Workshops

Half Day Workshops $50.00
Full Day Workshops $100.00

PW.01 From Me to Wii: Discovering the Millenial Student:  Implications for Educators
Singer 361
Mary Astorino, University of New Brunswick (Saint John)
Lisa Best, University of New Brunswick (Saint John)
Sandra Bell, University of New Brunswick (Saint John)
Judy Buchanan, University of New Brunswick (Saint John)
David Creelman, University of New Brunswick (Saint John)
Rob Moir, University of New Brunswick (Saint John)
Boon Kek, University of New Brunswick (Saint John)
David Ross, University of New Brunswick (Saint John)
Ray Small, University of New Brunswick (Saint John)
Full Day 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
To paraphrase Shakespeare, “The Millennials, by any other name, would be just as sweet.” Educators, marketers and researchers have labelled the current/upcoming generation Millennials, Generation Y, Net Generation, IPOD Generation, and more. Regardless of the label, students from this generation are currently in post secondary institutions, bringing with them a diverse set of characteristics, motivations and skills. Although different authors cite a different range of ages for the Millennial generation, most agree that they start from 1985 – present.

PW.02 Paddle Your Own Canoe: Metaphors for Teaching Between Two Tides
Off Campus
Alan Wright, University of Windsor
Bev Hamilton, University of Windsor
Marie-Jeanne Monette, University of Windsor
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
This three-hour workshop will provide participants with the opportunity to explore canoeing metaphors for active teaching and learning strategies in the higher education classroom. Just as there are dilemmas and assessments to make with regards to equipment, planning, goals, behaviours, cooperation, readiness and conditions when embarking on a canoeing excursion, teaching calls upon us to make conscious decisions with regard to our pedagogical approaches and overall teaching philosophy. The workshop, conducted with the expert collaboration of City of Fredericton employees at the Small Craft Aquatic Centre, will involve warm-up activities, safety tips, an excursion on the beautiful St. John River, and small group exploration and presentations on the application of the various aspects of canoeing to teaching and learning in higher education. This workshop will model learning opportunities “beyond the classroom walls.”

PW.03 Story-Telling in the Academy: An Opportunity for Insight, Regeneration and Transformation
Singer 351
Aline Germain-Rutherford, University of Ottawa
Claude Lamontagne, University of Ottawa
Arshad Ahmad, Concordia University
Ron Smith, Concordia University
Maureen Connolly, Brock University
Don Cartwright, Western Ontario University
Alex Fancy, Mount Allison University
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
STLHE and the Council of 3M National Teaching Fellows’ recent books: Making a Difference and Silences in Teaching and Learning are collections of stories illustrating the transformative power of narrative. Contributors used their story‐telling skills to help readers “get it,” to re‐live life‐changing experiences by “listening” to the silent, written voices.

Fables, parables, myths, and even jokes have deep significance. Jesus, a great teacher, relied on earthy parables to open his disciples’ eyes to profound spiritual truths. Aesop, Homer, the Brothers Grimm, Shakespeare, countless Aboriginal wise people – all make use of vivid stories to preserve memory, religion, genealogy, morality for their listeners. They show us that we share common achievements and challenges. Stories promote multiple perspectives, how our stories converge with and diverge from the stories of the communities where we live and work.

Participants will explore and experience the transformative power of story-telling, responding to dramatic readings from Making a Difference and Silences, engaging in story-generating exercises, and reflecting on their experience, including spearheading similar storytelling workshops/experiences in their communities.  This workshop is part of a larger project on Narratives in Teaching and Learning initiated by the Council of 3M National Teaching Fellows. 

PW.04 Curriculum Development Processes in Higher Education – A Think Tank
Tilley 104
Peter Wolf, University of Guelph
Ruth Rodgers, Durham College
Bob Parson, University of Ottawa
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
This extremely interactive brainstorming and networking session will bring together those who actively facilitate curriculum development processes in college and university settings. Exploring similarities, differences, and opportunities  in the process, tools, resources and contexts used will be the focus, with the end result being an opportunity to build a community of practice, enhance our ‘ curriculum toolkits’, and further collaborative and developmental opportunities.

