Workshop Schedule

January

• Canvas 101: From Setup to Success - Friday January 3, 10 am - 12 pm

  Date: Friday January 3, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

  In this session, the Educational Developers from the Teaching and Learning Centre will provide an overview of the key features in Canvas. This session is designed with new Canvas users in mind, but is also useful for existing users looking for a quick refresher! We will cover the following:

  • Assignments
  • Quizzes
  • Gradebook
  • Media Sharing and Storage
  • Support Options
• First Day Toolkit for TAs - Thursday January 9, 10 am - 11 am

  Date: Thursday January 9, 10:00 am - 11:00 am

  This session is designed to provide new teaching assistants with practical strategies and resources. The session will focus on inclusive teaching strategies, classroom management, effective communication with students and faculty, and where to turn when you have questions.

• From Attention to Retention: Designing for Engagement and Understanding - Tuesday January 14, 10 am - 11 am

  Date: Tuesday January 14, 10:00 am - 11:00 am
  Facilitators: Dr. Lidya Salim, Dr. Kaitlyn Watson

  In this webinar, we will explore how to design engaging and effective teaching and learning experiences informed by Gagné's Nine Events of Instruction. We will guide you toward developing learning experiences that maintain attention, support knowledge retention, and foster deeper understanding.

  Learning Outcomes

  • Identify strategies you can use in your practice based on Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction.
  • Explain the significance of integrating opportunities for students to connect to prior learning, apply knowledge, and receive feedback towards retention.
• Removing Learning Barriers with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) - Thursday January 23, 11 am - 12 pm

  Date: Thursday January 23, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
  Facilitators: Kevin Johnson, Dr. Lidya Salim

  Are your students getting the most out of your courses? This webinar will explore the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), equipping you with practical strategies to create inclusive and accessible learning environments that address the diverse needs of all learners.

  Learning Outcomes

  • Identify common barriers to learning.
  • Examine the relationship between Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and accessibility.
  • Implement UDL principles to reduce learning barriers in your practice.
• Mentimeter Re-Defined: Interactive Teaching & Learning with Mentimeter - Thursday January 23, 1 pm - 2 pm

  Date: Thursday January 23, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
  Facilitators: Dr. Laura Banks, Hannah Atkinson

  Join us for a workshop to explore Mentimeter and how it can help you engage, inspire, and innovate! Mentimeter is a slide deck tool for creating dynamic and engaging presentations with a variety of user-friendly interactive elements. Enhance and reimagine your teaching and learning methods using research-informed best practices by designing presentations that enable learners to participate actively throughout the lesson.

• Inclusive Instruction: Humanizing Learning Communities - Monday January 27, 10 am - 11:30 am

  Date: Monday January 27, 10:00 am - 11:30 am
  Facilitator: Dr. Kaitlyn Watson

  In this workshop we will discuss inclusive practice and humanizing education in pursuit of fostering learning communities that honor learners as whole individuals. Participants will explore practical strategies to enhance empathy, equity, and engagement of all learners in their classrooms.

  Learning Outcomes

  • Explain the importance of inclusivity in the classroom by drawing on principles of equity and anti-oppression.
  • Examine one’s practices to identify alignment with and departure from goals of inclusivity and humanizing education.
  • Apply techniques to humanize interactions with students in the classroom.

February

• Generating Confidence: Demystifying Generative AI - Tuesday February 4, 1 pm - 2 pm

  Date: Tuesday February 4, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
  Facilitators: Miranda Varricchio, Lasandra Conliffe

  Don’t let generative artificial intelligence (GAI) be the elephant in the room. Let’s explore together the good, the bad and the ugly of generative artificial intelligence in the educational context. Learn the basics around generative artificial intelligence and why critical literacy is important as we move forward. In addition, we will briefly touch on ways to leverage GAI to reduce time poverty as faculty. This workshop is being re-offered as part of a series that approaches various topics related to GAI.

  Learning Outcomes

  • Discuss the benefits and challenges of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) in teaching and learning.
  • Explain the importance of critical literacy in the context of GAI.
  • Draft a prompt to create and populate a simple rubric.
• Developing Clear and Captivating Slides - Thursday February 6, 11 am - 12 pm

  Date: Thursday February 6, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
  Facilitator: Kevin Johnson

  When it comes to presentations, you don’t need to choose between accessibility and beautiful slides! Elevate your presentation materials with this workshop on crafting clear and visually appealing slides. Learn the importance of accessibility and how to implement design principles to create engaging materials suitable for any audience.

