This year at the
Centre for
Teaching and Learning 2007-2008 “We cannot hold a torch to light another’s path without brightening our own.” Ben Sweetland What’s Inside A Year with a Difference.........................................1 An Invitation to the CTL Planning Table................2 For Faculty and Department Heads........................3 For Graduate Students............................................5 CTL Publications....................................................8 Recognition of Teaching..........................................9 Scholarship of Teaching and Learning..................11 Community Service Learning...............................14 Parntership for Teaching and Learning Support...15 Our Mission..........................................................17 CTL’s Strategic Areas of Focus............................17 Location of the CTL.............................................17 CTL Staff..............................................................18
collaborative
responsive
pragmatic
Page 1
A Year with a Difference
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This year at the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) will be very different from recent years, but no less exciting and rewarding. Much has changed since 2004 when the CTL’s current strategic plan was developed through a year-long participatory process. At that time, in keeping with our values of responsiveness, flexibility This year at the and pragmatism, we made Centre for Teaching a commitment to review and Learning (CTL) progress made towards will be very different the implementation of from recent years, but the plan and to identify no less exciting and new challenges and rewarding. opportunities in light of our ever-changing context. One important contextual change has been the creation of the new Queen’s University Strategic Plan with a decade-long horizon. The Plan explicitly articulates, inter alia, a strong “commitment to engaged teaching and learning and to the highest standards of excellence across all of our programs and activities – both in and outside the classroom ….” (Extract from Engaging the World: A Strategic Plan for Queen’s University, 1 December, 2006, p.22) While we wish to remain true to our mission of enhancing student learning and providing support for all who teach at Queen’s, we want to ensure that the CTL’s programs and services are congruent with the goals and objectives articulated in the Queen’s Strategic Plan and that we continue to meet your changing teaching enhancement needs as you in turn respond to the University’s Strategic Plan. Focus on Your Needs We have therefore decided to focus our efforts this year on conducting a comprehensive needs assessment that will guide our program planning and educational development priorities for the foreseeable future. I have delegated the responsibility for coordinating this assessment and review process to Susan Wilcox whose invitation for you to join us at the planning table appears on the next page.
Reduced Programming Given our current resources, this focus will necessitate a reduction in the number of formal programs we typically offer. In particular, we will suspend our core “Focus” programs (Focus on Foundations, Focus on Graduate Supervision, and Focus on Diversity) which together require 18 workshop sessions, our “Circle” programs (Teachers’ Reading and Teachers’ Writing Circles), the Cross-Faculty Teaching Forum, Meet the Teacher Series, The Teacher’s Voice Series and several other discrete workshops to which you have grown accustomed. Continued Programs and Services We will continue to offer all of our programs for teaching assistants and teaching fellows, as well as programs to meet the immediate needs of new faculty, including a new five-day workshop on course design. We will also continue to support those who wish to promote student learning through engaging pedagogical approaches such as inquiry-based learning and communityservice learning, both pillars of the Queen’s Strategic Plan. In addition, we hope to continue to provide opportunities for you to engage in stimulating discussions on teaching and learning issues through the biannual sessions in the series of Brown Bag Conversations with Principal Hitchcock. Despite our reduction in formal workshop-style programs, we will continue to offer many of our other services. For example, our resource library will remain accessible to you through personal visits as well as through our searchable online database. In addition, selected modules from some of our workshop programs will be available online. We will also continue to collaborate with our valued partners to provide teaching and learning support for the entire Queen’s community. Moreover, we will continue to maintain the online Teaching Awards Directory and to administer both the Chancellor A. Charles Baillie Award
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
www.queensu.ca/ctl/
Page 2
....A Year with a Difference and the CTL Teaching and Learning Enhancement Grants. Most importantly, throughout the year, we will continue to offer, upon request, expert researchbased advice to individuals and departments through our confidential teaching consultation services. I want to emphasize that the change in our focus this year will in no way diminish the high quality of our service. ...[we] remain fully committed Our educational to offering you service of the developers and highest possible calibre in a professional and welcoming and collaborative support staff remain environment. fully committed to offering you service of the highest possible calibre in a welcoming and collaborative environment. Personnel Changes In addition to the change in our focus this year, you will also notice a few changes in our personnel. Denise Stockley, one of our educational developers, began a twelve-month sabbatical leave on July 1, 2007. She will be temporarily replaced on a parttime basis by Sue Fostaty Young, an experienced educational developer who is no stranger to the CTL. Many of you have participated in Sue’s dynamic and
transformative workshops on assessment which are based on the book she has co-authored entitled Assessment and Learning: The ICE Approach. We are also delighted to be working with Tom Russell, the 2007 Queen’s University Chair in Teaching and Learning, to promote effective teaching throughout the Queen’s community. Finally, we welcome Matthew Ascah as the Community Service Learning Coordinator, a position shared with Student Affairs. Matthew will work collaboratively with faculty and staff from Queen’s and with various community agencies to implement community service learning projects with the goal of helping students connect theoretical classroom study to real-life experience, while addressing critical social issues in the local community. The remainder of this brochure describes the programs and services that the CTL will offer in 2007-2008.
