March 2024

1. Registration is open for the 35th Teaching and Learning Innovations Conference!
2. Call for Additional TLI 2024 Poster Proposals
3. Online Workshop: Providing Feedback to Graduate Student Writers: Rethinking Traditional Approaches
4. Graduate Student Workshops: Hybrid Teaching Strategies and Graduate Student Teaching Assistant Check-in: Registration Open
5. Meet an Educational Developer: Megan De Roover

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Registration is open for the 35th Teaching and Learning Innovations Conference!

Join us May 8-9, 2024

Please join us for two engaging days of speakers, interactive sessions, concurrent presentations, and posters. 

The theme of the 35th Teaching and Learning Innovations Conference, is Fostering Transformative Learning: Challenging Assumptions, Reflecting Critically, Learning Together, and Taking Action. We will come together to explore this theme as it weaves through the learning experiences of students, faculty, and staff.  

On Wednesday, May 8th, we will connect in person at the University Centre for our keynote speaker , interactive sessions, presentations and posters. The keynote will also be streamed online. On Thursday, May 9th, we will come together online for a different set of interactive sessions, presentations and a panel. 

For the Schedule at-a-Glance, Program, and Registration Details, please visit the:

TLI Conference Registration 2024 Webpage

Registration closes Monday April 29th, 2024

Questions? Connect with us at otl@uoguelph.ca
 

Call for Additional TLI 2024 Poster Proposals

We invite all faculty, sessionals, instructors, staff, and students (graduate and undergraduate) from the University of Guelph and beyond to submit a poster proposal for the 2024 Teaching and Learning Innovations Conference. The poster session will take place in person on Wednesday, May 8th.  

Submit your poster proposal: TLI 2024 Poster Proposal Submission Form.   

For details about the conference theme, poster details and proposal submission requirements, please visit the TLI 2024 Conference website. 

Proposals are due on March 29th, 2024 (11:59 PM)
This date will not be extended

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Online Workshop: Providing Feedback to Graduate Student Writers: Rethinking Traditional Approaches

Wednesday, March 20, 2024, between 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM (virtual only). Register quickly, there are only 20 seats available. 

Register for the Session Here 

This workshop for faculty shares approaches to providing feedback on academic writing projects such as theses and dissertations. We discuss ways to anticipate and prepare for the challenges that graduate writers, including writers for whom English is an additional language (EAL), may experience as they receive, interpret, and respond to feedback. We show how you can support your graduate students throughout the writing process and provide meaningful feedback under time constraints by approaching feedback as both a teacher and a researcher.

In particular, we focus on discourse analysis as a feedback tool which moves away from deficit thinking about EAL users. In this workshop, we will provide opportunities for participants to share ideas, strategies, and challenges with each other and to consider different ways to deliver written feedback. We will also discuss resources and support from Writing and Learning Services and from the Office of Teaching and Learning.  

Zoom link will be provided via email approximately one day before the workshop. 

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Graduate Student Workshops

Hybrid Teaching Strategies Workshop: Registration Open

Friday, March 22, 2024, between 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (virtual only)

Register for the Workshop Here

Navigating the landscape of hybrid teaching requires a unique set of strategies, and this workshop is your compass! Discover innovative ways to adapt your teaching style to online platforms, ensuring a fluid and effective learning experience for all.

Dive into practical demonstrations, collaborative discussions, and real-world scenarios that will empower you to confidently navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by hybrid teaching. Connect with fellow teaching assistants facing similar challenges, share success stories, and leave with a toolkit of hybrid teaching strategies that will elevate your impact in and outside the classroom. The workshop will run virtually only. 

Graduate Student Teaching Assistant Check-in: Registration Open

Friday, March 29, 2024, between 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (virtual only)

Register for the Session Here

Calling all passionate teaching assistants! How’s your semester going? Dealing with grading fatigue, wondering how to approach upcoming seminars, or just need to let off some mid-semester steam? 

Join a peer-to-peer online drop-in session to ask questions, share strategies, and problem-solve with other TAs from across UoG. Whether a seasoned TA or new to the role, we’re here to offer advice, support, solutions, and resources to help you navigate the rest of the semester. This session will run virtually only. 

To learn more about our other workshops and for additional details, please visit our Graduate Student Programming webpage. 

Please send any questions/inquires to gtc@uoguelph.ca

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Meet an Educational Developer

Megan De Roover, Educational Developer 

What pathway did you take to your career as an Educational Developer? 

I have always had a strong interest in teaching, course design, and higher education but, like many other educational developers, my pathway was nonlinear. I had the opportunity during my Ph.D. at Arizona State University to engage in course and program design, which I found incredibly satisfying, and it really gave me insight into the mechanics and goals of higher education. Afterwards, I taught as a sessional in many different institutions and departments (UofG included!), which involved designing and teaching courses ranging from engineering communication to fantasy literature to community engaged learning. These experiences gave me a wide breadth of teaching practice and an awareness of strategies and approaches that worked in diverse contexts and across disciplines. It also gave me an appreciation of what kinds of support both instructors and students need to do their best work.   

It wasn’t until I became the Experiential Learning Partnerships and Educational Developer for the College of Arts and the Experiential Learning Hub at the University of Guelph that I realized my interests could be neatly housed under the umbrella of educational development. When the opportunity arose to join OTL, I knew that this was my chance to make a difference while leveraging my skills in design, assessment, facilitation, and visioning. I look forward to learning more from this passionate and dedicated team and finding ways to contribute meaningfully to the educational landscape of UofG. 

What interests you about teaching and learning? 

There is so much to teaching and learning that the possibilities within this field really are endless. I love getting curious about the challenges instructors are facing and working with them to develop effective and sustainable solutions that will ultimately support our students.

Whether the approach is in design, research, or practice, I find it satisfying to help others build confidence and capability in their teaching and learning journeys. 

What advice would you give new instructors?

There are two pieces of advice that I wish I had received when I first started teaching.   

1. Find your community! Being able to collaboratively think through ideas, address problems, or discover new approaches can have a massive impact on your teaching. Isolation is not uncommon for new instructors who are busy and navigating new roles, so seeking out and engaging with others is an important way to sustain your own motivation and enthusiasm.
2. You don’t need to know it all to be a great teacher. As a new instructor, you might feel pressured to be able to answer every question in every circumstance, but we know that it is an unrealistic expectation given the wide variety of events that can occur in the classroom.  My recommendation is to foster an attitude of accountability and shared learning – if we don’t know the answer, we’ll find it together.