EDC 5-year plan (MS Excel format) will be referenced during the EDC General Meeting.
2009 Educational Developers Caucus (EDC) Conference, Concurrent Sessions
- If all presenters are from the same institution (and/or unit or department), these are listed once at the end of the presenters' names
- If references are cited in a session description, presenters will make full reference citations available at the session.
Click on sessions below to show / hide detailed descriptions.
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Self Study in a Faculty Development Program Using Personal Experience Methods
Beverley Brewer, Faculty and Curriculum Development Coordinator, Seneca College
Teaching and Diversity: Awareness and Practice is a one-semester faculty development course designed to support new faculty in preparation for the complex challenges within the diverse and multifaceted teaching and learning experience, inside and outside the classroom. Grounded in an educational developer's reflective practice and self study, a narrative of TDAP unfolds. The triumphs and tensions of bringing narrative to faculty development and diversity education are revealed. Through facilitated conversation, participants are encouraged to share their interpretations and discuss implications of using personal experience methods in faculty development programs. Participants are invited to explore the notion of the practical as it relates to an educator's life.
Returning PowerPoint to Pedagogy
Brian Cowan, Instructional Designer, Centre for Teaching and Learning, University of Windsor
Change is constant. So is the need to facilitate change. Sometimes, more important than change in technology is the need to change the bad habits in its employment. Technology is not pedagogy; it is its servant. A prime example of how this maxim has been forgotten is found in PowerPoint. How many bad PowerPoint presentations have you seen in teaching situations? Can you think of an effective one? What were the differences? Perhaps it was only natural that such a pervasive and easy-to-use learning tool would become readily used technology but readily abused pedagogy. The goal of this workshop is to help educational developers explore a series of best practices to guide instructors in developing effective pedagogy with PowerPoint and other presentations. This exploration will be based on discussion of the experiences of workshop participants and research into pedagogy. You will leave with resources to use at your own institution.
Educational Developers in Second Life: Assessing our experiences
Trevor Holmes, Senior Instructional Developer, Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE), University of Waterloo; James Humphreys, eLearning Faculty Advisor, Seneca CAAT; Giulia Forsythe, Centre for Teaching, Learning and Educational Technologies (CTLET), Brock University; Cynthia Korpan, TA Training Program Coordinator, Learning and Teaching Centre (LTC), University of Victoria; Alice Macpherson, Coordinator, Professional Development and Prior Learning Assessment, Kwantlen Polytechnic University; Mark Morton, Senior Instructional Developer, CTE, University of Waterloo; Nick Noakes, Director, CELT, Hong Kong UST and Maureen Wideman, Senior Instructional Developer, UOIT-Durham
In 2008, eight educational developers experimented collaboratively in the virtual world Second Life (SL). This session shares results and poses further questions. Although a growing number of educators have worked in, and evaluated SL for teaching and for action research, we wanted to test the platform for our own professional development, and explore the differences this immersive environment might make to our practice as teaching developers. While the interactions and reflections were of great value, we found ourselves questioning whether to recommend that SL be adopted specifically for our internal community of practice. After a brief overview of the project, participants in our session will see an example of what we did and where in SL, discuss in both real life and in Second Life (via one of the presenters, who will be in-world relaying the questions to other offsite members), and offer their own suggestions about EDC-specific applications.
Facilitating Pedagogical Shifts to Address the Inconvenient ESL Truth
Elaine Khoo, Ph.D., English Language Development Coordinator, University of Toronto Scarborough; Heather-Lynne Meacock, Communication Café instructor and a panel of ESL students who have undergone the transformative paradigm
Internationalization and immigration has resulted in an increasing number of students on campus who need greater support to engage effectively in academic communication. Enabling these students (often called ESL students) integrate quickly into the academic community is key to a more positive undergraduate experience for all. Unfortunately, the stigma associated with the "ESL" label confounds support and integration. To raise awareness of what roles educational developers can play in facilitating pedagogical shifts that support this integration through academic communication skill development (including critical thinking), we will present key issues and practices that can move students from the periphery to becoming active contributors and leaders. Using evidence from the University of Toronto Scarborough case study as the starting point for the discussion, this highly-interactive session engages participants in exploring a best practices framework to establish cost-effective support for ESL students and others that can be applied to different contexts.
