Category: Teaching

Will you be teaching a course in the next year at a post-secondary institution? As a participant in the CTLT Course Design Intensive this December 8th, 10th, and 12th, you will work in a supportive atmosphere, both individually and collaboratively on a course you teach or are planning to teach. You must have a course that you would like to design or re-design, regardless of the mode (face-to-face, online, or blended).

To register, please click here.

Faculty Teaching

Ten Things Everyone Needs to Know About Emotional Intelligence

Post author By JimUBC
Post date July 26, 2014
No Comments on Ten Things Everyone Needs to Know About Emotional Intelligence

I met Ann as she received the 2014 UBC Continuing Studies John K. Friesen Excellence in Teaching Award. I decided to take one of her courses. It was an excellent experience. I asked Ann for a list of 10 things everyone needs to know about Emotional Intelligence. Here, used with permission, is what she sent.

Emotions provide us with information that enhances every aspect of life and work. When we ignore our emotions, we miss out on the “intelligence” they provide.
Emotional intelligence enables us to build skills in a range of areas from assertiveness, communication and self-regard to self-actualization and happiness.
Emotional management and self-regulation start with noticing and acknowledging how we feel. Then, we can choose to respond in ways that make us proud.
Having the language of emotions at our fingertips gives us insight into ourselves and others, and insight means that we are more effective at solving problems.
Forget about trying to eliminate emotions from the workplace. Whether we are aware of them or not, emotions are part of every conversation and exchange. Building skills in emotional intelligence is the best way to deal with emotions at work.
Emotions motivate. Knowing what is important to us helps us to make wise decisions; emotions tell us what is important to us, and then they move us to take action.
Believe it or not, there is no such thing as an emotion-less decision.
The performance of a leader who lacks emotional intelligence is compromised.
When you experience a negative emotion, pause to name it as precisely as you can, e.g. “I feel hurt, I feel left out.” Then notice the intensity of the emotion decrease.
Ask yourself, “When I feel competent and effective, what am I doing?” It could be that your feelings are revealing a strength.

Ann Rice

Ann Rice is a certified executive and career coach and founder of Sterling Executive Coaching, which provides leadership and career coaching to professionals, managers, executives, entrepreneurs and academics. She has 25+ years of experience as a consultant at the UBC Life and Career Centre where she has facilitated the professional and personal development of adults with a range of programs that have included Planning Your Authentic Life, Assertiveness Training and The Power of Emotional Intelligence.

— More about Ann Rice

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Tags Emotional Intelligence

Metacognition Teaching

Promoting Metacognition

I just started a new course and asked the participants to comment on the post below. Here are the responses

Consider this picture.
Learning Cycle

Can you see how this applies to what you are doing before our sessions and while we are together?

Please reply with a comment about our first session.

Highlights / Metacognition

What did you think was the most valuable thing that happened for you tonight?
What did you learn from that?
What will you do with that knowledge?

Questions?

Now that we’ve had our first session, what do you want to know?
What could we have done better?

If you spot a question from someone else and you can answer it – please do.

Here are the responses

Surface Teaching

Surface Pro 2 comparison to Surface Pro

Post author By JimUBC
Post date November 10, 2013
No Comments on Surface Pro 2 comparison to Surface Pro

I got the Surface Pro as soon as it was available in February 2013. It seemed almost premature to get the Surface Pro 2 when it came out in October 2013 but I got it anyway. The main reason: For many of my classes I like to have two screens up while I’m teaching. Up to this point I had been using the Surface RT as my second screen, but my must-have applications (Mouse Without Borders, Sketchbook Pro) do not run on that machine. When the Surface Pro 2 came out – I was ready to make the jump. The intent was not to replace the original Surface Pro, but to get another full-function tablet to use with it. In short – it’s exactly what I needed. I want to add that if you have a Surface Pro, I wouldn’t be looking to replace it with a Surface Pro 2. There are advantages to the new unit but the original Surface Pro is still a wonderful machine and by no means obsolete.

The biggest advantages of the Surface Pro 2 over the original Surface Pro:

Battery life.
For my typical applications: Surface Pro runs 3.5 hours. The Surface Pro 2 runs 5.5 hours. This difference matters when I need to spend extended time away from AC power but when I’m teaching the Surface Pro lasts long enough.
Kick Stand angle
It’s a small thing but the Surface Pro 2 has a two step kick stand that allows it to sit tilted both at the original angle of the Surface Pro, and also a second position – tilted a little farther back. If I have the Surface Pro 2 on a desktop, lectern, or hand-held, this does not matter at all. The only time I use the new second position is when I have the Surface Pro 2 on a flat surface that is low, but not low enough to lay it flat.
Processor Speed
In all the reviews that I’ve read much has been made of the faster processor in the Surface Pro 2.
For what I do when I’m teaching and day to day computing, I don’t notice the difference when I have the machines side-by-side.

