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Graduate Transformative Skills Project Series: Faculty Perspective
In 2019-20, the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning (GMCTL) funded a faculty fellow, Dr. Loleen Berdahl, to study the needs for graduate student professional skill development at USask and recommend next steps. This blogpost series examines and translates the data from differing perspectives. We invite you review the data here. This work continues through the Graduate Competencies project, led by Wendy James and Chelsea Smith. Faculty Perspectives Jon Farthing is a Professor in the College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan. His research focuses on Human Performance, Healthy Aging and Management of Chronic Conditions, and Neuromuscular Physiology, with specific interest in adaptations to various types of acute and chronic strength training.…
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Graduate Transformative Skills Project Series: Graduate Student and Postdoc Perspective
In 2019-20, the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning (GMCTL) funded a faculty fellow, Dr. Loleen Berdahl, to study the needs for graduate student professional skill development at USask and recommend next steps. This blogpost series examines and translates the data from differing perspectives. We invite you review the data here. This work continues through the Graduate Competencies project, led by Wendy James and Chelsea Smith. Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Researcher Perspectives Holly is a postdoctoral researcher in the College of Medicine, who loves dogs. Edgar is a PhD candidate in Engineering, who also loves dogs What stands out to you about the Transformative Skills Project data? Holly: Focusing…
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Graduate Transformative Skills Project Series: Support Perspective
In 2019-20, the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning (GMCTL) funded a faculty fellow, Dr. Loleen Berdahl, to study the needs for graduate student professional skill development at USask and recommend next steps. This blogpost series examines and translates the data from differing perspectives. We invite you review the data here. This work continues through the Graduate Competencies project, led by Wendy James and Chelsea Smith. Support Perspectives Chelsea Smith: I’m the Professional Development and Postdoctoral Studies Coordinator with the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. In my role, I support Postdoctoral Fellows and faculty and staff that work directly with postdocs. Postdocs come to USask to develop the…
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Write your teaching statement, with a little help from a friend
Teaching philosophy statements are challenging to write, whether you are writing one for the first time or revising one you wrote years ago. This blog post is designed to help you start writing or revising your statement. Part of what makes a philosophy statement challenging to write is that they are diverse in style and form, depending on the author’s context. I suggest you start with the assumption that your statement need not look like others, although you can learn from them, and they can play an important role in the “recipe” I propose here to get over any writer’s block you might be facing. The recipe starts by reviewing…
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Studio-based Remote Teaching
Studio-based courses are about the process of observing, creating, critiquing, and refining over time. Students learn techniques and process, attempt them, compare what they have created to criteria, intent, or other works, and then refine or iterate. The 4 key elements for a studio-course include: Observing a demonstration of a process or the creation of a product Performing a process or create a product using appropriate materials or space Comparing, critiquing, or observing drafts and final products Refining, iterating, and revising to improve skills and observation Observing and Performing a Process Would you typically be present to observe students’ create some artifact of their learning and is this process an…
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ePortfolios and the Curious Case of the End-of-Term Journal
[social_share/] [social-bio] Sessions on this topic will be held during the Fall Fortnight: Mahara ePortfolios (Short & Snappy session) (Monday August 22, 2016 from 11- 11:25 AM) – Register here Mahara ePortfolios (Expansion Pack session) (Tuesday August 23 from 10:30 – 11:50 PM) – Register here As an undergrad, I took a senior studio art class in which I had to contribute something, anything, daily (well, at least weekly) to a visual journal we would hand in at the end of term. I did nothing with that journal until a stressful and long two days before it was due. My prof loved the hastily complied and craftily “aged” journal I…
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Nominating an Outstanding Teacher: Why and How?
[social_share/] [social-bio] There are a number of reasons to reward and recognize outstanding teaching at our university. Teaching awards can encourage the further development of expertise, and validate the energy and hard work that goes into teaching. Teaching awards can also foster a sense of community and help to build collegial relationships. The process of preparing an award nomination is itself heavily reliant on the strength of collegial bonds and community. For instance, a nominator must know something about the teaching style of a nominee and must rely on the nominee’s relationships with colleagues and students to procure authentic and quality letters of support. In the video below, Dr. Beverley…
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If It’s Too Good to Be True: The publishing edition
[social_share/] [social-bio] At the end of June this year, I did something all graduate students look forward to doing: I uploaded the final, defended and amended version of my MA thesis to the University of Saskatchewan’s Electronic Theses and Dissertations site. Then, only two days later, I received an email from a company offering me the chance to publish my thesis, for free. I suspected that every other grad student who submitted a thesis that month also received such a generous and tempting offer. Grad students often experience pressure to build a publication record, which I assume might be why publishing companies like this spam us. I found an article…
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Creativity and Innovation: An example with Soil and Art
[social_share/] [social-bio] For the past ten years, Dr. Ken Van Rees has been incorporating visual art as ateaching tool in his soil science field courses SLSC 898 and 480. Van Rees, of the Department of Soil Science, was recognized earlier this year by the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education and Desire2Learn’s Innovation Award in Teaching and Learning. In the following address, delivered at this year’s Celebration of Teaching, Van Rees speaks about his innovative art and soil science classes and inspiring creativity in his students.
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GMCTE To Host Annual Celebration of Teaching
[social_share/] [social-bio] The Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching Effectiveness will host the annual Celebration of Teaching in recognition of the past academic year’s award-winning teachers on Friday September 12. At this year’s Celebration, the Sylvia Wallace Sessional Lecturer Award and the Provost’s Outstanding Teaching Awards will be presented. The Celebration will take place at the U of S in Arts 241 from 3:30 to 5:30. If you are planning to attend please RSVP to Sharilyn Lee at the GMCTE at sharilyn.lee@usask.ca. The award winners are listed below. Click on the individual names to learn more about the recipients. Sylvia Wallace Sessional Lecturer Award Rod Johnson and Bert Weichel, Geography and…