  Learning Outcomes

  • Construct clear and simple presentation materials that will be effective in most contexts.
  • Explain the importance of ensuring accessibility when designing professional and educational presentation materials.
  • Utilize design principles and built-in tools to produce slides that are accessible and visually appealing.
• Transforming Teaching with Feedback and Feedforward Strategies - Wednesday February 12, 1 pm - 2 pm

  Date: Wednesday February 12, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
  Facilitators: Lasandra Conliffe, Miranda Varricchio

  This workshop is designed to enhance teaching practices through effective feedback and feedforward techniques. Instructors will learn actionable strategies to improve their teaching methods, evaluate diverse student needs, and design targeted interventions. The workshop will guide participants in creating feedback that not only reflects on past performance but also encourages continuous learning and self-regulation. By combining research, real-life examples and a collaborative breakout activity, participants will develop adaptable approaches for delivering feedback across various teaching modalities.

  Learning Outcomes

  • Analyze current feedback and feedforward strategies, identifying strengths and areas for improvement based on diverse student needs.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of feedback techniques by comparing outcomes in different teaching scenarios, supported by research and real-life examples.
  • Design adaptable feedback delivery approaches that incorporate both feedback and feedforward techniques, suitable across various teaching modalities and promoting continuous learning and self-regulation.
• Designing and Refining the Flipped Classroom - Wednesday February 26, 1 pm - 2 pm

  Date: Wednesday February 26, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
  Facilitator: Dr. Laura Banks

• Teaching Dossier: Making the Case for Teaching Effectiveness - Thursday February 27, 11 am - 12 pm

  Date: Thursday February 27, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
  Facilitator: Dr. Susan L. Forbes

  A Teaching Dossier is a summary of an academic’s major teaching accomplishments and strengths. In this session, we’ll explore ways to effectively describe and document your teaching philosophy, goals, achievements, and teaching experiences.

• Decolonizing Practices: Roles and Responsibilities Towards Reconciliation in Education - Friday February 28, 1 pm - 2:30 pm

  Date: Friday February 28, 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
  Facilitator: Dr. Kaitlyn Watson

  In this session, we will explore how colonialism shapes educational spaces, how it manifests (intentionally or unintentionally) in our practice, and what this means for goals of reconciliation. The workshop will also offer an opportunity to identify ways in which you can begin to decolonize your practice to take up roles and responsibilities towards reconciliation.

  Learning Outcomes

  • Describe the relationship between Indigenization, decolonization, and reconciliation.
  • Evaluate existing practices, approaches, and perspectives that align with or depart from goals of reconciliation in education.
  • Imagine what a decolonial classroom can look like.

March

• The Perfect Prompt: Unlocking the Potential of Generative AI - Wednesday March 5, 10 am - 11 am

  Date: Wednesday March 5, 10:00 am - 11:00 am
  Facilitators: Miranda Varricchio, Kevin Johnson

  In this hands-on workshop, we’ll explore how to craft effective prompts for generative AI tools. You will be guided through how to create prompts that will result in clear, relevant, and actionable responses. Whether you're using generative AI for teaching, research, or creative work, this session will help you unlock its full potential.

  Learning Outcomes

  • Create prompts with a general understanding of how prompt structure can shape outputs in a text-based GAI tool.
  • Refine prompts based on their initial outputs to help clarify and refine results.
  • Apply prompt-crafting strategies to create a rubric that can be used to evaluate student assignments.
• Assessing Authentically: Alternatives to Traditional Assessments - Tuesday March 18, 1 pm - 2 pm

  Date: Tuesday March 18, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
  Facilitators: Dr. Lidya Salim, Dr. Kaitlyn Watson

  Assessment is an integral component of the learning process, and it should reflect the complexity and diversity of students' skills and knowledge. This webinar will explore a range of assessment strategies that go beyond traditional exams, allowing you to assess student learning in more authentic and meaningful ways.

  Learning Outcomes

  • Describe the role of diagnostic, formative, and summative assessment in course design.
  • Identify the limitations of traditional exams.
  • Explore alternative assessment strategies to increase student engagement and prevent academic integrity violations.
• Inquiry in Action: Bridging Educational Research and Practice - Friday March 28, 12 pm - 1 pm

  Date: Friday March 28, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
  Facilitators: Dr. Lidya Salim, Dr. Kaitlyn Watson

  The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a systematic approach to investigate teaching and learning practices with the aim of enhancing educational outcomes. In this webinar, we will explore various inquiry methods and how to engage meaningfully in SoTL.

  Learning Outcomes

  • Describe the practice of scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL).
  • List various techniques and approaches that can be used to engage in SoTL.
  • Explain the importance of SoTL for instructors and students.