February 2010

Unless otherwise indicated, sessions occur in the Learning and Teaching Centre (LTC) Classroom in the Harry Hickman Building (HHB), Room 128.

If the register buttons are not working, please contact us by email.

Teaching Squares
It seems a strange thing to feel, but teaching can be a lonely endeavour. Sure, you can build a cameraderie with your students centred around the content of your classes, but it may not be so easy to share ideas of teaching with them.

Teaching Squares is a concept created by Anne Wessely of St. Louis Community College. A group of four people (it can also be three people in a triangle) who are teaching in different disciplines agree to sit in on each other's classes as a non-participating observer. Each Teaching Squares member visits one class per week and is visited once by another. After all visits have been completed, the group reconvene to discuss what they discovered about their own teaching.

Teaching Squares 2009 - Feedback Comments

• "It was a great experience for me. Nothing I would change. I'm actually recommending it to friends," Instructor, Hispanic and Italian Studies Department.
• "Thanks again for setting this up. It was a great experience!" Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry.
• "Thanks so much for carrying this on. I think it is a very valuable program, and I'd love to participate in it again," Senior Instructor, Studies in Policy and Practice Program.
• "This was successful and valuable," Assistant Professor, Music Education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Faculty of Education.
  
  

The next Teaching Squares is scheduled to start in the Spring of 2010 (February to April).

UVic Teaching Awards Celebration
Tuesday, February 2, 2010 [Hosted reception]
4:30 PM University Club
Co-presented by the UVic Alumni Association, the Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Learning & Teaching Centre
UVic celebrates teaching excellence in many ways, one of which is an annual event to recognize teaching award recipients across the university and beyond. Please join us to show appreciation of those who have been identified as exemplars of UVic's commitment to teaching and student success in 2009, including presentation of the Gilian Sherwin Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Andy Farquharson Teaching Assistant Awards.
Note: This is an invited event. We do need to ask that you please respond regarding your attendance on this occasion. If you feel you have been omitted from the invitation list in error, please inquire at ltc@uvic.ca or 721-8571.

Strategies for the First Class [Teaching Tips Series #7]
Thursday, February 4, 2010
2:00 PM ~ 4:00 PM, HHB 128
With Professor Marty Wall, Department of Psychology and the Learning and Teaching Centre
As an instructor you might be tempted to dismiss the special significance of your first meeting with your class and not take advantage of the opportunity that it provides to set a positive and engaging beginning to your course. First impressions are important and, particularly in a large class, difficult to change. We will discuss the “dos-and-don’ts” for the first class and consider the impact of different strategies. Come prepared to compare notes on how best to establish an optimal start to a course.
Teaching Tips Series Information

Using the Arts in CBR [Teaching Community-Based Research Workshop Series]
Friday, February 5, 2010 [Light lunch provided]
12:30 PM ~ 2:00 PM, HHB 128
A conversation with Dr. Darlene Clover and Dr. Catherine Etmanski, Department of Educational Psychology & Leadership Studies, and Faculty of Education grad students Sheila Simpkins, Nishad Khanna, Liz Merkel, and Tieja Thomas.

This workshop will explore how the arts can be and are currently being applied in the context of CBR. The speakers will discuss:

• definitions and history of Arts Based Research,
• the role of symbolic language,
• how to elicit data through arts-based methods, and
• questions around validity and art as representation.
  
  

The workshop will also demonstrate one arts-based method: Métissage, with an introduction to this story-telling/story-weaving method and a performance by four grad students.

Darlene Clover is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education, Leadership Studies. She was recently the primary investigator on an international comparative research study on Women’s Community Arts and Crafts in Canada and New Zealand. Through this project, she connected with dozens of grassroots artists and activists around the world who were using the arts as catalysts for Learning, Defiance, and Social Change. More information can be found here: http://www.educ.uvic.ca/communityarts/index.html

Catherine Etmanski is a Sessional Instructor in the Department of Leadership Studies and an Educational Consultant in the Greater Victoria Area. Her specialty is facilitating Popular Theatre workshops, and her areas of interest include Arts-Based Research, Global Citizenship, and Ecological Education. For her doctoral research, she worked with international graduate students to create a popular theatre performance, which made a creative contribution to discussions around the Internationalization of campus and the challenges facing students, staff, faculty, and members of the community.

Sheila Simpkins is a doctoral student in the department of Curriculum and Instruction. For her research, she is exploring how the tool of Métissage can be used as a peace education initiative to foster understanding of and empathy for the Other, and to promote dialogue around peace between Kurdish and Arab students in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq. Before returning to her graduate studies, she taught academic English writing to university students in China, Turkey, and Northern Iraq.

