Teaching and Learning News

Sophie Lavieri (top right), a senior lecturer in Chemistry, presented a poster at the Symposium along with Dev Sharma (top left), also a senior lecturer in Chemistry. Cheryl Amundsen and Esma Emmioglu (bottom left), a professor and postdoctoral fellow respectively in Education, were also happy to share their research during the poster session. Nienke Van Houten (bottom right), a lecturer in Health Sciences, did double duty as a presenter and member of the Symposium Planning Committee.

The 2013 Symposium on Teaching and Learning took place on May 15 and 16 at SFU’s Burnaby campus. More than 190 SFU faculty, staff, and students registered for the event, which featured 15 concurrent sessions and 13 posters in addition to plenary sessions.

Gloria Rogers, a scholar with the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and a well-known consultant in the area of quality assurance, learning outcomes, assessment, and accreditation, presented the keynote address. Rogers tackled questions related to the implementation of learning outcomes in a direct and pragmatic way. The title of her presentation—“Satisfying mandates while honouring faculty time: Is it possible?”—demonstrated an awareness of the practical issues that are intertwined with the philosophical questions of learning outcomes and assessment. She emphasized the importance of building the definition and evaluation of learning outcomes into existing curriculum development and review processes rather than creating new (and burdensome) administrative structures. She also noted that learning outcomes should be approached within the context of programs rather than as a means of evaluating individual courses. Her presentation will be made available to the SFU academic community as an archived webcast.

Another plenary session featured a panel discussion on “Embracing, managing, or resisting change.” SFU’s Russell Day, a senior lecturer in Psychology and co-facilitator of SFU’s Certificate Program in University Teaching and Learning, joined three panellists from other universities to facilitate a lively and provocative exchange that drew in audience members.

The concurrent sessions and posters covered a variety of areas, but many focused on new instructional approaches within the classroom. Among the approaches covered:

• Evidence-based teaching (Nienke van Houten, Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Cindy Xin)
• Integrated, interdisciplinary, and project-based teaching in science (Uwe Kreis)
• Experiential learning and student-directed courses (Dan Burns, David Zandvliet, John Clague, Vance Williams)
• Active learning (David Kaufman)
• Team-based learning in science (Laura Hilton, Lynne Quarmby, Cindy Xin)

Many of the presentations and posters were developed with the help of Teaching and Learning Development Grants, which are administered by the Teaching and Learning Centre and the Institute for the Study of Teaching and Learning in the Disciplines (ISTLD). PDF versions of some posters will be made available on the ISTLD website and on SFU’s institutional Teaching and Learning website.

Related links

Institute for the Study of Teaching and Learning in the Disciplines

Teaching and Learning Centre

Symposium on Teaching and Learning

The topic of learning outcomes and assessment is especially relevant at SFU for two reasons: first, the current Academic Plan includes a call to “define learning outcomes for each course and programme” as part of its emphasis on achieving a “high-quality student experience”; and second, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) accreditation process in which SFU is currently engaged requires the articulation of clear learning outcomes. That’s the context for an upcoming presentation on “Learning Outcomes and Assessment: Challenges and Opportunities” by Dr. Kathi A. Ketcheson, a research professor and director of Institutional Research and Planning at Portland State University.

Dr. Ketcheson has published and presented widely on the topic of institutional portfolios in accreditation, assessment, and accountability, and she frequently serves as a consultant to higher-education institutions on program evaluation and assessment.

Her appearance at SFU comes at the invitation of the Learning Outcomes and Assessment Working Group, a team established by Jon Driver, vice-president, academic, to recommend principles and processes for establishing and assessing learning outcomes. It forms part of the working group’s commitment to community consultation and involvement. If you are interested in hearing her presentation, plan to attend either in person or via webcast.

When: Thursday, June 28, 2012, 1:30 pm–3:30 pm
Where: Halpern Centre 126, SFU Burnaby
Registration: No cost. Registration is not required.

Online: A live webcast will be accessible via this page.

For more information on the Learning Outcomes and Assessment Project, visit the project website.

SFU's teaching and learning grants encourage faculty-led investigations aimed at improving the student learning experience.

SFU’s current academic plan places a strong emphasis on teaching and learning – and the teaching and learning grant recipients announced this week by the office of the VP Academic will advance that priority by carrying out faculty-led investigations of how to improve the student learning experience.

Applications for smaller grants of up to $3,000 are accepted throughout the year. Larger grants of between $3,000 and $10,000 are subject to spring and fall application deadlines and are awarded on a competitive basis.

