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Seeing the Beauty
[social_share/] [social-bio] By Carolyn Hoessler There is something exciting, captivating and intriguing when working through an analysis and seeing the ideas crystalize or flip through the writings of colleague and see the connections to other papers, and to other ideas. The experience of excitement, in my case over a well-selected and implemented statistical analysis or assessment, draws us deeper into our fields of study and expertise. There is something intrinsically motivating (Ryan & Deci, 2000) about such exploration and devotion to learning and discovering more. Sure there are moments that seem like struggles when shopping an article or book for publishing, wrestling for time for deep critical thinking, or…
- Assessment and Evaluation, Curriculum Development, General, Instructional / Course Design, Instructional Strategies
Self-Belief and Student Success
[social_share/] [social-bio] I’m sure we’ve all had the experience of not performing to our potential at given points in our life due to anxiety, illness, the physical environment or just because we were having an off day. The importance of context on our ability to perform should not be underestimated. One factor that can greatly impact our ability to perform is our belief that we can achieve what we want to in a given context. If we believe we can do something we are far more likely to succeed. It could be argued that believing we can do something is simply a matter of knowing ones own strengths and weaknesses. …
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Dean Stoicheff Speaks on the Value of an Arts and Science Degree
[social_share/] [social-bio] The College of Arts and Science at the University of Saskatchewan is unique in Canada, bringing under a single college governance structure, 21 disciplinary departments ranging from fine arts and humanities to social and natural sciences. The extreme diversity in disciplinary areas, along with the rich potential for interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary programs within the College offersunique opportunities for students. At our recent campus-wide Celebration of Teaching and Learning, Peter Stoicheff, Dean of the College of Arts and Science was invited to speak about the curriculum renewal process in the College. The video clips below include his full 20-minute presentation as well as a shorter 6 minute excerpt. Peter…
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GMCTE Welcomes New Program Director
[social_share/] The Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching Effectiveness is pleased to welcome our new Program Director, Nancy Turner. Her role, which she assumed on November 1 involves strategic leadership of the Centre and leading and contributing to institutional initiatives to enhance learning and teaching. Nancy has returned to Saskatchewan after a decade working in London England, most recently as Associate Dean of Learning, Teaching and Enhancement at the University of the Arts London where her work focused on initial and continuing professional development of faculty, technology enhanced learning, reward and recognition for teaching, student engagement and open education. Her main areas of research are professional development and change in Higher…
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Being Enthusiastic About So-Called Mundane Stuff
[social_share/] [social-bio] By Carolyn Hoessler My higher education teaching journey began as an upper-year undergraduate student teaching evening sessions about APA formatting: A seemingly dry topic about commas, alphabetical order of last names, single versus double space etc. As a necessity for undergraduate psychology paper, students’ motivation for signing up seemed to be extrinsically connected (Ryan & Deci, 2001) to the 10% of marks tied to correct use of APA formatting in most 3rd year papers. I could have started the session off with just those basic facts and the pressure-filled reminder of that 10%, but talking about why APA is useful set a better tone. Did you know…
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The Course Design Process
[social_share/] [social-bio] If you have made it through one or more university degrees, it is likely that you have wondered why some courses appeared almost entirely unplanned, while others were highly structured and obviously planned well in advance. If you have ever been a teaching assistant or an instructor, it is likely that you thought about how to plan a course so that students, like you did in the past, get the most from it. This can be a daunting thought for a first time instructor, or for an instructor who wants to try something different while planning next term’s courses. Luckily, others have thought about this a great deal,…
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What’s In a Name? Pronouncing Students’ Names Correctly
By Tereigh Ewert What’s in a name? For all of us, I would argue, our name is deeply connected to our very identities. There are often stories around how we came to have the name we do, perhaps we’ve been named after a beloved family member, friend, or important person, perhaps it’s a name we’ve chosen for ourselves (but sometimes, a name that has been foisted upon us, as in the case of many First Nations peoples when dealing with the newcomers). Personally, with a train-wreck of a spelling for my name, I hear my name mispronounced all the time (it’s pronounced “terra”). When I first meet someone, it is…
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You’ve Got Teaching Problems? This Site Has the Answers!
[social_share/] [social-bio] When I was recently scouring the Internet for good teaching resources, I came across an exceptional site. The Solving a Teaching Problem webpage from the Eberly Center: Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation takes teachers through three steps to find practical solutions to teaching problems. As I walk through the process, Step 1 asks me to identify a problem that I am experiencing in my teaching. For example, “Students don’t seek help when they need it”. In Step 2, I am provided with a list of possible reasons for this problem. In this case, some possible reasons are “Students overestimate their understanding and ability Students may perceive you as…
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Turkey Dinner Causes University Student Career Planning! What’s the relationship?
[social_share/] [social-bio] A career counsellor once told me that appointment requests by first year university students increase dramatically after the Thanksgiving weekend. She knew from talking with many of these students, that it had been conversations with parents that weekend that had led to their making of appointments. Students (and parents of students) care deeply about their future and finding fulfilling and interesting career paths. While different degree programs make differing claims about achieving job preparation goals, students in all programs are right and wise to be anticipating their futures. Rarely, however, will the first six weeks of the first year answer many questions for new students—a fact that may…
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Fair Dealing, Contracts With Publishers and Linking to Journals
[social_share/] [social-bio] By Charlene Sorensen The Copyright Act contains a clause that allows for “fair dealing” in formal educational settings. This means that a non-substantial portion of a published work can be re-distributed to students enrolled in a class provided that neither password protection nor digital locks are circumvented. Non-substantial roughly means an article from a journal volume, a chapter of a book, or short excerpt (less than 10% of the overall work). Similarly, “direct linking” or “deep linking” to a particular piece of content within a website (i.e. giving the exact URL of a PDF file containing a paper within a journal) is acceptable provided that neither password protection nor…