Technological Cart before the Pedagogical Horse? How to move away from using technology for the sake of technology
Saira Rachel Mall and Ryan Green, Courseware Support Specialists, Resource Centre for Academic Technology, University of Toronto
Teaching with technology is not an easy task, especially as technology evolves at such a rapid pace. Some instructors may feel the pressure to include technology in their courses, adopt tools they are unfamiliar with, or use tools that may not match their teaching style. Course learning objectives and activities rarely change - technology does. How, as educational developers, can we help faculty select the most appropriate technology for use in their course both inside and outside of the classroom? At the University of Toronto, we developed a process by which instructors use their learning outcomes and course activities to identify the appropriate technology that best matches their course goals and pedagogical style. In this session participants will be introduced to this process that can be easily adopted and help faculty become comfortable with this technological transition.
Putting SPSS Instruction on Video: Using technology to save instructors time and give students learning tools they can use 24/7
Hannah Scott, Faculty of Criminology, Justice and Policy Studies, University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT)
As textbook websites become more interactive and engaging, using technology to construct tools to add value to student learning can be beneficial to both students and instructors if they are well prepared. This session will assist others interested in generating such tools, and will walk individuals through a personal experience in an interactive film series that includes inspiration for the films, the production process, classroom implementation, as well as potential pedagogical and academic benefits of creating such a tool. The series, which is currently being used by a publisher and 500+ students at UOIT, will be demonstrated during the session. Participants will hear, firsthand, about the many benefits of producing this material and some unique challenges one must face when producing leading edge material. You will leave with an understanding of the development process, and an idea of what kinds of software and equipment can assist in your own digital learning tool development.
From Traditional to Transformative Learning: A model for curriculum praxis
Norra Taylor, Curriculum and Faculty Development Specialist, Sheridan Institute of Advanced Learning and Technology/Taylor Made Solutions Consulting Services and Carol Riggs, Curriculum and Faculty Development Specialist, Sheridan Institute of Advanced Learning and Technology
In this session, participants will engage in learning experiences directed at working through a curriculum model for course design, development and delivery in post-secondary institutions. They will consider this transition model as an intermediate step that encourages moving from traditional approaches (Tyler, Bobbit, Charters et al.) toward developing potential transformative learning models grounded in post-modern curriculum theory (Aoki, Pinar, Slattery, Doll, et al.).
By end of the session, participants will have identified differences between traditional curriculum praxis in the 20th century (modern) and the proposed 21st century transformative paradigm (post-modern). In addition, they will have analyzed characteristic differences between traditional curriculum models, and the workshop's transitional model. Finally, they will begin to consider the potential to extend this model (through post-conference dialogue) to one for transformational learning. Participants will receive a package of materials to facilitate individual investigations, and promote community dialogue and practice (praxis) that may advance the field of curriculum studies.
The Graduate Student TA Practicum and Instructional Skills Workshop: Lessons learned
Sarah A. Braid, Ph.D. Student, Department of Orthopaedics, University of British Columbia (UBC)/Centre for Hip Health and Musculoskeletal Research, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute/New Faculty Program Assistant and Graduate Teaching Assistant Program Facilitator, Centre for Teaching and Academic Growth, UBC and Jill Grose, Associate Director, Centre for Teaching, Learning and Educational Technologies (CTLET), Brock University
The key goal of this poster is to describe the graduate teaching assistant (GTA) practicum, including feedback from participants, implemented at Brock University in the 2006/2007 academic year. This practicum is designed to meet the needs of students to support them in carrying out their instructional responsibilities and developing teaching skills. The multi-dimensional practicum focuses on the completion of the three-day Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) coupled with several other opportunities of development for the GTA to create a well-rounded experience in teaching in higher education. A total of 52 students completed the ISW component of the GTA practicum in its first year and several have since completed the remaining elements. Students evaluated the ISW immediately upon completion and through an online survey after they had been in the classroom for at least one teaching semester. Survey results and feedback/suggestions about the practicum in general will be summarized and shared with visitors to the poster.
Conference Pedagogy: Change can be good
Alice Cassidy, Associate Director, Centre for Teaching and Academic Growth (TAG), University of British Columbia and Nicola Simmons, Research and Evaluation Consultant, Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE), University of Waterloo
What characterizes the 'best ever' conference experiences - those that you find to be an excellent use of your valuable time, that you can't wait to talk about with peers or that you want to rush to apply in your own work? As educational developers, we often plan conferences, work on conference committees, and/or attend conferences at which we provide feedback. How can we help to make conferences as effective as possible? We have been exploring this topic through web and literature searches and conversations with colleagues (Cassidy and Simmons, in prep.) and at a recent conference session (Poole et al., 2008). Come to this poster to see our findings to date (including concrete suggestions on what to include, change and remove), and to contribute your ideas on what makes a conference great. Be part of the change you want to see.