Nishad Khanna is currently working on his M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction. He is also the research coordinator of the Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement, led by the Students Commission of Canada, a national youth organization. Nish is interested in meaningfully engaging young people in research to reveal critical knowledge that is often silenced, devalued or omitted in typical research processes. His thesis research explores the practice(s) of anti-racist, feminist, intergenerational participatory action research based upon a project undertaken in partnership with Antidote: Multiracial and Indigenous Girls and Women’s Network.

Liz Merkel is a Masters student in Curriculum and Instruction, a seminar instructor and supervisor for students in the teacher education program. Her passion for teaching at the primary school age led her to undertake Masters research wherein she studies how autoethnography in teacher education programs critically impacts pre-service teacher practice. She also works on a research project with Dr.Kathy Sanford related to learning and video game play, as well as a project with Dr. Catherine McGregor related to alternative practicum experience in teacher education programs.

Tieja Thomas is an M.A. student in the department of Educational Psychology & Leadership Studies. Her current research explores the educational beliefs held by leaders working within the domain of non-formal education. Prior to beginning her studies at UVic, she coordinated non-formal educational programs within various non-profit organizations located in Montreal, QC. In addition to her M.A. work, Tieja is a Research Assistant for the Beyond the Classroom Walls study, a project that examines the effects of pre-service teacher educators’ participation in alternative practicum experiences.

Experienced practitioners and interested newcomers are welcome to join the conversation.
For more information about the series, please click on the following link:
Teaching CBR Workshop Series

Assessing Student Dispositions Before It's Too Late [SoTL Series] [First Year Course Instructors Council (FYCIC) Series]
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
1:00 PM ~ 2:30 PM, HHB 128
Facilitators: Dr. Graham McDonough, and Dr. Todd Milford, Assistant Professors, Department of Curriculum & Instruction
We know that students learn better when they care about the subject matter and feel that instructors are attentive to their learning needs. It therefore makes sense to know how your students are feeling about their learning before they do their end-of-term evaluations of your teaching, but how can you properly and accurately determine student dispositions?
This workshop proposes that collecting information on students’ dispositions during the term gives instructors an advantage in making teaching and learning decisions that can positively affect student performance. The workshop will begin with an interactive presentation of field-tested techniques that yield top-quality information and encourage student participation in the development of a positive classroom climate. Participants are encouraged to bring assessment techniques and stories from their own experience to share and discuss in the second half of the workshop.
SoTL Series Information
FYCIC Series Information

Busting out of the ‘teacher’ and ‘student’ boxes [TA ProD Series]
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
6:00 PM ~ 7:30 PM, HHB 128
Facilitator: Serena Kataoka, Department of Political Science
How can we effectively facilitate learning? Since universities have institutionalized teacher-centred learning, there are not many ready examples of how we can shift our focus to learner-driven processes. This workshop will introduce the binary busting matrix, which helps us to see how the conventional roles of teacher and student are informed by rudimentary understandings of power and knowledge. It also gives us language for speaking about the more nuanced roles that we often find ourselves playing (even though we are cast for the role of Teacher). Finally, it creates space for thinking about what facilitating learning might actually involve.

This session will focus on enabling instructors and TAs to facilitate learning in university classrooms. It will include a sketch of common classroom dynamics (through the matrix), and an introduction to communication techniques that can be used to foster more productive and collaborative dynamics.
TA ProD Series Information

Career Boot Camp [TWC Workshop]
Saturday, February 13, 2010
9:30 AM ~ 2:30 PM
Location: McPherson Library, Room A003
Instructors: Laurie Waye and Shu-Min Huang, Writing Centre, and Ian Robertson and Lynn McCaughey, Career Services
With Career Services, the Writing Centre will hold an all-day, Saturday workshop on writing a cover letter and resume. This workshop is open to all UVic students and alumni. By the end of the day, you will walk away with a list of your competencies, a better resume, and new skills for writing cover letters.

You will require a lap top as there is significant computer work involved. Once you register, we will provide you with pre-session reading material to review in advance.

This workshop requires a minimum of 10 participants.
TWC Workshop Information

Graduate Student Summit
Monday, February 15, 2010 ~ Wednesday, February 18, 2010

Back by popular demand, it's the Graduate Student Summit! With the Student Transition Centre, the Writing Centre will hold three days of informational sessions and hands-on workshops. Each day has a theme: Monday we're talking about writing, Tuesday we're talking about conference presentations, and Wednesday we're talking about publishing your writing. Click here for a detailed schedule.