Joy Mighty, Ph.D. Director
An invitation to the CTL planning table....
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _
During the 2007-2008 academic year, the Centre will take some time away from its regular schedule of program offerings. We will instead focus our attention on an intensive review of our services, which we expect will lead to an invigorating renewal. Many things have changed since 1992, including the demand for teaching support services, and we must take time to assess where we are now and how we can best address current and upcoming needs across the university. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Over the years since we first opened in 1992, the Centre for Teaching and Learning has been involved in helping departments engage in the important process of curriculum review. We have helped faculty think critically about their goals for student learning, and we have devised means for collecting student input about their learning needs. Well, it’s now time for the CTL to do some curriculum review of its own, and we’ll need your help.
www.queensu.ca/ctl/
Page 3
....an invitation to the CTL planning table We will be inviting staff, faculty, and students to join us at the planning table. A small but representative group will first be formed to guide the planning process. That group will figure out what information we need to collect, and how to collect it. We anticipate that we’ll be hosting web surveys, open forums, oneon-one meetings and focus group interviews. We’ll also take advantage of the data that have already been collected through internal academic reviews, exit polls, USAT surveys, etc. All data will be returned to the planning group who will then work with the CTL to help us make decisions about programs, priorities and future directions. We hope you’ll be patient with us as we engage in this important initiative. Individual faculty members and departments may still access teaching consultation
services during the year – it is only our formal program of events that will be cut back. Certain audiences remain priorities, including TAs and new faculty, and programs will be available to them. Most importantly, we hope you’ll contribute to our efforts to develop and improve. When we call and ask you to help out by participating in a survey or interview, or serving on a planning committee, remember that your support now will lead to better continuing support for teaching and learning in the coming years. For further information, please contact Susan Wilcox at x33252 or at wilcoxs@queensu.ca
For Faculty and Department Heads
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Twice a year, the Principal leads Brown Bag Conversations with Principal Hitchcock about some aspect of teaching at Queen’s. Faculty welcome the opportunity each session provides to have lunch with the Principal while discussing teaching issues that most interest and challenge them and to hear her insightful perspectives on ways of enhancing the quality of teaching and learning at Queen’s. Topics previously covered in these conversations include teaching in a research-intensive university, promoting the scholarship of teaching and learning, engaging students, and perceived barriers to interdisciplinary teaching initatives.
Our popular Meet the Teacher Series returns this fall, redesigned. Rather than having to schedule a specific time during your already overburdened academic lives, you’ll be able to watch successful teachers in action, as well as to hear them discuss their teaching, and do so when it suits you. Starting this fall, we’ll be posting on our website video segments of excellent teachers teaching one of their regular classes and discussing why they teach as they do: what works and what doesn’t. Always accessible, the videos will offer you a window into a variety of teaching strategies from across the disciplines. Our first participant will be Leo Jonker, 3M Teaching Fellow and the inaugural Queen’s Chair in Teaching and Learning. Look for an announcement soon.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
www.queensu.ca/ctl/
Page 4
....for Faculty and Department Heads Introducing the Course Design and Teaching Workshop
This year, all Queen’s faculty members will have a unique opportunity to participate in an intensive one-week workshop to help them design or redesign a course they will be teaching. The workshop, which has been given successfully at McGill University for many years, will be held at Queen’s on December 6-7, and 10-12. Participants will be given time to plan a new course or re-design a course they have taught before. The goal is to help instructors take a comprehensive and critical look at the course as a whole, ensuring that goals, teaching methods, and assessment strategies are aligned and support student learning. New faculty members may choose to participate in additional activities to support the workshop as part of a research project conducted in collaboration with McGill, with funding from the Max Bell Foundation. Those recruited to the study (a maximum of 10) will take the workshop in December, where they will work on a course that they’ll be teaching the following term. That next term, a CTL educational developer will observe the class once a week to determine how the course is going, and will meet with the professor to provide feedback. Over the following two terms, as a follow-up, participants will attend group meetings every two weeks to discuss issues they’ve confronted in their classrooms.
If you are interested in attending the December Course Design and Teaching Workshop, please contact Susan Wilcox (wilcoxs@queensu.ca or 33252). Please let Susan know whether you are a new or experienced faculty member and, if you are new, whether you wish to participate in the associated research study.
Consultations Individual Consultations
The CTL offers a teaching consultation service for individual instructors. It is sometimes assumed that our consultation services are for professors with serious teaching problems. While we are happy to offer help in such situations, the CTL also provides advice to many highly motivated and effective professors and teaching assistants who wish to do even better, or to explore new teaching methods in their classes. In a few cases this process involves just a single consultation to discuss a specific teaching issue, but more often there is a series of meetings. Professors and teaching assistants using this service may invite CTL staff to visit one or more classes, or classes may be videotaped and reviewed with the CTL consultant. CTL staff are also willing to meet with students to obtain feedback about professors’ teaching strategies, again only at the request of the instructor. We may help the instructor design a classroom research project to inquire into their teaching and student learning. We also frequently make recommendations about suitable print and A-V materials from our Resource Library. It is CTL policy to consult with persons who approach the Centre voluntarily. Although we are happy for department heads, deans, or others to inform colleagues about our services, it is for the instructors themselves to decide whether, and on what terms, they wish to approach the Centre. To book an initial appointment or to get some advice over the phone, professors and teaching assistants should call the CTL and simply explain they wish to speak to an educational developer.