Transformative Effects of Learning/Assessment-Focused Educational Development
Sue Fostaty Young, Doctoral Candidate, Faculty of Education, Queen's University
Because learning assessment, more than any other aspect of practice, reveals dominant beliefs about teaching and learning (Pratt, 1992), assessment-based discussions can provide rich opportunities that enable college and university faculty members to uncover and name assumptions, conceptions and misconceptions that inform their practice. This poster outlines details of an investigation of the professional learning that occurred when the ICE model of learning/assessment (Fostaty Young and Wilson, 2000; Fostaty Young, 2005) was introduced as an educational development tool. ICE, an acronym for Ideas, Connections and Extensions, is a comprehensive, yet simplifying, surrogate for a complex conception of learning that is grounded in theories of cognitive/transformative learning. The poster outlines: design details of the collaborative heuristic inquiry; the ICE model; using the model as an educational development tool; faculty members' own perspectives on the utility of learning/assessment focused development using ICE; and suggested principles for conducting learning/assessment focused educational development.
Supporting Blended Learning on Your Campus: An online instructor resources repository
Jane Holbrook, Senior Instructional Developer Blended Learning, Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo
How can we help faculty members adopt purposeful blended learning approaches in their courses? Come and experience our Instructor Resources Repository and learn about a strategy that you could use on your campus. We have been collecting exemplary online learning activities that faculty members have developed into a repository in our course management system where they can be re-used and re-purposed by others. These peer-reviewed activities are organized according to common instructional challenges and are easily accessed through a visual matrix interface. The repository has helped us as faculty developers because we can introduce faculty members to the idea of blended learning with examples that emulate best practices. We can simultaneously address an instructor's instructional challenge, start conversations about what makes a successful blended course, and introduce instructors to the notion of balancing the cognitive, social and teaching presences in their course through the integration of pedagogically sound online activities.
Partnering and Branding Academic Support for Graduate Students
Andy Leger, Educational Developer, Centre for Teaching and Learning, Queen's University
This past year the partners of Learning Commons including the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and the School of Graduate Studies and Research (SGSR) conducted a study of the academic support services for graduate students at Queen's University. The purpose of this on-line needs assessment was to determine what services were available for graduate students, what the awareness of these services was, what services were missing, and what model of academic support services would best serve graduate students. Overall, the level of awareness of the services for graduate students, including the CTL, was low. The purpose of this poster is to summarize the needs assessment process and findings and to illustrate the resulting initiative to brand and coordinate all services and programs through the SGSR. Outcomes from this poster include learning about an approach to an institutional needs assessment and the benefits and challenges for the CTL in participating in this initiative.
Curriculum Mapping as a Means of Updating and Integrating New Curriculum
Camilla Wheeler, LL.B, Program Mapping Facilitator, George Brown College
Until you know what it is your students learn in a particular program, how do you know what and where the necessary changes can be facilitated? Post-secondary institutions are grappling with integrating such issues as "sustainability", "diversity" and "access to education" across the curriculum. But we can't simply continue to add "content" to programs that already overload students with information. Shared at this session will be best practices for generating the outcomes of relevant skills to be integrated across the curriculum, and curriculum mapping tools and techniques for collecting the relevant data that can help to answer these questions. This session will encourage participants to consider how to use curriculum mapping to ensure that students are engaged in real and significant problems, and that their potential is recognized and harnessed by allowing them to collaborate in discussing, sharing, and creating information that is significant for them.
Linking the Evidence with Current Research to Build a Learner-Centric Model of Faculty Development
Margaret Wilson, Faculty Developer, Centre for Innovation and Development, NorQuest College
Faculty development is complex and includes professional, instructional, leadership, scholarship, and organizational components. To capture this complexity, a multi-dimensional model of faculty development has been developed. The model evolved from an applied research project that investigated the policies, organizational structure, and practices associated with faculty development at fifteen post-secondary institutions in Canada. This limited environmental scan, coupled with the results of an in-house faculty needs assessment survey, a series of internal interviews and focus groups, and a review of the relevant literature, all influenced the model that situates faculty as learners at its core. The five domains of learning that are captured within this model include foundational programs, community engagement, scholarship, academic growth, and strategic planning. All faculty career stages are respected within the model and collaboration and inquiry into effective teaching and learning strategies are promoted.
