Teaching Strategies

As instructors and teaching assistants, we bring in our own considerations to how to implement best practices.  The classroom is a dynamic space and these workshop help you to consider and reconsider strategies to navigate the space effectively and facilitate peer-to-peer learning.  What can we do to ensure our teaching has an impact when implementing various teaching strategies?

In order to complete the theme, you must register for and complete each of the sessions listed below. In addition, you must complete the pre-session module before the institute begins, and the post session module after the final session in the theme. If you complete the whole theme, you will be eligible for a signed letter of completion to be placed in your Teaching Portfolio.

Please note – In order to qualify for the letter of completion for this theme:

  1. You must attend and complete all three of the sessions listed above
  2. The Pre-Session Module must be completed before 8:00 am on Monday, January 15, 2018.
  3. The Post-Session Module must be completed between 5:30 pm on January 18 and 5:30 pm on January 25, 2018.

The sessions in this theme are as follows.

Design and Facilitation of Small Group Activities

Want to promote collaborative and peer-to-peer learning among your learners?  Join us in this workshop where we discuss cognitive, behavioral, and social benefits of cooperative learning.  In this interactive session, we would explore steps to design group activities, techniques to prevent potential challenges, and strategies to implement successful group activities.

Facilitator: Jennifer Brown

Classroom Assessment Techniques: Know Why and How to Assess

Classroom assessment is a valuable component of a lesson. However, many graduate students have not considered how to apply assessment in their own teaching. In this workshop, participants will have the opportunity to explore a variety of classroom assessment techniques and begin to discover how to include them in their lessons. Specifically, the learning objectives include: a) evaluate the benefits and challenges of classroom assessment techniques; b) consider different classroom assessment techniques and develop steps for their implementation; and c) plan a lesson including at least two classroom assessment techniques.

Facilitators: Andrea Johnson and Emily Scribner

TAing in Large Classrooms: What to Expect, How to Excel

Teaching large classes can be intimidating, but it is often a necessity. Many instructors end up lecturing because they aren’t sure how to engage students in active learning when class sizes are large. In this session we will discuss challenges in teaching large classes and develop techniques to engage with them.  By the end of this workshop, you will be able to: a) identify challenges in using active learning in large classes; b) explain 3 reasons active learning is important for large classes; and c) develop techniques for using active learning in large classes.

Facilitator: Janel Fergusson