PW.05 Using Team-Based Learning in the Social Sciences and Humanities
Tilley 223
Paula Marentette, University of Alberta-Augustana
Roxanne Harde, University of Alberta-Augustana
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
This workshop will both introduce and give practical working knowledge of team-based learning (TBL), a pedagogical technique originally used primarily in business, health sciences, and engineering. We begin by introducing TBL, and discussing how we have adapted it successfully in our own disciplines (English and Psychology). We will then take participants through the stages of TBL: they will respond to questions on a Readiness Assessment Test, a key component of TBL, first individually and then in teams. Questions and discussion will focus on expectations for learning outcomes when using group work and frequent assessment. After using TBL, participants will be led in a discussion on using TBL in their fields including a) the role of immediate feedback, b) decisions about how much material is covered, c) how to design and assess tests for disciplines in which there are no right answers, only shades of gray, and d) how this type of disciplinary education can support a liberal education. We conclude with an exercise in which participants will design their own Readiness Assessment Tests that takes into consideration the learning outcomes for their course and their values around assessment.

PW.06 Learning Portfolios: Creative Connections between Formal and Informal Learning
Tilley 5
Alice Cassidy, University of British Columbia
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
How do you know what students in your course 'took away' with them? Why not ask them? Through a learning portfolio assignment, I invited students to show:  how they met the course objectives; their connections to other courses as well as aspects of their lives; and their views and perspectives about the course material and processes. They included tangible evidence, examples, connections and reflections from all classes, discussions and other assignments. A key criterion, students expressed themselves through a creative variety of styles and formats, including a concept map and a world map. Students' reaction to the assignment? It encouraged me to think critically. It was fun. I enjoyed showing links between the course and my own life. Might you like to use or adapt some of all parts of my learning portfolio assignment in a course you teach? By the end of this session, you will have completed your own mini-learning portfolio, explored methods of assessment, and take away templates and resources for use in your own course. Learning portfolios can be used in any discipline. I look forward to working with you.

PW.07 Peeling Back the Layers: Competencies in U.S. and Canadian Graduate Student Development Programs and Developers’ Preparation to Teach Them
Tilley 302
Dieter Schönwetter, University of Manitoba
Donna Ellis, University of Waterloo
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
Central to STLHE and EDC is the development of our future professoriate through services and programs. There is a recent national sense of urgency in that graduate students are lacking “an array of non-technical skills such as leadership, project management, communication, integrity, intellectual property management, and critical thinking” that are critical for new academics [1]. Although the literature on graduate student development (GSD) is prolific [2-5], little is known about the core competencies that U.S. and Canadian GSD programs ascribe to. Most studies focus on institutional or program specific competencies. This session provides a survey of the common and unique competencies that graduate student development programs and services ascribe to across U.S. and Canadian institutions of higher education. Added to this is the knowledge about educational developers’ confidence in and preparation for developing competencies in their graduate students. The former will guide development of graduate students whereas the latter will enable us to identify key areas for career development of STLHE and EDC members, especially our often neophyte faculty developers responsible for graduate student development.

PW.08 Developing Leadership Authenticity, Integrity and Social Responsibility through a Transformational Learning Experience
Tilley 125
Teal McAteer, McMaster University
1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
This highly participative and transformational learning-based workshop identifies ideal behaviours which our business leaders for 2009 and beyond should be demonstrating in the general area of Corporate Social Responsibility. It discusses the powerful link between thinking styles and behaviors, with specific reference to the impact of thinking on performance. The Human Synergistics Life Styles Inventory (LSI) is utilized to allow participants to increase self-awareness and begin to identify thinking styles that are working to their advantage and those that are undermining their effectiveness. The workshop concludes with experiential exercises which demonstrate an ideal thinking styles profile leading to higher levels of Social Responsibility. Participants will be given an opportunity to establish an action plan with practical implementation steps with respect to their individual profiles. The workshop permits participants to have a personal and professional transformational learning experience, as well as provides specific insights, innovative methodologies, guidelines, and course design suggestions for their own teaching/training initiatives.

