Charter Chats

The University of Saskatchewan has a new Learning Charter.  First written in 2010, then updated in 2018, our charter is helpful in framing what we believe about teaching and learning.  It will also provide a sense of direction for work at Gwenna Moss over the next year:

The Learning Charter thus acts as a conceptual map and planning document, linking together our pursuits and how we strive for them, encouraging and guiding us on our educational journey. As a map, it is also a focal point for our community to discuss where we are and where we want to go in our shared future.

This post will be the hub of the “Charter Chats” related to our new charter.  As each new monthly post is written, the post will be linked on this page. The chats are informal introductions to a charter educator commitment or commitments.  They explain what that commitment means for educators, and suggests one or two implications for teaching in a higher ed setting.

Here is a summary of the month each topic will be posted, its title,
and the related educator commitment.

April: Graduates with perspectives and approaches the world needs

• Explicitly recognize their own position and work to understand, acknowledge, and value perspectives and worldviews different from their own

May: Building Broad Minds: Active learning strategies for large classrooms

• Exemplify active learning and curiosity, demonstrate broad thinking

June: High quality, respectful classroom dialogue

• Encourage and foster open and healthy dialogue
• Engage with students and peers in a respectful manner
• Co-create, with students, a shared space for learning in which all participants, including graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants, feel respected, valued and empowered to contribute as they achieve their goals and share the gifts of their identities in relationship with one another

July/August: You need to practice your research skills early and often

• Provide opportunity for students to be inspired and engaged with and in the process of authentic inquiry, wherever possible, in their learning

September: All Aligned – Outcomes (3 part series on alignment)

• Be aware of the range of instructional methods and assessment strategies, and select and utilize teaching methods that are effective in helping students achieve the learning outcome of a course or learning activity

November: All Aligned – Outcomes-based Assessment

• Ensure that assessments of learning are transparent, applied consistently and are congruent with learning outcomes
• Design tools to both assess and enable student learning
• Learn about advances in effective pedagogies/andragogies

December: All Aligned – Instruction

• Be aware of the range of instructional methods and assessment strategies, and select and utilize teaching methods that are effective in helping students achieve the learning outcome of a course or learning activity
• Ensure that content is current, accurate, relevant to learning objectives, representative of the knowledge and skills being taught and appropriate to the position of the learning experience within a program of study

January:  Transparent Assessment

• Provide a clear indication of what is expected of students in a course or learning activity, and what students can do to be successful in achieving the expected learning outcomes as defined in the course outline
• Ensure that assessments of learning are transparent, applied consistently and are congruent with learning Outcomes
• Design tools to both assess and enable student learning

February: Feeding Learning: Mark better work, in less time

• Provide prompt and constructive feedback for students on their learning progress at regular intervals throughout the course