Classroom Teaching

The classroom is a dynamic and sometimes unpredictable space, and as a TA or guest instructor, you are required to navigate that space, all while helping students to learn. This theme will help you to consider or reconsider strategies that help you to negotiate the complexities of that space effectively, helping you to connect with your students, and also facilitate their ability to learn from one another.

In order to complete the theme, you much 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 on this theme to be placed in your Teaching Portfolio.

Giving a Guest Lecture/Presentation

In this session, we will compare and contrast presentations and guest lectures. With this, we will design a toolkit to prepare for successful presentations or guest lectures. Finally, we will collaboratively explore common challenges associated with public speaking and practice strategies to overcome these.

The 2017 TA Institute has ended. For details on this workshop, see it’s event description.

Unsettling Classroom Guidelines

Classroom guidelines, ground rules, or agreements are tools often used by educators in different settings with the intent to keep discussions focused and productive, invite inclusive participation, and establish a “safe” learning environment. At the same time, anti-oppression educators Sensoy and DiAngelo (2014) have argued that classroom guidelines sometimes serve contrary goals because when they fail to recognize and respond to issues of power and social position, thereby creating unsafe and silencing environments for students who are not part of the dominant group or who are underrepresented in dominant discourses.

The 2017 TA Institute has ended. For details on this workshop, see it’s event description.

Design Thinking

How do we take a design approach to create a successful lesson? In this workshop, we will discuss common challenges in lesson planning and develop a toolkit of best practices and strategies to generate meaningful learning experiences for learners. By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

  1. Identify common practices in lesson design and assess pitfalls and promises in implementation
  2. Transform your current design practice and develop a toolkit to generate meaningful learning experiences for your learners
  3. Appreciate the value of coherence within the lesson and alignment to your professional discipline

Please join us for this interactive workshop to explore and learn more about design thinking in teaching.

The 2017 TA Institute has ended. For details on this workshop, see it’s event description.

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 work must be completed before 8:00 am on January 10, 2017
  3. The post-session work must be completed between 5:30 pm on January 12 and 5:30 pm on January 23

Pre-session work

 

Post-session work

 


Resources