Departmental Consultations
Departments may request help and advice on a wide range of instructional and professional development issues. The CTL is pleased to collaborate on planning and presenting seminars, workshops, and retreats or other forms of
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
www.queensu.ca/ctl/
Page 5
....for Faculty and Department Heads activities for faculty and TAs in a department. We will also assist by offering advice on a wide range of departmental teaching development projects. We have helped departments with curriculum review and course planning, developing procedures for evaluating teaching, implementing alternative course delivery and teaching methods, responding to student learning and development issues, and teaching assistant training. To arrange with CTL staff, someone from the department should contact the CTL. You will be asked for some information about the nature of the departmental request so that you may be put in contact with the appropriate educational developer.
CONFIDENTIALITY: All consultations are strictly confidential. Information about professors, teaching assistants, and departments who choose to use our services will not be released to any other person or department unless the user requests and authorizes the release of such information.
Help with Degree-Level Expectations The CTL will collaborate with departments that are scheduled to conduct undergraduate program reviews in the 2008-2009 academic year to ensure that they have integrated into their curriculum the framework of Undergraduate Degree-Level Expectations (UDLEs) developed by the Ontario Council of Academic Vice-Presidents (OCAV) and approved by the Council of Ontario Universities. It is expected that all existing undergraduate programs in Ontario reviewed after June 2008 will be aligned with the OCAV UDLEs which consist of the following six generic graduate attributes: depth of knowledge; knowledge of methodologies; application of knowledge; communication skills; awareness of limits of knowledge; and autonomy and professional capacity.
For Graduate Students
_________________________________________________________________
Graduate Students play an important role at Queen’s. As teaching assistants (TAs) they support undergraduate learning in many ways, including lecturing, leading tutorials or labs, offering individualized help and instruction during office hours, coordinating websites and listservs, teaching courses, and assessing student work. TA work also provides an excellent opportunity for graduate students to develop important skills that are transferable to most professions, including engineering, teaching, health sciences, public service, and business. The CTL provides programs and services for graduate students to develop themselves as teachers.
Programs Professional Development Day for Teaching Assistants (TA Day)
is offered each year by the Centre for Teaching and Learning. This day-long conference is an opportunity for all TAs to meet and learn about new and interesting developments in teaching and learning. A featured guest keynote speaker focuses on key aspects of the roles and responsibilities of TAs in undergraduate teaching. Further professional development sessions provide opportunities to develop general teaching skills as well as skills specific to individual disciplines. The opportunity to get together in a one-day, focused environment is an important step in facilitating
TA Day 2005: Opening Plenary
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
www.queensu.ca/ctl/
Page 6
....for Graduate Students effective teaching practices, encouraging further professional development, and enhancing the profile of the role TAs play in undergraduate education. This year the conference will be held on Friday, September 7, 2007. For further information, go to the CTL home page and click on Community, then on Graduate Students. NOTE: The workshops taken at TA Day can be used for the Certificate Program in University Teaching and Learning.
Certificate Program in University Teaching and Learning (PUTL)
This program provides an opportunity for graduate students to receive formal recognition for their participation in training and development activities. There are three separate program certificates: Scholarship, Practical Experience, and Professional Development. Graduate students may complete as many of the three certificates as they wish, at their own pace, and in any order that they choose. A Workshop
Teaching
Series for Assistants on
teaching and learning is offered during the fall and winter terms. Sessions include such topics as Encouraging Discussion, Academic Integrity, Teaching Portfolios, Equity in the Queen’s Classroom, Effective Presentations, Time Management, Leading Labs, Skillful Questioning, and The Use of Technology in Teaching. The workshops are held every Wednesday afternoon from 4:00 to 5:30 pm in the CTL. For a complete list of workshops, dates and registration information, please visit our website.
SGS 901: Teaching and Learning in Higher Education is a graduate level
course offered in the winter term and is intended for graduate students across the disciplines who want to become skilled, thoughtful, and confident teachers in higher education. The goal of this course is to foster understanding and reflection about learning approaches and effective teaching in a university setting. The course is intended primarily for Ph.D. students, particularly those who have completed their comprehensive examinations. Others, including master’s level students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty members, may attend, depending on enrolment. It is highly desirable that participants have some prior teaching experience (for example as a TA) and/or be acting as a TA or teaching at the time the course is offered. For more information see the CTL website.