Enjoy your Surface Pro if you have one, but if you don’t take a really good look at the Surface Pro 2. It’s a wonderful machine.

References:
Surface Pro 2
Mouse Without Borders

Faculty Teaching

Centre for Teaching and Learning – CTLT Summer Institute

Post author By JimUBC
Post date August 7, 2013
No Comments on Centre for Teaching and Learning – CTLT Summer Institute

Here’s a note for my fellow educators: The 2013 CTLT Summer Institute is coming. I hope to see you there.
The following is from the official announcement.

Date: August 20 – 22, September 3-6, 2013
Time: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, UBC
Seminar Room 2.22, Fraser River Room 2.27

Join us for the 2013 CTLT Summer Institute! The seven-day Institute is made up of a series of instructional workshops, lectures and presentations that seek to help both new and experienced faculty members and graduate students improve their teaching.

There will be opportunities to explore ideas and share strategies across a range of topics including:

assessment
metacognition
facilitative teaching
participatory learning
preparing for the upcoming Truth and Reconciliation Commission Day on September 18^th

The Institute is open to all faculty, staff and graduate students in the UBC teaching community. Registration is free, so please register for each session you are interested in attending http://www.events.ctlt.ubc.ca/series/view/235

For more information visit: http://institute.ctlt.ubc.ca

Tweet with us: #CTLTin13

Faculty Teaching

PeerWise

Post author By JimUBC
Post date July 10, 2013
No Comments on PeerWise

PeerWise logo
Just a quick note for anyone using PeerWise.

There is a session tomorrow at CTLT

http://events.ctlt.ubc.ca./events/view/2679

Paul Denny from The University of Auckland will be there.

I’ll be going for sure.

Surface Teaching

Surface Pro – Recommendations

Post author By JimUBC
Post date June 14, 2013
No Comments on Surface Pro – Recommendations

A colleague at UBC wrote to say that she was going to get a Microsoft Surface Pro. She asked if I had any thoughts or advice. I’ve had my Surface Pro for four months. Here is what I replied.

Surface Pro 64 or 128
The 64 is $899. The 128 is $999. I got the 128. For me this meant NOT having to manage space on the hard drive, or to think about using an extra memory card (that could have saved me $40 but would have meant a lot more thinking in terms of managing space). If I had to do it again, I would make the same decision.

You probably don’t need a display adapter for presentations
The Surface Pro uses a Mini DisplayPort for connecting to a projector. This is the same as most MacBooks. This means that you probably don’t have to buy an adapter to connect to projectors if there is a connection that supports MacBooks. I understand that these are pretty common on campus. If you routinely connect your portable devices a monitor, that’s a different matter and you will need some kind of display adapter.

Keyboard Cover
I would definitely get a snap on cover – it is very convenient, protects the screen and reduces the sense of urgency around buying a special case for the Surface. If you get a Surface snap on cover, spend the extra $10 and get the Type Cover – I find it to be much more usable than the Touch Cover. I have both and I use the Touch Cover too, but the Type Cover is better for touch typing.

Cases and bags
If you have any kind of simple case that you can use now, don’t spend money on anything else until you’ve lived with your new Surface Pro for awhile.

Extended Warranty and Accidental Damage Protection
Consider getting Microsoft Complete

Faculty Teaching Teaching in the Land of BYOD

Teaching in the Land of BYOD CTLT Institute 2013 follow up

Post author By JimUBC
Post date June 5, 2013
No Comments on Teaching in the Land of BYOD CTLT Institute 2013 follow up

Here is the mind map from the CTLT session on Teaching in the Land of BYOD Teaching in the Land of BYOD Mind Map

You can click the mind map to see the full sized image and see the notes from the session.

In the days leading up to my session I found myself in other presentations, there with my own devices and keenly aware of how I was using them. Sometimes I was deeply engaged, taking notes, following references, looking up related ideas following flights of fancy across the web. Sometimes I was looking at my schedule to see what was coming up next. And there were other times where I just had to put down my devices and participate with others in a discussion or activity.

In those situations where I was passively receiving information and actively trying to interact with it my devices helped me to do that. I have probably always done this with pen and paper, and later laptops and tablets and in a pinch, my smartphone. In other situations where I was expected to actively contribute and even create content (especially with others) those personal devices were simply a hindrance.

Does this reflect the typical learner’s experience in my classes?