What’s striking about the most recent list of recipients is the variety of academic units represented and the diversity of scholarly inquiry. The line-up ranges from Sarah Johnson’s proposed study of iClicker use in the Department of Physics to Charles Bingham’s evaluation of leadership experience in student-led cohorts in the Faculty of Education.

The two larger grants will go to instructors in the School of Engineering Science, but here too the investigations are diverse. Glenn Chapman and Ash Parameswaran will receive $9,600 to examine “Enhancing student learning with tools to generate multiple problem sets,” while Kamal Gupta will receive $8,820 to consider “Experiential learning via hands-on robotics engineering and programming for senior undergraduates.”

In most cases projects are expected to be complete within a year, and the outcomes will be available to members of the university community. Jon Driver, VP Academic, has high hopes for the results.

As he said when he introduced the grant program last January, “Our faculty members often tell me that they see their work as going beyond providing content to transforming how students think and problem-solve.  We hope to pinpoint what teaching methods best allow for this and match teaching practices to the purpose of a particular course or discipline.”

Interested in applying for a grant? Learn more at http://www.sfu.ca/teachlearn/tlgrants.html.

The Certificate Program in University Teaching and Learning teaches participants the skills they need to enhance their teaching.

Note: Application Deadline is June 6, 2011 for the Certificate Program in University Teaching & Learning for Graduate Students

For grad students who intend to teach, the prospect of standing in front of a large group of 18-year-olds explaining, say, the political machinations of Oliver Cromwell or the genetic structure of drosophila melanogaster, is a daunting task.

Although grad students are often experts in their fields, they usually have limited teaching experience. Offered by the Teaching and Learning Centre, the Certificate Program in University Teaching and Learning (CUTL) provides participants with the skills they will need to enhance their teaching practice. The only long-term program hosted by the Teaching and Learning Centre, the 13-session agenda is tailored to academics early in their career who hope to teach.

The Certificate Program’s aims are straightforward and include:

• Providing participants with the knowledge, skills, positive attitude, and confidence to promote learning in their students;
• Integrating learning and instructional theory with an individual’s knowledge of their subject, emphasizing a scholarly approach to teaching, and
• Preparing participants to provide educational leadership in their academic endeavours.

Facilitated by faculty members and Teaching and Learning Centre staff, the program guides its students through topics like syllabus development, teaching dossiers, student learning, effective feedback, and presentation skills. Hundreds of students have received the Certificate as part of their academic education. Vivian Neal, the program lead, calls it, “an important component of early instructor development because it is an opportunity to learn teaching methods based on evidence.”

Prospective participants must apply and the Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW), a three-day course, is a prerequisite for consideration. For more information on the next ISW in August, please visit the ISW website.

The application deadline is Monday, June 6, so get your applications in now!

Visit the Certificate Program in University Teaching and Learning website for more information.

Contact:

Program Coordinator: Andrea Hankinson

778.782.6570

Program Director & Instructor: Vivian Neal

778.782.7466

The Art of Teaching: Best Practices from a Master Educator – A brown bag lunch series:

In a new feature pilot project this summer, the Teaching and Learning Centre will be hosting screenings of the acclaimed films “The Art of Teaching: Best Practices from a Master Educator”. In each 30-minute episode, award-winning Professor Patrick N. Allitt:

We will feature three lectures selected out of the 24 in the series:

The Teacher’s Persona

This episode focuses on the importance of developing an individual, consistent, and professional persona as an instructor. It suggests that creating a personal identity in the classroom facilitates the development of an appropriate relationship and suitable rapport with your students. This discussion also considers the use of humour, friendliness, and discipline in a professional context and provides advice on establishing your own voice.

Dynamic Lecturing

In this film, the narrator discusses what it takes to present effectively. The primary lesson centres on the importance of bringing passion and commitment to your teaching, and recognizing that there is an element of performance in everything we present to our students. Instructors are always competing for their students’ attention and are expected to be enthusiastically engaged with their subjects. Tips are offered for maintaining enthusiasm and emphasizing one key point per lecture.

Managing the Challenges of Teaching

This episode presents real-world methods of combatting the various challenges that are part of teaching, including stress, large class sizes, time management, and first-time teaching. The focus here is on professionalism and a willingness to reflect on your own teaching styles and habits in an effort to make the most of your students’ learning experiences.

These events are a brown bag lunches. Please bring your lunch, enjoy the show, and participate in a discussion moderated by TLC Educational Consultants.