National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE): What educational developers need to know to use NSSE as a lever for change on campus
Debra Dawson, Director, Teaching and Learning Services, The University of Western Ontario and Joy Mighty, Director, Centre for Teaching and Learning, Queen's University
Since 2004 many Canadian universities have participated in NSSE and this survey is increasingly being used to measure institutional improvements in teaching and learning. Clear gaps have been found on many NSSE benchmarks between Canadian and American universities. Educational developers need to have a clear understanding of what NSSE can and cannot tell us about student engagement within our institutions in order to evaluate what role our centres should have in implementing changes. Best practices for enhancing student engagement in Canadian universities will be discussed. Participants will see short videos where students talk about their educational experiences on campus, and they will brainstorm new ideas for enhancing student engagement. Educational developers will leave the session with a comprehensive list of best practices on Canadian campuses, knowledge of the current Canadian NSSE research, and increased awareness of the levers (and barriers) for using NSSE to effect change.
Learning Neighbourhoods in the Community of Knowledge: Fostering institutional change
Beverley Hamilton, Assistant to the Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning and Erika Kustra, Director, Teaching and Learning Development, Centre for Teaching and Learning, University of Windsor
How can you foster institutional change to promote learning? Many institutions establish learning commons to facilitate learning and increase services and resource access. But learning commons have limited impact without university-wide commitment to learning-centred education (Keating and Gibb, 2005). A "learning campus" model balances local and central initiatives through coordinated community input, addressing the challenges of centralized "big box" approaches. This evolving, evidence-based, continuous-growth model values disparate learning cultures and spaces, while seeking to establish coherent strategic movements to meet common needs.
Participants will explore and apply the learning campus model collaboratively, using principles of New Urbanism to analyze the needs of campuses and develop a repertoire of strategies for planned change. This approach to urban planning emphasizes intentional long-term design to promote interchange between neighbourhoods, establish effective transit corridors and safe and stimulating public spaces, and identify local needs and challenges: these principles can inform institutional change.
The Course Syllabus: Are faculty, students and educational developers on the same page?
Sandy Hughes, Director, Teaching Support Services, Wilfrid Laurier University; Deena Mandell, Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University; Jeanette McDonald, Manager, Educational Development, Wilfrid Laurier University and Gillian Siddall, Director, Instructional Development Centre/Associate Professor, Department of English/Acting Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Lakehead University
The course syllabus is more than just a roadmap; in theory, it also serves as a contract, learning aid, communication tool and permanent record (Parkes and Harris, 2002). Why then does it so often receive so little attention from faculty in its overall design, use, and perceived importance? In this session, researchers from Lakehead and Laurier discuss the outcomes of a joint study that examined how faculty design course syllabi and how students actually conceptualize and utilize them. Participants (this means you) will test their syllabus IQ in the form of an interactive quiz. Through small and large group discussion we will further explore how the findings can be used to: build better syllabi (and courses), discuss the educational developer role in the design process, support student learning, and be strategic in steering institutional teaching and learning initiatives (e.g., integrating provincial degree guidelines). Handouts will be provided.
Navigating SoTL Challenges: Faculty developers as catalysts
Nicola Simmons, Ph.D., Research and Evaluation Consultant, Centre for Teaching Excellence and K. Lynn Taylor, Ph.D., Director, Centre for Learning and Teaching, Dalhousie University
Faculty developers engage in conversations across the disciplines about SoTL, but promotion and tenure, funding issues, and research/teaching tensions may impede SoTL growth at the individual and institutional levels and beyond. Self-authorship (Baxter-Magolda, 1999; Kegan, 1994), with its three spheres of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and epistemological foundations may provide a framework for understanding points of entry for moving SoTL forward at individual, institutional and national levels.
In this session, we will consider SoTL success stories from faculty development offices, outline techniques such as the use of metaphor for conversing with others in multiple disciplines, and discuss how to successfully promote change (Palmer, 1998) in our academic communities. Our primary goal is to explore ways of circumnavigating obstacles and consider how we can advocate for SoTL in our institutions and beyond. Small and large group discussions and activities will support us in identifying supports and challenges to SoTL promotion, with a summary emailed to participants.
Key Elements for Success, Achievements and Challenges in the UBC Academic Leadership Development Program (ALDP)
Luisa Canuto, Faculty Associate, and Gary Poole, Director, Centre for Teaching and Academic Growth, University of British Columbia (UBC)
During the summer 2006, the UBC Centre for Teaching and Academic Growth, in partnership with Human Resources, started planning a leadership development program for heads of departments, directors of schools and associate deans. The program was created to build leadership capacity at UBC, enhance the effectiveness and personal satisfaction of heads, directors and associate deans and help articulate their roles and responsibilities. You will be invited to consider which aspects of such a scholarly model could apply to your own institution, by analyzing the following key ALDP elements: (1) assessment of needs, (2) on-going process of consultation with the different constituencies involved, (3) a series of workshops, (4) on-line support, (5) coaching, (6) a combination of internal and external resources and (7) on-going program evaluation.