The Monday, February 15, 2010 schedule will include the following workshops:

• Stronger Sentences [Writing Tips Series]

10:00 AM ~ 10:45 AM, SSM 120

Instructor: Laurie Waye, The Writing Centre
Are your sentences awkward or unclear? Come to this workshop to learn some simple rules about clear and strong writing. As this is a hands-on workshop, please bring two or three pages of a paper you are writing, a highlighter and a pen. Preregistration is required, as seating is limited to 20. Registration will begin February 1, 2010.

• Punctuation [Writing Tips Series]

11:00 AM ~ 11:45 AM, SSM 120

Instructor: Shu-Min Huang, The Writing Centre
Are you confused by the comma? Are you guilty of semi-colon abuse? Come to this workshop to learn some simple rules about clear and strong writing. As this is a hands-on workshop, please bring two or three pages of a paper you are writing, a highlighter and a pen. Preregistration is required, as seating is limited to 20. Registration will begin February 1, 2010.

• Grammar [Writing Tips Series]

12:30 PM ~ 1:15 PM, SSM 120

Instructor: Shu-Min Huang, The Writing Centre
Do you misuse pronouns? Do your verbs disagree with your subjects? This workshop covers how to detect when your subjects and verbs disagree, your pronouns are misused, and your modifiers are dangling. As this is a hand-on this workshop, please bring two or three pages of a paper you are writing, a highlighter and a pen. Preregistration is required, as seating is limited to 20. Registration will begin February 1, 2010.

• Making the Transition from Academic Writing to Professional Writing

1:30 PM ~ 2:30 PM, SSM 120

Instructor: Susan Doyle, Writing Program Advisor, English Department

After years of writing lengthy, highly formal academic papers, many graduate students struggle to adapt to the tightly focused, concise, and readable style preferred in the professional world. In this 60-minute presentation, you will learn about the features of professional writing and how to adapt your academic writing skills to the professional style. The session will include an opportunity for you to assess your own strengths and weaknesses as a writer and set professional writing goals for yourself.

Registration begins February 1, 2010.
TWC Workshop Information

Managing Your Thesis or Dissertation (for Graduate Students) [TWC Workshop]
Monday, February 22, 2010
9:30 AM ~ 11:00 AM, MacPherson Library, Room A003
Instructor: Laurie Waye, Coordinator, The Writing Centre

Is your thesis or dissertation out of control? This hands-on workshop will help you map out your paper, and understand what you need to do, when, and how, by applying project management concepts to the process of writing academic work. Open to all members of the UVic community who are working on a graduate-level, large-scale academic research or writing project. Those in the depths of dissertation despair are especially welcome.
Spaces are limited to only 12 participants as the workshop will have a high facilitator-to-participant ratio.
The workshop is 1.5 hours.
To register, please contact Laurie Waye.

[PLEASE NOTE: This workshop covers the same material that will be provided at the March 19, 2010 and April 22, 2010 workshops.]

There are a number of Writing Centre workshops for February in the planning stages. Details will be posted at the following link once they are determined.
THIS WORKSHOP IS NOW FULL
TWC Workshop Information

Meaningful, Engaged and Experiential Learning At University: Impact on students' identity development, well-being and dropout prevention [First Year Course Instructors Council (FYCIC)]
Monday, February 22, 2010
3:00 PM ~ 4:30 PM, HHB 128
Presenter: Dr. Fred Grouzet, Department of Psychology, UVic
Attending university is not simply about what students learn in the classroom, but is a larger experience encompassing all of the knowledge, life skills, values and aspirations acquired over time through their professors, readings, class assignments, peers and current events around them. The nature of this experience could influence students' motivation and engagement, as well as the development of their identity and well-being. Dr. Grouzet will describe his research on students' university experiences. He has developed new learning tools that foster meaningful engagement and experiential learning. His approach may help lead to the early identification of at-risk students and suggest possible approaches to support them.
FYCIC Series Information

Speakers' Club!
Emerging Green Builders (EGB); Engineers Without Borders (EWB); American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE); A Green Home Primer: Lifestyle, Choices and Inspiration for Sustainable Living
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
4:30 PM ~ 6:00 PM, HHB 128
Facilitator: Dr. Jane Gair, Division of Medical Sciences and the Learning and Teaching Centre
Speaker: Calvin Tripp, Engineering and Computer Science/Math Co-operative Education Program and Career Services
At the suggestion of some past Presentation Skills Workshop (PSW) participants, we have started up a Speakers' Club where anyone can come to practice a talk, receive some suggestions, advice and feedback or just come to listen and get some ideas for your next talk or presentation. After the PSW, where else can you get the practice (that does make perfect!) and the feedback from friendly colleagues?