PW.09 Teaching As If
Tilley 223
Michael K. Potter, University of Windsor
1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Much attention has been paid to the importance of expectation-setting in education.  Expectation-setting involves more than telling students what they are expected to do or be, it also involves the assumption that students are capable.  Outcome-based education, for example, rests partially on the assumption that students, when provided with clear and explicit expectations that imply they are capable of achievement, are better able to succeed.  Liberationist and critical pedagogies advocate teaching as if students were free, autonomous, self-directed, and responsible – in order to help them become so.

What of teachers themselves?  What do the assumptions behind these “as if” approaches imply for us as educators?  If we take them seriously as they pertain to students, should we not apply them to ourselves?  And, if we do, how could that logical, yet creative, extension transform our understanding of ourselves as teachers, as well as our values and beliefs regarding the great endeavour of higher education?

In this interactive workshop, you and your peers will answer these questions and integrate them into your personal teaching philosophies.

PW.10 2009 Built Pedagogy: Space as a Change Agent for Teaching and Learning
Tilley 5
Cynthia Weston, McGill University
Adam Finkelstein, McGill University
Jessica Abrami, McGill University
1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
“Built pedagogy is the ability of space to define how one teaches… Space can have an impact on learning. It can bring people together or it can carry an unspoken message of silence and disconnectedness…Spaces are themselves agents for change. Changed spaces will change practice”. (Obliger, 2006, p.1.1)

The impact of classroom design on student learning is a growing focus in higher education.  At our university a set of research based learning principles have been translated into guidelines for the design and renovation of learning spaces. Projects that adhere to these principles are prioritized for funding. The guidelines along with examples of how they have been manifested in recent classroom renovation projects will be presented.

Our current challenge is how to ensure that teaching practice takes full advantage of the virtual and physical interactive learning opportunities provided by these redesigned classrooms. How might we best support professors in adapting their practice to these redesigned spaces? We will review what kind of teaching support systems exist at other institutions and hear from participants about the current state of learning space redesign and support at their institutions.  As a group we will develop strategies for effective teaching support systems for these new environments.  

References:  Oblinger, D. (2006). Learning Spaces. Washington D.C.:Educause (p. 1.1)

PW.11 Rising With the Tide: Applying “Adaptive Mentorship” in the Professional Practicum
Tilley 104
Edwin Ralph, University of Saskatchewan
1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
In order to meet the rising tide of demand for more professionals in all disciplines worldwide, professional schools are under increased pressure to graduate larger numbers of well-prepared practitioners. A critical component within this undergraduate professional education is the practicum or clinical program, in which students are mentored/supervised in field-based settings as they engage in this experiential-learning phase. However, ongoing research has shown that chronic problems typically emerge within this mentorship/supervisory process—across the professions.  

Consequently, over the past two decades, the presenter has developed and tested the Contextual Mentorship (CM) model to address these persistent deficiencies. He based the CM model on Hersey and Blanchard's original "Situational Leadership" approach; and applying the findings of his ongoing research on CM’s effectiveness, he refined it, emphasizing that mentors must adapt their leadership styles to match their proteges’ varying developmental levels. The goal of this presentation is to disseminate this model to a wider audience of practicum leaders, and to invite them to evaluate CM, and its research record, in the light of their own program experiences. They will also be invited to consider adopting CM to avoid the low tide of interpersonal conflicts often arising in the mentoring process.

PW.12 Inclusive Teaching: Learning from Student Perspectives
Tilley 303
Nancy C. Johnston, University of Toronto
1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Inclusive teaching is a pedagogical practice for designing curriculum that benefits students with different learning styles, abilities, and backgrounds. For a student with disabilities, inclusive teaching acknowledges their right to learn like any other student. Although most of us want to include diverse learners in their classrooms, we may be concerned that we lack knowledge about disability issues, institutional support and resources, adequate time and commitment, and teaching expertise. Inclusive teaching does demand creativity and flexibility to balance both the rights of students and our disciplinary and course teaching goals. To advocate and support this positive opportunity that inclusive teaching can bring to our classrooms, this session proposes to share student perspectives on teaching strategies that have already worked in their classrooms and to use these examples as a beginning to introduce an interactive modeling session on inclusive teaching practice. This interactive session has been developed from two workshop collaborations between the Centre for Teaching and Learning, and AccessAbility Services (for Students with Disabilities) at the University.