SHEP - A Multi-Perspective Issue/Problem/Opportunity Analysis Tool
Richard R. Kerr, Professor, Durham College
What goes into the strategic decision-making process besides numbers and facts? From what or whose perspective should these numbers and facts be derived? This workshop will be of interest to administrators and developers who make strategic decisions on direction and policy in learning centres; and developers who share learning and delivery models with faculty and teaching assistants for classroom delivery to enable their students to become better decision makers and to improve the clarity and effectiveness of assignments and their evaluation.
First you will be introduced to SHEP (which stands for the four perspectives used: Social, Health, Economic and Personal) - its workings and applications to the classroom and to administration. Next, through discussion, you will have an opportunity to use it on an issue/problem/opportunity of interest. To facilitate this implementation, you will receive a complimentary copy of the author's work.
Ensuring Change: Program evaluation and Experiential Education
Debra Langan, Ph.D., Research Associate, Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies, and The Centre for the Support of Teaching and Geoff Webb, M.A., York University, Senior Manager, Experiential Education, Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies, York University
The Experiential Education (EE) office in Atkinson's Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies, York University, seeks to enhance teaching and learning through the incorporation of community-based projects into course design and delivery. This session will explore the various dimensions and complexities of an evaluation research project that is assessing the processes and outcomes of our EE initiative. A participatory action research model informs the educational development of faculty who are using EE, and fosters a variety of data collection methods, including a survey questionnaire, in-person, and focus group interviews of the following stakeholder groups: undergraduate students, teaching assistants, faculty, community organizations, EE office personnel, and other institutional representatives. Questions and comments generated through pair and share discussions will lead into a large group discussion on the role of evaluation research in realizing changes sought through educational development. You will leave with a framework you can use for your own program evaluation needs.
SWOT Analysis Meets World Café
Bob Parson, Curriculum Design Consultant, Centre for University Teaching (CUT), University of Ottawa
SWOT analysis is an effective tool in program development and evaluation, identifying Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, and providing a focus for choosing priorities and action items. Additionally, it can be an excellent vehicle for helping faculty to shape and share a vision of their program. By adding the World Café process (as exemplified by Dawson and Britnell at the EDC conference, 2008) the SWOT becomes an event that facilitates a very focused and open communication amongst faculty about their program and their attitudes towards it. It encourages rapid buy-in by participants, including those with strong reservations or very low expectations.
In this practical workshop, we will do a SWOT analysis (à la World Café) of our collective "program" of educational development in Canada. Participants will leave with a blueprint of the overall process (to replicate it elsewhere) and an EDC SWOT analysis that will be shared with all after the conference.
Building a Knowledge Exchange Network for Educational Development: "Be the change…"
Tom Carey, University of Waterloo and Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario; Valerie Lopes, Seneca College and Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario and Eleanor Pierre, EJP Communications and Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario
As educational developers, we support changes in teaching practice based on integrating and mobilizing evidence from our classrooms, the wisdom of our best teachers, insights from scholarship, and knowledge embedded in exemplary educational resources. This workshop explores how educational developers can actively model this in our own practice, in order to "be the change we seek". We will focus on Knowledge Exchange Networks: one emerging approach to mobilize knowledge for exemplary teaching, adapted from academic research communities and Internet-based collaborative knowledge sharing.
Overview (30 minutes): Review leading examples in other countries and recent Canadian involvements, including provincial programs and the CASTL Expanding the Commons project;
Interaction (45 minutes): Small groups identify opportunities, resources and challenges for educational development to benefit from these initiatives;
Action plan (15 minutes): Propose specific projects for educational development as a leading Canadian content area within knowledge exchange network projects.
Using Visual Models to Capture Change Management Situations
Donna Ellis, Associate Director, Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo
As educational developers, many of us assist our instructors and senior administrators in dealing with change. Maybe it involves adopting new ways of teaching or changing the culture of an institution. What kinds of tools can help us to do this work? One option that we may overlook involves creating visual models (e.g., influence diagrams or force field analyses) of the change situation. Visual models aim to capture key elements and relationships in a very succinct format, often assisting us with distilling the essence of a situation. In this session, participants will develop visual models to capture a change situation - either one from their own campus or for an example provided by the facilitator on student resistance to new instructional methods. The goals will be to learn from one another's approaches to creating visual models, exercise our creative spirits, and analyze how such models can help us do change management work.