(more…)

A message from Bill Krane, Associate VP, Academic

Computing Science students hard at work at SFU-Surrey

As part of SFU’s ongoing commitment to innovative teaching and learning and providing opportunities for a range of learning experiences for our students, I am pleased to announce that we will be establishing a project to review the requirements for our Learning Management System (LMS), currently WebCT.

As of 2013, Blackboard, the company that owns WebCT, will no longer support this product line. A project is underway that will lead to the selection and implementation of a new system by 2013. Over the next two years, we will be consulting with the SFU community on its needs, undertake a formal purchasing process for the new system, and establish a transitioning and support plan for implementation. As the project’s sponsor, the office of the Associate Vice-President, Academic, will work closely with the community, a steering committee, and the Learning and Teaching Coordinating Committee to ensure that all stakeholders have the opportunity to provide input.

We invite comments and suggestions from the entire teaching and learning community. We would like to hear your feedback and you can expect regular updates from our team. This is an exciting time to be part of a growing community dedicated to creative teaching and learning and we look forward to your ideas on shaping the next phase of our LMS’s evolution.

- Bill Krane, Associate VP, Academic

If you’re a regular reader of the Teaching and Learning News (and really, who among you isn’t?) you’ll know that an important aspect of the TLC’s programming focuses on teaching large classes. At the beginning of February, the TLC hosted two conversations on teaching large classes in which faculty panellists discussed the importance of bringing passion to their teaching, incorporating storytelling and other personal touches, and demonstrating respect for students.

In March, we will be moving forward from these conversations to present three workshops on teaching large classes. These workshops are based on the issues, questions, and themes that members of the SFU teaching and learning community have raised. We can’t say enough about the faculty members who are leading these events; their experience, knowledge, and commitment to developing new practices related to teaching large classes is apparent in their work. (more…)

Here at the Teaching and Learning News, we are very excited to celebrate recent achievements in teaching and learning at SFU.

TLC Interim Director Stephanie Chu expresses her enthusiasm at the T&L Social. (From L to R: Dr. Stephanie Chu, Interim Director of the TLC, Dr. Jon Driver, V-P, Academic, and Dr. Andrew Petter, President of SFU.)

Although it’s still early in the semester, our partners at the Teaching and Learning Centre and Office of the V-P, Academic, have already helped host the first Teaching and Learning Social.

The Social brought together more than 110 faculty and staff from across all three SFU campuses to discuss ideas, proposals, and questions related to enriching the student experience at SFU.  The highlight of the evening was an announcement by V-P, Academic, Dr. Jon Driver, of the new Teaching and Learning Development Grants.  All told, it was a great evening and we are already looking forward to the next event!

In addition to the Social, we were very pleased to be part of the much-anticipated release of the Premiere Issue of the Teaching and Learning News Bulletin.  The Bulletin showcases some of stories we’ve featured here on the Teaching and Learning News and explores some of the creative ways SFU faculty, instructors, staff, and students are engaging in innovative teaching and learning practices.

Check out the update by the Teaching and Learning Centre for more information about these exciting initiatives.  You can also send any questions, comments, or story ideas to teachlearn-info@sfu.ca.

Teaching Assistants and Tutor Markers

All SFU graduate students are invited to the 15th Annual Spring Semester TA/TM Day.

Mark your calendar for Friday, January 7, 2011 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at SFU Burnaby and plan to take part in this annual teaching orientation program for current and future Teaching Assistants and Tutor Markers.

Don’t miss this opportunity for peer-based support. Come share your teaching strategies, best practices, challenges, successes, fears and concerns in a supportive environment that encourages your participation.

Advance registration is not required, you may attend as many or as few sessions as you’d like, and your time at TA/TM Day counts toward your work hours for the spring semester.

For more information: http://www.tlc.sfu.ca/learning/enhancement/tatm/

Who are today’s university students and how can we enhance their learning experience? This is just one of several themes that the new Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC) will be exploring with faculty and instructors, beginning this month. Other themes include teaching large classes and teaching a diverse student body.

“We know that these topics are areas of interest,” says TLC interim director Stephanie Chu. “We’re hoping that instructors who attend these sessions can benefit from meeting other instructors and can also give us some insight into the issues they’re encountering so that together we can develop useful programming and resources for addressing them.”

Chu says the TLC represents a new name, a new direction and a new approach to work for staffers of the former Learning and Instructional Development Centre (LIDC). “Our new mandate is to foster a more collaborative and positive community and culture around teaching and learning.”

A new SFU teaching and learning bulletin and institutional website will celebrate teaching excellence and offer stories, events and activities related to teaching and learning on campus. As well, the TLC will continue to provide the creative media services previously offered by LIDC.

This article was originally posted on SFU News.