English Communication Assessment (ECA)
All new international graduate students whose first language is not English are required to be assessed for oral proficiency in English before they can be assigned a Teaching Assistantship which includes duties other than marking. This assessment is required regardless of whether at the time of application to graduate school you submitted a TOEFL, Michigan or other approved written English language test. The ECA is administered by the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the beginning of the fall and winter semesters. This year the ECAs are scheduled for September 4, 5, 6, 10 and 11, 2007. International graduate students can schedule their ECA by contacting the CTL by email at ctl@queensu.ca Depending on the results you obtain on the ECA, you may be required to enroll in the communication skills course SGS 802: Communication Skills for Teaching Purposes before you can be a Teaching Assistant. This is a term length course which is offered by the CTL in both the fall and winter semesters at no cost to you.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
www.queensu.ca/ctl/
Page 7
....for Graduate Students SGS 802: English Language Communication Skills for Teaching Purposes is a twelve week
non-credit course offered in the fall and winter terms. This course is designed for graduate students who are non-native speakers of English and would like to be teaching assistants at Queen’s. SGS 802 has four objectives: * to provide you with the necessary teaching skills to be effective teaching assistants * to improve your English language and communication skills within the context of your duties as a teaching assistant * to provide you with insight into the culture, attitudes and assumptions that prevail in the Canadian university classroom and * to create a support system as you make the transition into life at Queen’s
Assessment
TA Evaluations
For reasons of improvement and accountability we believe that it is important that TAs be evaluated. Undergraduate students deserve an opportunity to give feedback on the ways that TAs support -or could better support -- their learning. TAs need to receive feedback on their work for their own professional development. Evaluation forms are available on the CTL website. TAs may also obtain help in designing and implementing an evaluation process by contacting the CTL.
Consultations
Teaching Assistants are invited to contact the CTL for one-to-one support, advice, and/or feedback on their teaching. Consultations can be carried out in person or by email. We can help TAs collect feedback on their teaching by doing in-class observations, arranging a videotaping of their tutorial or lab session, and/or offering advice and resources with respect to mid-term and end-of-term student questionnaires. Microteaching sessions for TAs are also available during the fall and winter terms.
CONFIDENTIALITY All consultations are strictly confidential. Information about anyone who uses our services will not be released to any other person or department unless the user requests and authorizes the release of such information.
For further information about graduate student training and development go to: www.queensu.ca/ctl/community/students/ or contact:
Andy Leger, Ph.D
Educational Developer (Teaching Fellows and Teaching Assistants) Email: taas@queensu.ca Phone: (613) 533-6000 x 75303
TA Day 2006: Formats for Academic Writing: How Varied are They? workshop led by Doug Babington, Director of the Writing Centre.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
www.queensu.ca/ctl/
Page 8
CTL Publications
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Centre for Teaching and Learning provides several publications on teaching and learning topics. These are available for sale and some are available for free in PDF format from our website. Selected publications include:
Preparing a Teaching Dossier
The teaching dossier is an increasingly popular way for faculty to document their teaching effectiveness, both for self-improvement and for tenure and promotion. The Collective Agreement states that any member whose teaching performance is being reviewed (e.g., annual performance review, and at times of renewal, tenure, continuing appointment, reappointment, or promotion) has the right to submit a teaching dossier. For information on how to prepare a teaching dossier, see the CTL’s practical guide that outlines the steps in preparing a dossier, explains what to include, and shows how to review and revise a draft dossier. Authentic dossiers are provided as examples, and useful appendices include a list of possible items for a dossier, instructions on developing a statement of your teaching philosophy, and guidelines for the interpretation of student evaluations of teaching.
Teaching More Students Series
Help on effectively teaching students in large classes is available, including teaching strategies that promote deep learning, encourage cognitive development, and motivate students to take more responsibility for their own learning. The Teaching More Students series is a set of short handbooks that focus on teaching effectively in a time of resource constraints. They were originally developed in Britain at the Oxford Centre for Staff Development. The series has been adapted for use in Canada by the Queen’s University Centre for Teaching and Learning (formerly the Instructional Development Centre), which purchased exclusive Canadian rights to the materials.
Eight handbooks have been adapted so far: • Teaching More Students: Problems and Strategies • Lecturing with More Students • Discussion with More Students • Assessing More Students • Independent Learning with More Students • Course Design for More Students • Labs and Practicals with More Students • Supervising More Students Handbooks are about 50 pages in length and each provides an introduction to the topic, case studies, practical exercises, and a bibliography.
Preparing TAs for Teaching: Training Manual
This manual is intended to help departments develop and implement a strategy for TA training in their department. The manual includes activities that can be incorporated into a TA Orientation Day, tips for assessing TA work, strategies for supporting the professional development of TAs, suggestions for planning TA workshops, and handouts on teaching and learning issues relevant to TAs.
A Handbook for Teaching Assistants
This CTL handbook offers suggestions on effective ‘TAing’, including leading tutorials and labs, lecturing and presenting, setting and marking assignments, counselling students, and collecting feedback on teaching. Many departments provide their TAs with a copy of the handbook. It can be purchased from the CTL or downloaded from the CTL website.
Resource Library In addition to the CTL publications listed above, we maintain a resource library consisting of over 5,100 books, articles, journals, and videos on university teaching and learning. These publications are available for loan to Queen’s instructors, and the collection is searchable through an online database at: http://db.library.queensu.ca/ctl/
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
www.queensu.ca/ctl/
Page 9
Recognition of Teaching
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Queen’s tradition of teaching excellence is recognized through a variety of teaching awards at the departmental, institutional, provincial, and national level.