Six Successful Strategies: Tips from a Faculty of Education teacher training program
Liesel Knaack, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Faculty of Education; and Caitlin Hanrahan, Jennifer Lamonaca-Bada, Rick Teather, Diane Tomas, Erica Di Vito and Bejay Prosser, Teacher Candidates, University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT)
Faculty of Education teacher training programs employ many strategies for instructing new or experienced teachers on how to be effective instructors in the classroom. Participants will move through five out of six stations (@12 minutes) designed around a teacher training strategy (e.g., modeling, skill development, reflection, etc). Stations will be led by current teacher candidates in UOIT's teacher program. Each station will showcase examples, as well as engage participants in an activity/discussion related to the strategy around topics such as technology integration, teaching/learning strategies, assessment tools, lesson design, and questioning skills. This session will also allow for discussion about how the presentation's information could be easily adapted to university/college teaching, as well as to the implementation of faculty development sessions. Participants will leave with handouts and be able to identify new or modified ways to train faculty through techniques, used in Faculties of Education, which could enhance higher education development practice.
NSSE and FSSE: Levers to engage institutional priorities in teaching and learning
Eric Kristensen, Educational Development Consultant
The implementation of student engagement surveys in more than 550 campuses in Canada and the US provides a means for our centres and programs to engage with senior administration, faculties, departments and individual professors. We will review the validity and reliability of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) instrument and then explore its links to research that is fundamental to our work as educational developers. Then, using examples from a NSSE - Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE) Comparative Report, small working groups of participants will develop their knowledge of these instruments, the data they produce and discuss potential responses. Finally, we will consider several questions in a large group discussion:
- What are the main challenges that your institution is facing in their NSSE data?
- How are those challenges being handled?
- What opportunities does your centre or program have to make a difference for curricular reform, effective teaching and engaged learning on your campus?
Getting a Handle on Managing Transitions
Alice Macpherson, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
What is changing in your institution, how does it impact your work, and what can you do about it? This session will offer practical tools to analyze and work positively with change processes within organizations. We will examine the basis for "learning organizations" (Senge 1994, Argryis & Schon 1996), institutions that are living, growing and changing and how this impacts the work of educational developers. The discussion and strategies will be based on a wide variety of theories, including the work of David Cooperrider (1990), Gervaise Bushe (1998), William Bridges (2003), and others. Come and participate in a series of interactive exercises that will focus on embracing and utilizing change. Bring your personal experiences and willingness to interact. We will plan contextual strategies to will help us manage transitions and be proactive change agents; helping others to survive and thrive.
Adventures in Re-Designing a Multipurpose Classroom
Judy Britnell, Director, Learning and Teaching Office; Restiani Andriati, Lead Instructional Technologist, Digital Media Projects Office and Leslie Wilson, Research Assistant, Learning and Teaching Office, Ryerson University
Space for students and technology that works; isn't that all that's needed? In 2006 the Committee for Effective Teaching and Learning Environments was invited by the Vice President, Administration and Finance to re-design an existing multi-purpose classroom that would showcase some of the best ideas in learning space design. In the fall 2008 the new space was in use by faculty members, three different programs, and over 400 students. In the re-design process, the interdisciplinary committee considered the technological needs and the other physical requirements that would support innovative and flexible structures in support of more effective teaching and learning.
In this session we will:
- Identify the process used to design this classroom and the challenges encountered
- Identify and share the design elements that were developed to inform future learning space design
- Share the results of evaluative research conducted with students and faculty users of this space.
Blueprint For Change: Designing outcomes and assessments to improve TA training and support
Megan Burnett, Assistant Director, Office of Teaching Advancement/Teaching Assistants' Training Program (TATP) and Emily Gregor-Greenleaf, TATP Coordinator, Teaching Assistants' Training Program/Research Assistant, Office of Teaching Advancement/Ph.D. Candidate, Higher Education Group, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
This session is a follow-up to one delivered at STLHE in Windsor in June 2008 which outlined the process of designing a TA training program evaluation survey. Participants will review portions of the questionnaire (run in 2008 and funded by the 2007 EDC Grants program) that triggered a redevelopment of the 2008-09 TATP Certificate Program. TAs at the University of Toronto were asked to evaluate their own teaching practices and beliefs and this information was used to revise TATP programming. The goal of the session will be to share qualitative data from the survey that helped develop specific outcomes for TATP programming and led to methods for assessing these outcomes. Participants will leave with a plan to identify outcomes and methods of assessment for TA initiatives at their own institutions.
Engaging Undergraduate Students Through and in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Eileen M. Herteis, Director, Purdy Crawford Teaching Centre, Mount Allison University
According to Kathleen McKinney (2007), students are most often involved in the Scholarship of Teaching as subjects of research: professors and educational developers investigate and document how changes and innovations in teaching affect student learning. Less common is the active participation of undergraduate students in SoTL as research partners.
