CTE offers an intensive program for Postdoctoral Fellows called the Teaching Development Seminar Series. The program introduces participants to key topics in university teaching and learning, and connects them with resources on post-secondary teaching. The program consists of six seminars, as well as optional activities such as individual work and course design consultations. The seminars provide interactive and hands-on experience for participants and employ a variety of teaching and learning activities, such as group work, videos, and discussions. Participants who complete the program will receive a Certificate of Completion. This program is primarily intended for postdoctoral fellows who have not participated in any teaching development activities during their graduate studies.
The *seminar series includes the following six sessions, all of which must be completed during the given time frame:
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Description: In this workshop we will discuss how learning occurs and what factors affect the teaching and learning process. Our discussion will draw on current research and theory on student learning by exploring this topic from different theoretical perspectives and discussing how these perspectives resonate with your own teaching experience. The goal of this workshop is to prepare you for designing and implementing instructional activities that will maximize student learning.
Facilitator: Svitlana Taraban-Gordon, CTE
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Description: Increasingly, academic job candidates are asked to provide a "teaching statement" or a "statement of teaching philosophy." For many of us, our first attempts at writing such statements seem "cheesy" or inauthentic. However, there is hope, especially if you can link your beliefs to examples from your own practice. At this hands-on workshop you will work on your own teaching philosophy, and tie it to forms of evidence. No prior experience with this form of writing is assumed.
Facilitator: Julie Timmermans, CTE
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Description: Despite our best efforts as teachers, sometimes it is challenging to motivate our students to really learn. They focus more on what will be tested than on how to engage deeply with the subject matter and make it their own. Drawing on motivation theories such as achievement goal orientation, we will explore reasons why our students do not always become as engaged with our courses as we might wish. We will also work together to generate ideas for overcoming motivational obstacles through various course design strategies.
Facilitator: Svitlana Taraban-Gordon, CTE
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Description: It is common to think only of assignments, tests, and exams as means of assessing our students’ learning. But are these our only choices? The short answer is no. In this workshop, you will be introduced to principles of effective assessment, then consider various types of both formative and summative assessments that can be applied in different disciplines. You will also learn alternative methods of assessing student learning to increase the available options to choose from in your own course designs.
Facilitator: Svitlana Taraban-Gordon, CTE
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Description: This session will introduce various techniques that help students to anchor their learning through interactive engagement. Learning theories will be introduced only after techniques are tried by the learners themselves, and chief amongst the objectives will be reflection on how to transfer what is introduced to their actual practice. Discipline-relevant techniques may include Icebreaker Interviews, Physical Poetry, Reaction Sheets/Gallery Walk, Jigsaw, Fishbowl Discussion, and an Exam Review Game. By the end of the session, Postdoctoral Fellows will know at least three new techniques along with when, why and how to implement them. Furthermore, the participants will know where to find and how to select other techniques.
Facilitator: Veronica Brown, CTE
Postdoctoral Fellows can also attend CTE's Faculty and Instructors workshops if the spaces are not filled by faculty members. However, these workshops typically cannot be substituted for the workshop series.
All interested posdocs are asked to contact Dr. Svitlana Taraban-Gordon to sign up for the program. Enrolment is limited to 20 participants per term.