Teaching Awards Directory
In an effort to highlight outstanding teaching accomplishments, the Centre for Teaching and Learning maintains an online directory of Queen’s University Teaching Awards (approximately 50) which includes information about award criteria, nomination procedures, selection processes, and comprehensive lists of winners. This directory is updated annually, and can be found on our website under Scholarship and Teaching Awards. If you have an internal Queen’s teaching award that is not currently in our directory, please contact the CTL.
Guidelines for Creating a New Award
Queen’s University is proud of its history of recognizing excellence in teaching by individual faculty members through the presentation of teaching awards. In most cases, it is usually up to indivdiual Faculties, Schools, Associations, or Departments to determine the processes for nominating and choosing the recipient of a teaching award. To assist departments in creating new awards, the CTL has developed a list of guidelines to consider when determining nomination criteria, eligibility, nomination and selection processes, and more. A link to this 4-page document may be found at: http://www.queensu.ca/ctl/scholarship/awards/
Awards for Graduate Students
University-Wide Queen’s has two university-wide awards for teaching assistants: the Christopher Knapper Award for Excellence in Teaching Assistance sponsored by the Alma Mater Society; and the Society of Graduate and Professional Student Teaching Assistants/Teaching Fellow Excellence Award. For further information, please contact the AMS or the SGPS. Departmental Many departments across campus also offer teaching awards for their TAs. If you are interested in establishing a TA teaching award in your department, please contact the CTL. For more information on the teaching awards which exist at Queen’s go to our website: www.queensu.ca/ctl/scholarship/awards/.
Teaching Awards Reception
Each year, the Principal hosts a reception to honor award winners at Queen’s (internal awards, and external non-discipline specific awards). This is an informal and enjoyable occasion for teachers to network with colleagues.
External Teaching Awards
The CTL encourages nominations for the following: * * * *
3M Teaching Fellowships COU Award for Excellence in Teaching with Technology Leadership in Faculty Teaching Award OCUFA Teaching Award
2006 Teaching Awards Reception. From left to right: Patrick Deane, VP (Academic); Joy Mighty, Centre for Teaching and Learning; and Maggie Berg, Department of English.
Further information may be found on our website at: www.queensu.ca/ctl/scholarship/awards/ _________________________________________________________________________________________________
www.queensu.ca/ctl/
Page 10
....Recognition of Teaching Chancellor A. Charles Baillie Teaching Award Established in 2003 through gifts from the TD Bank and Chancellor Baillie, this award recognizes undergraduate or graduate teaching that has had an outstanding influence on the quality of student learning at Queen’s. It is awarded annually for activities that lead to improved ...awarded annually learning, including curriculum for activities that lead development, educational to improved learning. leadership, design and delivery of out-of-classroom educational experiences, or classroom teaching and supervision. While Queen’s is proud to recognize teaching excellence through several awards, this award is the only one of its kind. Recipients for this award are nominated and selected by peers. The Award The recipient of the award receives $5,000 and the Chancellor A. Charles Baillie Award Sculpture which is presented during the Fall Convocation.
Chancellor A. Charles Baillie Teaching Award Winners _______________________________ Ron Easteal (2007) Anatomy and Cell Biology John Smol (2006) Biology Maggie Berg (2005) English Morris Orzech (2004) Mathematics and Statistics
Selection Critieria The nominee’s teaching approach, program or development work must be designed to increase the effectiveness of learning. There should be evidence of an improvement in student learning and/or a demonstrated impact on the quality of the student learning experience, especially through the promotion of active learning. Selection is based on excellence in instruction plus emphasis in at least one of four additional areas of excellence: innovation, leadership, collaboration, and linking teaching with research.The selection committee also considers evidence of the scholarship of teaching and learning, and the potential for impact on student learning beyond the particular situation.
2008 Deadline: March 3, 2008.
2005 Sculpture Unveiling Ceremony. From left to right: Joy Mighty, Director, Centre for Teaching and Learning; Morris Orzech, Mathematics and Statistics, Barry Blunden, local artist and metalworker; Chancellor Baillie, Maggie Berg, Department of English; and Ron McInnis, Senior Vice-President Ontario North & East Division, TD Bank.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
www.queensu.ca/ctl/
Page 11
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Queen’s University Chairs in Teaching and Learning Established by the Queen’s University Senate in 2004, the Queen’s University Chairs in Teaching and Learning recognize teachers who have a record as excellent teachers and as scholars of teaching and learning, who have demonstrated educational leadership at Queen’s and elsewhere, and who have a program of activities that would allow them to make their expertise widely available to the university community. Chairs receive a 3-year appointment and $20,000 annual discretionary funds to be spent in support of their program. One chair is selected annually. The Chairs work collaboratively with the Centre for Teaching and Learning and during their term give a Public Lecture.
Submissions should include: a proposal outlining a project designed to improve teaching and learning across the broad spectrum of the University community. Applications should also include a teaching philosophy and evidence of excellence in teaching, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and educational leadership at Queen’s and elsewhere. References from students and colleagues need to be provided as well as a supporting letter from the applicant’s Dean or Department Head. Deadline: A call for submissions for the 2008 Chair will be sent out on our CTL listserv in September 2007. Submissions are due on December 10.
