Events

Fall Sessions

Sept 25: Mental Health 101 - Recognizing and Responding to Students in Distress


In-person

Register now

Killiam Library, B400
10:00 - 12:00 pm

Facilitator: Joanne Mills, Psychologist, Student Health & Wellnes

The MH101 session is limited to faculty, instructors, and staff at Dalhousie and King's.

In any given year 1 in 5 Canadians will experience a mental illness, and according to Statistics Canada youth aged 15-24 are the most likely group to suffer the effects of a mental illness, substance dependency and suicide.  Considering most university students are within this age group it is essential that those working with University students are provided the necessary knowledge and resources to recognize and respond to students in distress.

MH101 is a short yet informative presentation developed for university faculty and staff to increase awareness and understanding of mental illness and mental health problems, thus increase your confidence in supporting students. 

Sept 26, 2023: The Principles of SoTL

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10:00 -11:00 am

Description: The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on systematic and scholarly inquiry into our teaching practice and the student experience. The goal of SoTL is to identify, explore, and share advances in teaching and learning in order to enhance student learning.

Join us for this introductory workshop where we will cover the frameworks that guide SoTL as a scholarly practice and the guiding foundations to SoTL.

Facilitator: Kate Thompson – Educational Developer (SoTL), Centre for Learning and Teaching

October 5, 2023: The Courage to SoTL (SoTL Brownbag)

Register now

12:00-1:00pm AST
In-person, Killam Library, B400 

Facilitator: Laurel Schut – Instructor, College of Sustainability

Description: Interested in Book Clubs, but short on time? Join in for this one-off Journal Club! This is a one-hour, casual conversation focused on Godbold et al.’s (2021) paper: The Courage to SoTL.

As Godbold et al share: “The courage to SoTL is also about the courage it takes to engage in the scholarship of teaching and learning. In part, it is simply the act of naming oneself as a SoTL scholar… Just as Palmer speaks to “the teacher within” who leads us to work that gladdens us, so too are many of us drawn to the work of teaching, learning, and educational development because it speaks to our inner selves and gladdens us.”

Along with sharing our questions, inquiries, critiques, and/or praise for the article, we’ll also discuss several of the reflective questions provided in the paper, including: What does being a SoTL scholar mean to you? What does an undivided life, as a SoTL scholar, look like? What have we learned about our own SoTL identities, and from others’ identities and experiences?

Reading the article in advance is recommended to encourage richer and deeper conversations, though all are very welcome to attend!

Godbold, Irving-Bell, D., McSweeney-Flaherty, J. M., Prusko, P. T., Schlesselman, L. S., & Smith, H. (2021). The courage to SoTL. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 9(1), 380–394. https://doi.org/10.20343/TEACHLEARNINQU.9.1.25

Oct 16, 2023: Lunch and Learn: Assessments Across Campus

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12:00-1:00 PM

Panel Presenters: Nichole Austin (School of Health Administration), Chris Greene (Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences), Heather Jessup (Department of English), San Patten (College of Sustainability), Ben Tait (School of Health Administration)

Moderator: Elizabeth Gillis

Description: One of the key elements of course design is considering how we might embed assessment opportunities that support student learning.  In this Lunch and Learn session, we will hear from colleagues across campus as they share examples of how they have designed (or redesigned) assessments to engage students and support learning. Time will be provided after the presentation for discussion and questions. 

Oct 17, 2023: Implementing ‘Ungrading’ At the Graduate Level: An Instructor’s Perspective on Strategies to Reduce Students' Fear Of Failure, Encourage Risk Taking, And Prioritize Mental Health

Register now

11:00 - 12:00 pm ADT

Online: Teams

Presenter: Dr. Krystal Nunes, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University

Description: Faculty in the disciplines of environmental science, statistics, and education at Toronto Metropolitan University each implemented ungrading in their graduate level courses. This session will review their experiences in implementing ungrading using this interdisciplinary approach. We will explore the benefits and challenges of ungrading, review students’ perspectives of the process, and provide suggested approaches for instructors considering implementing ungrading in their own classrooms as they work on creating an accessible and equitable grading system for their students.

Facilitator: Dr. Shazia Nawaz Awan, Educational Developer- Internationalization & Intercultural Competency

Intended audience: Faculty members, instructors, and department chairs

Oct 17, 2023: Micro Teaching

Additonal course details and registration

The Microteaching Short Course is designed to offer students the opportunity to experience planning, developing and delivering a lesson in a mock classroom with students. 

Goals of Micro-teaching Short Course

  • To develop an understanding of effective teaching and learning strategies;
  • To gain practical teaching preparation and teaching experience; 
  • To increase the confidence of your teaching skills;
  • To receive and apply critical feedback to your teaching development; and
  • To strengthen your ability to assess and evaluate teaching. 

Priority of this short course will be given to those enrolled in the Certificate in University Teaching and Learning (CUTL). Upon successful completion, you will receive a Letter of Completion for your teaching dossier. Successful completion requires students to complete the self-directed Online Tutorial, and attend two sessions as an “instructor” and one session as JUST a “student” (a total of THREE micro-teaching sessions).

