Welcome to the Inaugural Early Career Faculty Community of Practice Cohort

This month, we launched the inaugural cohort of the Early Career Faculty Community of Practice (CoP), an initiative co-sponsored by OTL and the Office of the Associate Vice-President Academic.

This unique CoP supports the development and success of early career faculty as instructors and educators at the University of Guelph. This cross-disciplinary, small group, relationship-rich experience is intended to foster a supportive, enriching, and inclusive environment where early career faculty members can thrive as they engage in continuous learning around teaching.

As educators, we know that connection is at the heart of everything we do. The CoP provides a space for connection, exchanging teaching experiences and ideas, and a supportive network for peers to lean on each other.

Congratulations to the first cohort! We can't wait to see what you do!

Learn more about the
Early Career Faculty CoP here

New Resources on GenAI and Academic Misconduct

As our campus navigates student use of Generative AI in teaching and learning contexts, new resources on GenAI and academic misconduct are available on the AVPA’s Generative AI in Teaching and Learning website.

Memo on the Use of GenAI Detection Tools and Academic Misconduct Related to GenAI. This memo outlines the rationale for not authorizing the use of GenAI detection tools for the detection and prosecution of academic misconduct, and additional guidance for instructors regarding detecting and preventing GenAI misuse.
Question Guide for Suspected Academic Misconduct Related to GenAI Misuse. This question guide can be adapted by instructors to guide conversations with students about their use of GenAI on a particular assignment or activity.

To visit other GenAI in Education resources, visit our Teaching in the Context of AI site.

AVPA Website on Generative AI
in Teaching and Learning

SoTL Spotlight: Recent Publications from UofG Students, Faculty, and Staff

In this month’s newsletter, we are excited to highlight three recent Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) publications from UofG students, faculty, and staff. These works showcase the meaningful, collaborative research being conducted across disciplines to advance our collective understanding of teaching, assessment, and student learning and development at UofG.

Graduate Student Perceptions of Individual Development Plans (Arnaud & Cahill)

Dr. Emmanuelle Arnaud (OAC) and Dr. Sarah Cahill (CSAHS) published "Graduate Student Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Individual Development Plans" in the Canadian Journal of Higher Education. Emmanuelle and Sarah designed and conducted this research while participating in OTL’s Inquire Program.

The researchers documented graduate student’s perspectives on the effectiveness of Individual Development Plans (IDP’s) noting that informational interviews and mentor meetings were perceived as the most useful elements. Their analysis also highlighted challenges and offered reflections for others who might be interested in implementing an IDP at their own institution.

Access Arnaud & Cahill's Article

Undergraduate Student Perspectives on Alternate Assessment Approaches (Stonehouse & O’Meara)

Callum Stonehouse (B.Sc. in Physics, class of 2023) and Dr. Joanne M. O'Meara (Professor, Department of Physics) published “Investigating student perspectives on alternate final assessment approaches in upper-level physics courses” based on their innovative assessment design in PHYS*2330 & PHYS*2340: Electricity and Magnetism I & II.

This paper explores the impact of non-traditional final assessments, such as projects and oral exams, on student learning and engagement in advanced physics courses. By surveying student experiences, O'Meara and Stonehouse highlight the potential benefits of these alternative assessments in fostering deeper understanding and reducing exam-related stress. The study challenges conventional assessment methods, offering insights into more holistic approaches that can better reflect student capabilities.

“I didn’t want to run invigilated exams during COVID, so I looked for alternatives in the literature. Based on our positive experiences, as we report in the paper, I’m not going back! There is demonstrable learning of core content at the same level or deeper than previously, and students found the assessments to be more satisfying and significantly less stressful than traditional exams. It’s nice to think that something positive pedagogically came out of the challenges of teaching during a pandemic.”

- Dr. Joanne M. O'Meara

“Although I understand the ubiquity and usefulness of traditional exams, I've always felt that there could perhaps be better ways for me to show the knowledge I've gained from a course beyond standard multiple-choice or short answer/essay questions. As someone who always appreciates unique solutions to complex problems, I was incredibly interested in with Dr. O'Meara's alternative methods of evaluation - and the results we found from our study were equally interesting! This is just the beginning of applying new and unconventional ways to assess students' knowledge and capabilities... I can't wait to see what future applications of our findings will look like!"

- Callum Stonehouse

Access Stonehouse & O’Meara's Article

Teaching and Learning Network as Faculty Development (Stewart & Fulmer)

Dr. Christie Stewart (OTL) and Dr. Sara Fulmer (OTL) published, "The Teaching and Learning Network: A Model of Interdisciplinary Networking as Educational Leadership and Faculty Development" in the Journal of Faculty Development. Their article describes the University of Guelph's Teaching and Learning Network’s (TLN) structure, goals, and activities, with a focus on how the TLN advances faculty, instructor, and staff professional development as educators and educational leaders.

Access Stewart & Fulmer's Article

For more teaching resources or to chat with us,
visit our website at otl.uoguelph.ca or contact us at otl@uoguelph.ca.