A word from............................. Tom Russell, Ph.D. (Faculty of Education) 2007 Queen’s University Chair in Teaching and Learning I hope to use the position of Chair in Teaching and Learning to advance the understanding of teaching and learning in relationship to each other. Of particular interest is the development of ways for faculty to listen to students so that students’ learning responses to teaching may be used to guide the improvement of teaching and learning as a course proceeds. I anticipate developing three specific projects: (1) helping first-year students judge the quality of their learning as they adjust to the university context, (2) facilitating communication among those whose courses are offered as large lectures, and (3) creating study groups focused on linking specific teaching practices with evidence of productive learning.
Vicki Remenda, Ph.D. (Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering) 2006 Queen’s University Chair in Teaching and Learning Inquiry@Queen’s, a program to foster research and inquiry-based learning by
undergraduate students, was launched in 2006. I@Q is a consortium of the Centre for Teaching and Learning, the Learning Commons, faculty, and the Alma Mater Society. It offers opportunities for undergraduate students to showcase their research at the annual I@Q Undergraduate Conference, the second of which will be held on March 6 and 7, 2008. The inaugural I@Q Journal has just put out its first call for papers. Through the Centre for Teaching and Learning, faculty can access resources to help them develop inquiry modules or courses. _________________________________________________________________________________________________
www.queensu.ca/ctl/
Page 12
....Scholarship for Teaching and Learning Leo Jonker, Ph.D. (Mathematics and Statistics) 2005 Queen’s University Chair in Teaching and Learning I am working on several projects that draw on the principles of community-service learning and peer instruction. The pedagogy of community-service learning promotes student learning and development through participation in thoughtfully organized service experiences. My first project seeks to create and refine courses that use a strong service component to teach mathematics and science to university students who hope to become elementary school teachers. Both as a service to local schools and as a way to motivate and facilitate learning of the course material, students are required to prepare and present, in pairs, enrichment classess in local elementary schools. My second project seeks to encourage greater cooperation among instructors in first year Applied Science to help improve the experience of first year engineering students. This will result in better coordination of curricula, especially between the physics and the calculus courses. In a related project, I will introduce clickers and peer instruction in first year calculus and study their effectiveness in generating deep conceptual learning. ________________________________________________________________________________________________
CASTL Institutional Leadership Program In 2006, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and The Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning selected the Centre for Teaching and Learning to participate in The Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CASTL) Institutional Leadership Program. As part of this CASTL Program, Queen’s has been clustered with six other universities, from Canada, Scotland, and the USA, to work on the theme - “Building Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Communities”. Members of the CTL team met with teams from our CASTL cluster in Washington DC in November 2006 and in Ohio in May 2007. The scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) invites faculty to use a systematic approach to critical reflection on and inquiry into aspects of their own classroom practice for the purpose of improving student learning. SoTL is typically informed by the field; is shared with academic communities (or made public) through conversations on teaching, peer-reviews, presentations or publications; and is
known for enhancing our collective knowledge about teaching and learning. This year the CTL will continue to help faculty to develop their SoTL skills, interests and capacities, primarily through consultations, so that they can engage in their own scholarship projects. We will also continue to work with members of our CASTL cluster to develop shared resources and tools that Queen’s faculty may access to support their SoTL initiatives.
Writers Wanted! Teaching and Learning Issues for the Queen’s Gazette Once a month our Educational Developers, and other interested faculty at Queen’s, publish in the Queen’s Gazette short articles that respond to current teaching and learning issues, share experiences of the classroom, and much more. If you are interested in writing about teaching, please contact the CTL.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
www.queensu.ca/ctl/
Page 13
....Scholarship for Teaching and Learning Teaching and Learning Enhancement Grants Each year, the Centre for Teaching and Learning awards Teaching and Learning Enhancement Grants. These grants are intended to encourage and support activities and projects designed to enhance student learning at Queen’s. Projects might include designing or redesigning courses or programs, developing innovative and effective assessment or teaching strategies, or creating new active learning opportunities to increase student engagement in learning.
statement of expected outcomes, as well as a strategy for assessing effectiveness. More information on eligibility, proposal content, and selection criteria may be found at: www.queensu.ca/ctl/scholarship/awards/grants.php
The Centre for Teaching and Learning encourages proposals from individuals or teams from a broad spectrum of those who teach and directly support teaching and learning at Queen’s. Applicants must submit a well defined proposal that will demonstrably enhance teaching and learning. The selection committee will look favourably on proposals that might be transferable to other individuals or units. Proposals should include a set of objectives, a
Successful applicants are expected to share their outcomes with the university community and to submit a final report on their activities.
Grants are typically for a one year period, but in appropriate circumstances, may be extended. Applicants may apply for any amount, up to a maximum of $2,500, from the $10,000 available.
Deadline: A call for submissions for the 2008 Teaching and Learning Enhancement Grants will be sent out on our CTL listserv in September 2007. Submissions are due on December 10.