Fostering Student Critical Thinking and Reflection [Student Experience Series] [First Year Course Instructors Council (FYCIC) Series]
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
10:00 AM ~ 11:30 AM, HHB 128
Facilitator: Peter Wolf, Associate Director, Teaching Support Services, University of Guelph and currently Visiting Scholar and Consultant Specialist at the Learning and Teaching Centre, University of Victoria
Increasing numbers of educators are using methods like journals and portfolios to enhance student development of critical thinking and reflection skills. The purpose of these intentionally reflective exercises is to have the student make connections to the knowledge, skills and values being learned. This connection should help students evolve into thoughtful, engaged and reflective practitioners, students and humans.

Have you tried using journals or other intentionally reflective exercises into your course? Or have you been tempted, but found yourself reluctant? Either way, let's talk about the uses of intentional reflection in creating positive learning experiences for students. Share experiences, ideas, and concerns. We'll talk about some of the concepts, issues, and best practices around the use of journaling and other reflective activities.

More information about Peter Wolf can be found at: http://ltc.uvic.ca/about/contacts.php
Student Experience Series Information
FYCIC Series Information

The Success Series #1: How to Manage your Time [Learning Commons Workshop]
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
10:30 AM ~ 11:30 AM, McPherson Library, Room A003
Presenter: Breanna Lawrence, Learning Specialist
Breanna Lawrence, Learning Specialist for UVic's Counselling Services, is a M.A. candidate in the department of Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies.
During this session you will learn how to self-monitor your schedule and responsibilities in order to become more aware of your study habits and the factors that influence your studying. We will also discuss procrastination and practical strategies to deal with this challenging issue!
TWC Workshop Information

Competent, Creative, and Fun Facilitation [TA ProD Series]
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
6:00 PM ~ 7:30 PM, HHB 128
Facilitators: Lisa Poole and Kara Taylor, Department of Sociology
Would you like some concrete examples of dynamic facilitation skills? In this workshop you will be introduced to competent, creative, and fun facilitation skills such as: the use of technology, time management skills, tools for increasing participation and collaborative learning, meeting challenges in the learning environment, accommodating learning styles, and the role of questions. We will use concrete examples such as icebreaker exercises and group formation activities.
TA ProD Series Information

Developing Your Teaching Dossier Workshop [Teaching Assessment Series]
Thursday, February 25, 2010, HHB 128
10:00 AM ~ 12:00 PM
Facilitator: Teresa Dawson, Director, Learning and Teaching Centre
Developing your teaching dossier is the most effective way to document your teaching for reappointment, tenure and promotion, as well as for winning awards. The most important part of the dossier is the narrative statement that guides the reader through the supporting documentary evidence. This workshop will discuss the role of the teaching dossier in the assessment process at UVic, assist you in developing your narrative, and outline an effective structure for organizing your materials. The workshop is also useful for graduate students who plan to apply for teaching jobs!
Open to all those who are involved, or plan to be involved, in instruction.
Teaching Assessment Series

Presentation Skills Workshop (PSW)
Participants must attend all three days in HHB 128
Thursday, February 25, 2010, 6:00 PM ~ 8:00 PM
Saturday, February 27, 2010, 9:00 AM ~ 4:00 PM
Saturday, March 6, 2010, 9:00 AM ~ 4:00 PM
Facilitator: Dr. Jane Gair, Teaching Consultant, Learning and Teaching Centre and Senior Instructor, Division of Medical Sciences
This workshop is designed to facilitate participants in giving an effective presentation in an academic environment. Each participant will give two 10-minute presentations designed for different contexts. All participants will receive constructive oral and written feedback about their presentations from other participants. The PSW requires preparation outside of the workshop time. $50 registration deposit (refundable upon completion of the full program).

Please note: Your $50.00 deposit (cheque or cash) holds your place in this workshop and will be returned to you once you have completed the required days of this event. If you are unable to attend this workshop, you must let us know 10 days prior to this event taking place in order to receive your deposit back. Deposits cannot be returned for no-shows or cancellations less than 10 days prior to the start of the event.

March 2010 Events