Oct 19, 2023: Searching the Teaching and Learning Literature

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1:00 - 2:30 pm

Description: Exploring the teaching and learning literature can give us insight into new evidence-based teaching approaches and is a critical part of any scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) project. However, for many this will require moving beyond their discipline and engaging with different databases, subject areas, and keywords.

Join us for this workshop to learn more about how to:

  • Identify key search terms related to your research question,
  • Effectively locate teaching and learning literature using online search engine and databases, and
  • Use alerts to keep up with new research related to your teaching practice.

Facilitator: Lindsay McNiff – Learning & Instruction Librarian

Oct 24, 2023: Engaging in Ethical SoTL

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10:00 - 11:00 am

Description: Practicing the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) by conducting research in our classroom comes with a range of ethical considerations. These include those typical to research with human participants, but some additional and unique considerations apply when our own students are our research participants. Knowing how to appropriately apply an ethical lens to SoTL not only protects the learner, but also works to enhance the quality of your SoTL project.

Join us for this workshop where we will cover:

  • What to expect during the Research Ethics Board (REB) application process,
  • Important ethical considerations during the SoTL Lifecycle, and
  • Tips to help you with conducting ethical SoTL.

Facilitator: Kate Thompson – Educational Developer (SoTL), Centre for Learning and Teaching 

Nov 9: Mental Health 101 - Recognizing and Responding to Students in Distress

Online - Teams

Register now

1:00 - 3:00 pm
Teams

Facilitator: Joanne Mills, Psychologist, Student Health & Wellnes

The MH101 session is limited to faculty, instructors, and staff at Dalhousie and King's.

In any given year 1 in 5 Canadians will experience a mental illness, and according to Statistics Canada youth aged 15-24 are the most likely group to suffer the effects of a mental illness, substance dependency and suicide. Considering most university students are within this age group it is essential that those working with University students are provided the necessary knowledge and resources to recognize and respond to students in distress.

MH101 is a short yet informative presentation developed for university faculty and staff to increase awareness and understanding of mental illness and mental health problems, thus increase your confidence in supporting students. 

Nov 14 and 21, 2023: Peer Feedback and Teaching Retreat

Additional details, schedule and registration

Please join us for CLT’s 2-day retreat dedicated to Peer Feedback and Teaching – a series examining topics and support in peer feedback! Each session invites you to consider a different aspect of giving and/or receiving supportive development-centered feedback. Morning sessions are online and afternoon workshops will be in-person.

Nov 21 - Dec 1, 2023: Graduate Teaching Dossier Retreat

Additional details, schedule and registration

A teaching dossier is a critical component for any academic job search, and yet we often do not consider the time and work it takes to develop a dossier that reflects the experience, values, and evidence of our teaching. This two-week retreat covers the fundamentals of a teaching dossier (e.g., teaching philosophy, student evaluations, teaching materials), and will provide you with an opportunity to take the time to start developing the foundations to your own dossier and reflect on your learning and teaching experiences. You will also have the opportunity to give and receive peer feedback. The retreat facilitators will also be available to answer questions and offer guidance on the development of your dossier.

Nov 28, 2023: The SoTL Process

Register now

10:00 - 11:30 am

Description: Once you have your Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) question, the next steps in the SoTL process are thinking about what evidence will best help you in answering that question, and then how you can design a study to gather and analyze that evidence.

Join us for this introductory and interactive workshop where we will:

  • Work through the different stages in the SoTL Lifecycle,
  • Engage in hands-on work designing your SoTL project, and
  • Plan the next steps for your SoTL question.

Participants are encouraged to come to this session with a SoTL question in mind, as much of the time will be spend on working towards planning a SoTL study.

Facilitators
Dr. Eric Poitras – Faculty of Computer Science
Dr. Kate Thompson – Educational Developer (SoTL), Centre for Learning and Teaching

Dec 11, 2023: Examining EDIA in Your Course Syllabus: A Syllabus Swap

Register now

Time: 10:00-11:30 AM

This is an in-person session (Halifax Campus, Mona Campbell Building, Room TBD)

Description: Regularly reviewing our course materials is an important step toward evaluating our process in meeting our instructional goals. It allows us to identify areas for improvement and actively work toward enhancing our teaching practices. As one of the first touch points we have with our students, the course syllabus is a foundational document for the course and establishes course expectations and objectives for students. As we work toward creating inclusive, equitable, and accessible learning environments, reviewing our syllabi is one way we can evaluate how we are meeting our goals and how our practice may impact students.

In this session, we will examine how the various ways our syllabi respond to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility considerations. We aim to have an open-ended, good faith exchange about the application of EDIA principles to courses. This is an interactive session, and workshop participants will be split into small groups with each group carrying out a discussion-based review of sample course syllabi. Time will be provided to review your own syllabi.

Attendees are kindly asked to bring at least one paper copy of the syllabus they are looking to gather feedback on.

Intended Audience: This session is intended for those who have a syllabus for a course they have taught and/or will be teaching and are interested in evaluating and reflecting on their practice. We recognize that participants may have varying levels of expertise in topics related to EDIA – we welcome anyone interested in joining the conversation! This is meant to be a friendly exchange where we all (facilitators included!) learn from each other.

CLT Webinars: Recordings and Resources

The Dalhousie community can now self-enrol in the Brightspace site. Learn how.