Presented with examples of successful partnerships, session participants will explore undergraduates' involvement in SoTL from two perspectives: first, how merely having student assistance can encourage professors to initiate an innovative or scholarly teaching project; second, how such student participation enriches the professor's experience, while at the same time increasing students' engagement in their own learning. Such partnerships create a positive, productive teaching and learning environment for all. Through small group and general discussion, participants will compare and generate ideas for projects that will engage undergraduate students and change how Scholarship of Teaching projects are undertaken at their own institutions.
Moving from Going Meta to Going Public with Scholarly Activities
Alice Macpherson, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
How can multi disciplinary faculty learning communities help the solitary scholar into the 'meta' territory "in which faculty frame and systemically investigate questions related to student learning" (Hutchings, Schulman 1999). This session will focus on methods to encourage transformational and collaborative dialogues with others that facilitate shared insights and surface issues in ways that enrich learning for individuals, colleagues and students. Huber and Hutchings (2005) described a "Big Tent" where teachers and scholars can discuss and trade their insights and be supported in their self-reflection on authentic practice (Kreber, 2007) in their teaching for learning. The space can be described as a "middle ground" where scholarly investigation is framed by the learning of students and shared with colleagues from diverse disciplines. We will share and compare processes that draw reflection out into the open and discuss new ideas that can cross disciplinary boundaries.
An Evolving Landscape: Demographics and practices of Canadian educational development (ED) centres
Nicola Simmons, Ph.D., Research and Evaluation Consultant, Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE), University of Waterloo; Erika Kustra, Ph.D., Director, Teaching and Learning Development, Centre for Teaching and Learning, University of Windsor; Michael K. Potter, Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), University of Windsor; Ruth Rodgers, Centre for Academic Excellence and Innovation Durham College/UOIT; Anne Scrimger, Academic Development Centre/Faculty of Teaching and Learning, Mount Royal College and Janet Z-K Wolstenholme, Teaching Support Services (TSS), University of Guelph
While researchers abroad (Gosling, 2001,2006; Lewis, 1996) have outlined the historical growth of faculty development, limited literature exists regarding the Canadian context. Elrick (1990) outlined the precedent conditions that led to Canadian ED initiatives, and Donald (1986), Wilcox (1997), and Scarfe (2004) chronicled the history of Canadian ED centre growth, but there is a lack of compiled information on ED centres in Canada (Kreber and Brook, 2001).
This session will share work in progress about the evolution and current practices of Canadian ED centres. Our primary session goal is to invite you to engage in discussion about our collected data on ED programs, practices, and methods of self-evaluation such that those launching new initiatives can know which peer experts to contact for advice. We will draw on others' experiences to plan how to best allocate our limited resources, something of key importance during times when educational developers frequently feel overburdened and stressed (Ouellett, 2007).
Reconceptualizing the Impact of Educational Development Work
Cynthia Weston, Director and Laura Winer, Associate Director, Teaching and Learning Services, McGill University
Educational development work is often represented by activities (e.g., workshops, projects, committees) and themes (e.g., consultation, course design, course evaluation). Influenced by notions in the literature (e.g., Timmermans et al., 2005; Berthiaume and Arikawa, 2006; Matsushita, 2008), we have come to consider our work in a complementary way ¬ by levels of impact.
We will illustrate the four levels of impact: Micro - the practice of individual profs; meso - the practice of departments and faculties; macro - the institutional teaching and learning system; and mega - the field. This reconceptualization has changed the way we work and who we work with: from working mostly with individual professors to working increasingly with senior administrators at the University, Faculty and Department level. Participants will analyze their educational development work according to the proposed framework. Participants will discuss the usefulness of this framework as a tool for analysis, strategic planning and communication.
Barriers to Change in Online Teaching
Alan Wright, Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning, University of Windsor; Lorna Stolarchuk, Program Coordinator, Centre for Teaching and Learning, University of Windsor and Louise Sauvé, Directrice de SAVIE et professeure, Télé-université à l'UQAM
This interactive session features ten barriers to change in online teaching originally examined in a major Canadian research project. The first goal of the session is to convey to conference participants, drawing on creative imagery inspired by an equestrian jumping event, the obstacles identified by educational developers as they facilitate the maneuvers and adjustments instructors make in harnessing online approaches to teaching and learning. The ten challenges are grouped under four categories: economics of teaching; transforming teaching style; integration of technology into the organization; and integration of technology into professional practice. The second goal is to engage the participants, throughout the session, in a dialogue concerning both potential and proven effective practices for working with instructors to clear the ten hurdles identified and to help them become increasingly comfortable as teaching leaders in online communities of learners. Results of the group interaction will be available online after the session.