Recipients of 2007 Teaching and Learning Enhancement Grants: Sidney Eve Matrix (Film and Media Design): to design innovative multi-media course in popular culture studies to enhance learning in a high enrolment class. Diana Hopkins-Rosseel (Rehabilitation Therapy): to enhance physical-therapy student learning through hands-on application of innovative patient-client management software. Lindsay Davidson, Fred Watkins (Surgery), Amy Alcock (Medical Education Technology Unit), Elaine Van Melle (Health Sciences Education): to develop on-line surgical curriculum suitable for learners at the clerkship level. Cynthia Levine-Rasky (Sociology): to provide support for students in the production of posters which visually represent their research for public display, in order to contribute dialogue on ethnoracial diversity and complexity of power relations.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
www.queensu.ca/ctl/
Page 14
Community Service Learning
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A word from....
Matthew Ascah, Coordinator, Community Service Learning My work with the Centre for Teaching and Learning involves several different components. I am currently conducting a broad assessment of past and current Community Service Learning (CSL) projects and courses at Queen’s and in the Kingston community. This involves meeting with a variety of faculty, staff and community organizations, as well as giving formal and informal presentations and workshops about CSL. I am also available for consultations with faculty members who are interested in developing new CSL courses, or incorporating elements of CSL into their current courses. Email: matthew.ascah@queensu.ca Phone: 613-533-6000 x79087
Community Service Learning Community Service Learning (CSL) is first and foremost a form of pedagogy; a series of techniques, philosophies and actions that combine to create an especially effective learning environment. There are as many different definitions of CSL as there are varieties of CSL projects and courses. Here are just a few: * Community Service Learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. * Community Service Learning combines service objectives with learning objectives with the intent that the activity change both the recipient and the provider of the service. This is accomplished by
combining service tasks with structured opportunities that link the task to self-reflection, self-discovery and the acquisition and comprehension of values, skills, and knowledge content. * Community Service Learning is a pedagogy characterized by student participation in an organized service activity that is connected to specific learning outcomes, meets identified community needs and provides structured time for student reflection. Another important component of CSL is that all parties involved have a say in the project from start to finish, including design, implementation, reflection and follow-up. Many CSL projects have a strong emphasis on issues of social justice, as well as critical thinking and awareness about the role of these sorts of projects in an increasingly-complex world.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
www.queensu.ca/ctl/
Page 15
Partnership for Teaching and Learning Support
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The CTL has worked in close collaboration and partnership with many units that provide support services for or are interested in the enhancement of teaching and learning. The Centre for Teaching and Learning, Information Technology Services and the Queen’s Library share a long-standing partnership to provide instructors with support for their teaching and on the appropriate use of technology to promote learning. Together, the partners work to design and develop innovative programs to enhance learning and teaching, and engage with diverse colleagues interested in developing teaching at Queen’s.
Educational Development Faculty Associates
Maggie Berg, Ph.D (Department of English) bergm@post.queensu.ca (613) 533-6000 x74418
Educational Development Faculty Associates (EDFAs) are faculty members or librarians who support the Centre for Teaching and Learning, the Queen’s Library, and ITServices in their collective efforts to enhance the teaching and learning environment at Queen’s. EDFAs are responsible for working with colleagues from across the campus to encourage the enhancement of teaching and learning. EDFAs (or outreach agents) work collaboratively with the members of the Partnership for Teaching and Learning Support to disseminate new knowledge and skills about teaching and learning, information literacy and the effective use of educational technology. They also bring their colleagues’ needs and concerns about teaching and learning to the attention of the Partnership. In effect, they serve as educational developers in their disciplines, mentoring new faculty, working collaboratively and consultatively with their colleagues to initiate projects aimed at enhancing teaching and learning, and assisting them in disseminating the latest research in their respective fields in ways that most effectively enhance the quality of student learning.
Dan Lefebvre, Ph.D (Biology) lefebvre@biology.queensu.ca (613) 533-6000 x36141
Information Technology Services
ITServices provides a wide range of resources and services to support teaching and learning with technology at Queen’s. Consultations and Workshops ITServices provides consultations and workshops for individuals, small groups and departments to help you design and develop technology-based instructional materials and activities that will actively engage your students.
