Upcoming ISWs at CTLT

Hello Instructors! In case you are interested (or know a colleague who could benefit), there’s an Instructional Skills Workshop coming up April 9, 10, and 11.
For more details and to register for the April ISW, please click here: http://www.events.ctlt.ubc.ca/events/view/2231
ISWs are also offered in May, July, August and December. More info is available here: http://www.events.ctlt.ubc.ca/series/view/48

Upcoming CTLT Event of Special Interest to Instructors: 3M National Teaching Fellowship Meeting

3M National Teaching Fellowship Meeting

On behalf of Carol-Ann Courneya, UBC 3M Council Chair and Simon Bates, CTLT Academic Director, we would like to invite you to the 3M National Teaching Fellowship: Information and Q&A Sesion.

Please find the details of an upcoming event here: 3M National Teaching Fellowship April Meeting. The purpose is to provide information and support for applications, planned, potential or future, for 3M National Teaching Fellowships (http://www.stlhe.ca/awards/3m-national-teaching-fellowships/). Please would you circulate it to Heads of Departments, Chairs of Awards Committees and faculty members.

Registration for the event, to be held on Thursday, April 4th from 10am-12pm in the Irving K Barber Learning Centre, Room 2.22, is online at http://events.ctlt.ubc.ca./events/view/2351

 

Upcoming Event: What does “Educational Leadership” mean at UBC? Insights from Dr. Simon Bates

What does Educational Leadership mean? What about Teaching Excellence? Innovation in Teaching? These terms are increasingly part of the teaching landscape at UBC, but what do they mean in the context of our careers? Come and hear Dr. Simon Bates, Professor of Teaching, Senior Advisor on Teaching and Learning, and Academic Director of CTLT speak about what these key terms can entail. (Hint: They’re much broader than you might think!) This session will help you develop ideas about how to engage in educational leadership, teaching excellence, and innovation, as well as how to represent these actions on your annual reports, promotions files, and award applications.

Join us on Wednesday 27 March 2013, 3-4:30pm, Dodson Room at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre.

Instructor track faculty, research track faculty, heads and directors, and other interested parties are welcome to join us.

Enriched Educational Experiences (E3s) – What are they and how can you implement them?

We hope your year has kicked off brilliantly. Come to Angus Room 241, on Thursday November 1 from 2-3:30pm… and be inspired! Join us to hear an interdisciplinary panel discuss their experiences designing and implementing Enriched Educational Experiences at UBC. Here are the panelists:
Dr. Janet Giltrow, Senior Associate Dean Students, Faculty of Arts – an overview of what Enriched Educational Experiences (E3s) are and where they fit in UBC’s mandate
Dr. Sunaina Assanand, Instructor, Faculty of Arts – on Community Service Learning (local and International) in a third year gender psychology course
Dr. Joanne Fox, Senior Instructor, Faculty of Science ­- on using Peer Review in a first year seminar in science
Dr. Pete Ostafichuk, Senior Instructor, Faculty of Applied Science – on implementing Team Based Learning and flipped classrooms in Engineering
Mr. Jim Sibley, Director, Applied Science’s Centre for Instructional Support – on Team Based Learning across the disciplines

Thursday 1 November 2012 Angus Room 241, 2-3:30pm

Also please note, some of us are heading to Mahoney’s at 4pm for informal drinks, appetizers, and conversation. We’d love for you to join us!

Come celebrate the end of the year!

Please join us for a friendly and informal celebration of the end of year. Bring a story – perhaps a success or a teaching tip — to share as you (re)connect with our fellow Instructors and Senior Instructors.

Tuesday May 22 in the Buchanan Penthouse, 4:30-6pm

Appetizers will be sponsored by the Faculty of Arts. To help us with ordering, please RSVP using this website: http://www.doodle.com/kr3znm68xg5f2p3n

Hope to see you there!

 

UBC Faculty Certificate Program in SoTL

I just finished the UBC Faculty Certificate Program in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. It’s a year-long workshop in which participants meet monthly and do a number of things, including:

• Create an extensive teaching dossier (next year this will be entirely online), including statements of teaching philosophy, reflections on teaching, evidence of teaching effectiveness, leadership in curriculum/pedagogy/scholarship of teaching and learning, and more

• Engage in peer review of teaching: visit two other classes and have two people visit your own

• Read and discuss articles in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and keep a monthly journal of reflections on these readings

• Develop your own research project in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, with help from the workshop’s facilitators and other workshop members; do a presentation on this project to the group and get feedback; write a proposal for the project. You don’t actually have to complete the project that year by collecting data–there is not enough time to do that! But you go through the work of developing it and then can collect data afterwards.

I found it a fantastic experience, and recommend it to anyone. It seems especially valuable for Instructors, as work in SoTL can be part of advancing towards Professor of Teaching.

It does mean a significant amount of work, though; in addition to once-monthly meetings of three hours, one must do all the above things from Sept. to April. There are scholarships available, and I got one of those to use to pay a grad student to help with anything from marking to my administrative work to helping with the SoTL research project itself, so that helped me handle the extra time the workshop took.

Here is an announcement of the application and deadline for 2012-2013. Note that internal Faculty deadlines may be earlier (e.g., the deadline for the Arts Faculty is May 1), since the Faculty may be selecting among candidates first–I think that’s how it works.