Ensuring Professional Recognition: The role of faculty development committees on a shifting institutional landscape
Beverley Brewer, Faculty and Curriculum Development, Coordinator; Valerie Lopes, Professor and Howard Doughty, Professor, Seneca College
Since the inception of our Faculty Development Centre more than thirty years ago, professional development committees have been on the periphery of the decision making process. Through conversations with our colleagues beyond the walls of our own institution, we have learned that, like our own, faculty-driven committees are being ignored or disbanded. While our faculty development committee continues to exist, we find ourselves in the midst of a committee experience that raises new questions and concerns, including whether - or not - to maintain our centre's committee. Are committees more trouble than they are worth? How might we address historical perceptions that are troublesome and/or provocative? Can we, with our current status, affect change? Through exploratory conversation, this roundtable will delve into the need for educational work that sustains learning and development for a diverse faculty community.
Canadian Collaboration for a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, an Opportunity to Connect at EDC
Richard A. Gale, Visiting Scholar, Royal Roads University and Mount Royal College
Recently, there has been much discussion around the need for a Canadian approach to fostering and supporting the scholarship of teaching and learning. Following a successful meeting at ISSOTL 2008 in Edmonton, this roundtable creates another opportunity for representatives of Canadian postsecondary institutions to gather and discuss the possibility of a robust (and perhaps formal) national network to share ideas and insights, practices and procedures, resources and rhetorical strategies centering on teaching and learning scholarship. Building on the excellent work of individuals/organizations in recent years (including a meeting held at ISSOTL 2005 in Vancouver, an STLHE leadership forum and new journal, multiple regional networks from BC to the Atlantic provinces, and the Canadian contingent within Carnegie's CASTL Higher Education Program), this roundtable will continue the dialogue amongst Canadian institutional representatives, providing an opportunity to facilitate change for the future.
Including "I" in a Professional Curriculum: Thinking narratively constructs identity and knowledge
Gail M. Lindsay, RN, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Ontario Institute of Technology
How do I engage students in reflective practice and lifelong learning; both of which imply embracing transitions at a personal level? How does it matter socially that in a professional education students undertake reflection on, and reconstruction of experience? These questions are contentious in contemporary education as students report to me that some teachers tell them that their opinions do not matter or that the use of ‘I' is not scholarly. In my classes, students navigate through the personal changes needed to become people who make social contributions through writing their thinking in first person and through peer inquiry. At this roundtable, I will share relevant exemplars from my narrative inquiry research program that are grounded in ontological and epistemological explorations by students and a teacher. Participants are invited to enrich the dialogue by sharing their own experiences, illuminating the mutually transforming nature of teaching and learning.
Overcoming Barriers: Facilitating faculty support for ESL/EAL students in the college classroom
Nicky Patel, ESL Specialist, Learner Support Centre, Durham College/University of Ontario Institute of Technology
ESL (English as a Second Language) and EAL (English as an Additional Language) students are an increasing population on college and university campuses across Canada. This added diversity requires professors to address linguistic barriers to learning and seek out teaching strategies to facilitate learning for this unique group of students. Educational Developers are called upon to train new faculty and develop resources to support this specialized training. This roundtable will provide a forum to share the challenges we face and share what we currently do at Durham College to train and support faculty to work with EAL/ESL students. Topics of discussion will include organization of lectures, Power Point presentations, assignment outlines, verbal instructions, face to face communication and feedback. Participants are invited to share best practices which have resulted in positives outcomes.
How Should Faculty Developers Measure the Effectiveness of Their Programs and Services?
Margaret Wilson, Faculty Developer, Centre for Innovation and Development, NorQuest College; Peter Wolf, Associate Director, Teaching Support Services, University of Guelph and Erwin Ens, Faculty Developer, Centre for Innovation and Development, NorQuest College
The faculty development practices at fifteen post secondary institutions were investigated as part of an applied research project at a small community college. The range of programs identified was compared to the faculty role profiles generated in the meta-professional project out of the Centre for Faculty Development and Assessment (CEDA) in the United States. An inventory was taken to determine the range of faculty development services offered within the institutions. These fifteen institutions were also asked how they evaluated the programs and services that they offered. While the range of programs and services varied significantly between institutions, their evaluation practices were remarkably similar with descriptive statistics the leading practice. One key issue to be explored at this roundtable is whether faculty development offices need to re-consider how we assess and report our activities?