In The Classroom Learn how to use Tablet PCs to project lecture Current EDFAs are: annotations and illustrations in real time, and share electronic files. Learn how other faculty Doug Babington, Ph.D. are using student response systems (“clickers”) (Writing Centre) to create more engaging and interactive learning babingtn@post.queensu.ca experiences in large classes. Other classroom (613) 533-6000 x 77630 services include equipment reservations, support for malfunctioning equipment, a student assistant program to set up audio/visual equipment, and film and video loan services. _________________________________________________________________________________________________
www.queensu.ca/ctl/
Page 16
....Partnership for Teaching and Learning Support Online Consultations and workshops are available for those who would like to explore options for teaching and learning online using WebCT. Guided Instruction: Emerging Technology Centre Resources and support available in the Emerging Technology Centre allow instructors to explore different ways of using multimedia to develop instructional materials and new ways of teaching with technology. Learn how to create interactive PowerPoint lectures by adding voice, movie clips, and illustrations to PowerPoint presentations that can then be posted to the web. Learn how to use applications like Photoshop and Illustrator to enhance your digital documents. Scan documents, images, slides and create PDFs. Learn how to capture and edit movies and create CDs and DVDs. Create professional podcasts that students can download to portable mp3-players. Audio Visual Services We can also do it for you – we can produce high definition video, streaming and web casting of your audio/video presentations or lectures on the web. Video conferencing facilities are also available. ITServices Contact Information: For information about consultations, workshops, the Emerging Technology Centre or other resources, please contact us at 613.533.6000 x 74047. For technical support please contact the IT Support Centre at 613.533.6666 or visit us online at http://www.its.queensu.ca/
Queen’s University Library Queen’s University Library is a network of six campus libraries providing research and information services to the Queen’s community. Working in partnership with the Centre for Teaching and Learning & Information Technology Services, the Library is committed to fostering the spirit of inquiry and supporting teaching,
learning and discovery. Librarians and library staff work together to help students and faculty navigate more than 7.5 million items in the Library’s collections (including over 25,000 electronic fulltext journals and more than 2 million books and monographs), and to access additional scholarly resources. Liaison Librarians Every academic unit at Queen’s has a designated liaison librarian with in-depth knowledge of the information resources relating to the discipline. Liaison librarians frequently work with course instructors to promote information literacy skills and deliver curriculum-integrated library instruction through hands-on workshops or lectures to large classes. Upon request, your liaison librarian will also help you to design library assignments that promote inquiry-based learning while making the most of Queen’s University Library resources and services. Workshops and Consultations The Library offers faculty and graduate students individual consultations or group workshops on a variety of useful topics throughout the year. Previous workshops have included introductions to new electronic and print resources, techniques for searching specific electronic databases, using bibliographic and citation management tools (e.g., RefWorks), and setting up awareness services (such as RSS feeds or email alerts) to help keep track of scholarly developments in any discipline. Consult the library website (library.queensu.ca) for further information on planned workshops or your liaison librarian to discuss your information needs. Queen’s University Library Contact information: For further information on library services contact the liaison librarian for your discipline. Please visit: library.queensu.ca/services/faculty.htm
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
www.queensu.ca/ctl/
Page 17
Our Mission
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The mission of the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is to enhance the quality of student learning and support all instructors in their teaching role by: • • • •
Fostering and sustaining a culture of collaboration through community building Providing services and programs to support the educational development activities of individuals and academic units Encouraging policies and initiatives that value and recognize good practice Promoting the scholarship of teaching and learning.
The CTL’s Strategic Areas of Focus
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Community
Leadership
Good Practice
Scholarship
A well-developed teaching community transcends diversity of disciplines, knowledge and expertise, reduces isolation, provides learning and development opportunities for individual teachers and has the potential to transform the university culture.
Effective teaching is a scholarly activity, integral to the duties of all faculty members. The CLT’s resources, services and programs are intended to support the ongoing efforts of individuals and academic units to develop good teaching practices.
The Centre aims to challenge policies and practices that may serve as barriers to effective teaching and learning, and advocate for policies and practices that value, foster, recognize and reward effective teaching and learning.
The scholarship of teaching and learning invites teachers to reflect on teaching practices, document methods, outcomes and changes made to improve learning, and share findings with colleagues. Scholarship makes instructional processes public and opens practices to critical debate.
Location of CTL
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The CTL offices, workshop space and resource library are in the Faculty and Staff Learning Facilities, Room B176, Mackintosh-Corry Hall. We are open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday.
CTL contact information: Tel: (613) 533-6428 Fax: (613) 533-6735 Email: ctl@queensu.ca
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
www.queensu.ca/ctl/
Page 18
CTL Staff
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Director Joy Mighty, Ph.D.
Director and Professor, School of Business Email: director.ctl@queensu.ca Phone: 613-533-6428
“The strength of the team is each individual member...the strength of each member is the team.” - Coach Phil Jackson, Chicago Bulls
Faculty Associate Educational Developers
Mark Weisberg, J.D.
Faculty Associate and Professor, Faculty of Law Email: weisberg@queensu.ca Phone: 613-533-6000 x74281
Andy Leger, Ph.D
Educational Developer (Teaching Fellows/Teaching Assistants) Email: taas@queensu.ca Phone: 613-533-6000 x 75303
Staff Sue Fostaty Young
Elizabeth Amirault
Denise Stockley, Ph.D
Sandra Murray
Susan Wilcox, Ph.D
Meredith Richards
Educational Developer (Faculty/ Adjuncts) Email: fostatys@queensu.ca Phone: 613-533-6000 x79148
Educational Developer (Faculty/ Adjuncts) and Associate Professor, Faculty of Education Email: stockley@queensu.ca Phone: 613-533-6000 x74304 On sabbatical until June 30, 2008 Educational Developer (Faculty/ Adjuncts) and Associate Professor, Faculty of Education and Department of Women’s Studies Email: wilcoxs@queensu.ca Phone: 613-533-6000 x33252
Administrative Secretary Email: amirault@queensu.ca Phone: 613-533-6000 x 75073
Program Coordinator Email: sandra.murray@queensu.ca Phone: 613-533-6000 x75159
Secretary/Receptionist Email: ctl@queensu.ca Phone: 613-533-6428
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
www.queensu.ca/ctl/
Centre for Teaching and Learning, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3N6 Phone: 613-533-6428 Fax: 613-533-6735 Email: ctl@queensu.ca URL: www.queensu.ca/ctl/