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Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Leadership Program

We are now taking applications for the next cohort offering (September, 2012 – April 2013) – DEADLINE = MAY 4th. Please see the Certificate website for more details about the on-line application process and the Teaching Scholarship Scheme:
http://ctlt.ubc.ca/about-isotl/programs-events/faculty-sotl-program/administrative-and-application-details/

Thanks Dr. Eich!

Special thanks to Dr. Eich and for everyone who came out to the last Instructor Network Lunch’n’Learn. Over 50 people attended — thanks to everyone for joining us for this stimulating session!

Here is a link to Dr. Eich’s summary paper on the cognitive science of learning enhancement. He also has generously agreed to share his slides from his talk. They can be found here: Eich CSLE Powerpoint (20111114).

 

Upcoming Lunch and Learn: The cognitive psychology of learning

Mark your calendars for the next Instructor Network Lunch and Learn… you won’t want to miss this!

Where: Dodson Room (room 302) in IKE Barber on November 15, at 12:30; anyone who is interested is welcome to attend.

Topic: The Cognitive Psychology of Learning – Ever wonder how to best promote long-term retention in our students? How to maximize the efficacy of testing situations? Join us as Dr. Eric Eich leads a fascinating tour of research from the fields of learning and memory that is immediately applicable to our classroom contexts.

By Dr. Eric Eich, FRSC, former Psychology Department Head, Current Editor-in-Chief of Psychological Science (psychology’s leading journal)

UBC Mix: A collaborative teaching and learning opportunity

Greetings! 

Have you heard about gamers working with AIDS researchers to produce new medicines? How about students using solar energy models to fill First Nations reserve housing needs? Or anthropologists linking up with bankers to explain the finance sector on the blogosphere? Interdisciplinary projects like these offer exciting challenges and rewards. How can you motivate your students to think outside the box and engage in interdisciplinarity? Partner with us at UBC Mix!

UBC Mix helps partner instructors, students, and courses together to create an interdisciplinary atmosphere that enhances learning and broadens understanding. Find out more on our website, dig in and get involved on our wiki page, or send me an email at ubc-mix@interchange.ubc.ca! I am the UBC Mix coordinator, and I’m happy to answer your questions and plan your Mixes with you! 

How does it work?
We help to connect like-minded instructors across disciplines, providing them with guidance and resources to bring their students together for joint activities and projects.

Possible Mixes?
How about swapping lectures with another instructor to bring new material into both classrooms? Or joining labs and tutorials to explore a common interest? What about holding a data mash-up meeting, bringing students, skills, and fresh data together to create something new? Or applying university knowledge outside the classroom through Community Service Learning projects? Joint lecture series, symposia, and salons offer additional ways to Mixthings up! 

How can UBC Mix help? 
As the UBC Mix Student Coordinator, my role is to support you in a number of ways:

  • Connecting: Are you looking for a UBC Mix partner?  If you are looking for a partner for an interdisciplinary learning experience for your students, I will help to locate relevant, interested individuals to join forces with you to provide innovative and exciting projects, events, joint readings, and more for your students.
  • Brainstorming: Are you interested in interdisciplinary learning initiatives, but need some additional help transforming your ideas into reality? I am available for consultation meetings in person, on the phone, or by email. Got an idea? Share it with me and we’ll brainstorm ways to make it happen!
  • Event Planning: Are you planning a Mix-supported event this year? I can help with room and audio-visual equipment bookings, as well as other preparations. I can also assist you on the day of your event. Plan, publicize, and present your Mix, providing personal support before, during, and after
  • Resources: Mix partners can apply for up to $500 to reach Mix goals (e.g. equipment rentals, transportation, guest speaker honoraria, etc.). We also have online resources on our UBC Mix Community Portal, including articles about interdisciplinary learning, examples of current and past Mixes, and ideas for future Mixes.

How can I help you?

I look forward to working with you! 

Natalie J.K. Baloy
UBC Mix Student Coordinator
Email: ubc-mix@interchange.ubc.ca
Website: terry.ubc.ca/mix/
Wiki: wiki.ubc.ca/UBC_Mix_Community_Portal

“BRING YOUR OWN LUNCH AND LEARN” ON PROMOTION TO SENIOR INSTRUCTOR

 The UBC Instructor Network invites you to a “Bring Your Own Lunch and Learn” panel session and discussion on Promotion to Senior Instructor”!

The event will be held on Monday, September 26th from 12:00 – 12:50 in the Dodson Room in the Irving K. Barber learning Center. We have the room until 1:30, so those without other meeting or teaching obligations are welcome to stay for further discussion past 12:50.

Our panelists:

Susan Boyd: Chair, Senior Appointments Committee
Vanessa Auld: Chair, Faculty of Science Promotions and Tenure Committee
Deena Rubuliak: Executive Director, UBC Faculty Association
Paul Bartha: Head, Department of Philosophy
Christina Hendricks, Senior Instructor (Philosophy) and Chair of the Arts One Program

We expect the session to be of great interest to Instructor ranks across UBC. Discussion will include promotion and tenure procedures and process, assembling your materials, learning portfolios, referee letters, and much more!

Please distribute this notice to your colleagues who might be interested!

The Instructor Network

P.S. At our initial meeting of Instructors last Spring, a number of people indicated interest in a series of “Lunch and Learn’s,” lunchtime meetings where we would discuss issues of interest to Instructors. We sent out a survey recently to determine which topics are of greatest interest, and this one had significant interest. Others are on the way, including promotion to Professor of Teaching, scholarship of teaching practice, links between research and teaching, student health and learning, and more.