold concepts have been described as “portals” or “conceptual gateways” that “open up previously inaccessible ways of thinking” (Meyer and Land, 2003).

As specialists who are already well-versed in their own fields, instructors are already through the gateway. How do we know when we’re dealing with a threshold concept in our own disciplines? What can we do to help students through the gateway?

On Oct. 30, bring your lunch and join us for the third session in our Welcome to My Classroom series to learn about threshold concepts, troublesome knowledge, and their implications for course design.

The session runs from 12-1:30 p.m. in room 422 Dunton Tower.