March 2013

Unless otherwise indicated, sessions occur in the Learning and Teaching Centre (LTC) Classroom in the Harry Hickman Building (HHB), Room 128.

If the register buttons are not working, please contact us by email.

Enhancing Your Teaching and Student Learning Experiences through Universal Design for Learning [Universal Design for Learning Series]
Friday, March 1, 2013
10:00 AM ~ 11:30 AM, HHB 128
Facilitators: Dr. Donna McGhie-Richmond, Associate Professor, Educational Psychology and Leadership Studies and Julia Munk, Graduate Scholar-in-Residence, Specializing in Accessibility Issues, Learning & Teaching Centre
Universal Design for Learning is a proactive instructional planning approach that supports and enhances the learning experiences of everyone in the learning environment including the instructor. In this interactive workshop participants will:

• Understand the experiences of students who benefit from universally designed curriculum and instruction,
• Know the principles of Universal Design for Learning,
• Understand how the principles support instructional design for all students,
• Recognize the principles within their teaching practice

This workshop is the first in a series focused on Universal Design for Learning in post-secondary education.
Universal Design for Learning Series
THIS WORKSHOP WAS POSTPONED.

Advanced Research and Writing, Part 3: Presenting your research at the JCURA Fair or other conference [TWC Workshop]
Friday, March 1, 2013, 3:30 PM ~ 4:50 PM, Library Room 129
Facilitator: Catherine Nutting, Department of Art in History
This workshop covers how to present your paper to others, including how to develop a catchy title, describe your research in one minute, answer questions about your research confidently, and design a poster with effective visuals.
Please note: If you would like guidance producing your poster, please see this YouTube video which will walk you through the process step by step.
TWC Workshop Series

Teaching Hot Topics [Critical and Respectful Discourse Series]
Friday, March 1, 2013
2:30 PM ~ 4:30 PM, HHB 128
Facilitators: Gregory Blue and Martin Bunton, Department of History; and Helen Lansdowne, Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives
This workshop will focus on directing contentious discussions that can arise in courses and other academic events when they challenge strongly-held opinions or beliefs. Such forums often approach issues that are currently in the public eye, many of which will be controversial and will have the potential to evoke disagreement. Workshop participants will share strategies for harnessing the excitement of hot topics to engage critical and respectful dialogue.
Critical and Respectful Discourse Series Information

The Reflective Educator [TA ProD Series]
Monday, March 4, 2013
1:00 PM ~ 3:00 PM, HHB128
Facilitator: Jacob Autio, School of Music
We may learn by doing, but we certainly understand through reflection. Reflecting on our teaching is imperative to our self-growth as educators. This workshop will explore a simplified teaching process of plan-deliver-reflect and how reflection acts as the catalyst for more effective and easier teaching. This collaborative workshop will brainstorm tools and techniques for critically analyzing and reflecting on your teaching that can be used right away!
TA/Graduate Student Workshops
THIS WORKSHOP HAS BEEN CANCELLED

Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards (JCURA) Research Fair
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
11:30 AM ~ 3:00 PM, Michele Pujol Room, Cinecenta and Upper Lounge at the SUB
Facilitator: Learning and Teaching Centre
Join us in celebrating some of the outstanding research produced by the 2012 Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards scholars.
Scholars 2012-2013 with links to project abstracts
Everyone welcome. Registration is not required. Please drop in.
JCURA Information
JCURA Poster

The Art and Craft of Teaching the Large Class [Teaching Tips Series #9]
Thursday, March 7, 2013
10:00 AM ~ 12:00 PM, HHB 128
Facilitator: Dr. Marty Wall, Department of Educational Psychology & Leadership Studies, and the Learning and Teaching Centre
The large class is not merely a larger version of a small class; it presents its own unique challenges and opportunities. Teaching a large class effectively requires the application of a number of skills, but at some point such teaching truly becomes an art. What is the nature of this transition and how can it be achieved? The workshop will explore this issue from the perspective of my own experience in teaching classes with enrollments exceeding 2,000 students.
Teaching Tips Series Information

Learning and Teaching Development Grant (LTDG) ~ Information Session [Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Series]
Thursday, March 7, 2013
1:00 PM ~ 2:00 PM, HHB 128
Presenter: Dr. Marty Wall, Department of Educational Psychology & Leadership Studies, and the Learning and Teaching Centre
Do you have a question about how your students are learning in your class that you would like the opportunity to investigate? Is there a teaching and learning idea in your discipline that you have always wanted to explore? Come and find out how you can apply for a grant to assist you in achieving your pedagogical goals. We promise that it is a straightforward process!
Please note: The amount available per grant is $7,500 maximum.
Deadline date for email submission of these grant applications is May 15, 2013 at 4:00 PM.
Open to all those interested in applying for Learning and Teaching Grants in 2013.
Link to LTDG Information and Application Form
SoTL Series Information

They Aren't Ready for First Year Math: Attempting to Fix the Problem [Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Series]
Monday, March 11, 2013 [Brown Bag Lunch]
11:30 AM ~ 12:30 PM, HHB 128
Facilitator: Margaret Wyeth, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
First-year Calculus and Precalculus are high-failure-rate courses. A large part of the problem is that students come in without the requisite knowledge of high-school Algebra. I discuss some attempts to remedy this in Math 102 and Math 120, in particular trying to get students to do the necessary review for themselves. Implications for similar issues in other disciplines and courses will be raised.
SoTL Series Information

Focused Action Beats Brilliance: Time Management Strategies for TAs and Grad Students [TA ProD Series]
Monday, March 11, 2013
1:00 PM ~ 3:00 PM, HHB 128
Facilitator: Derek Murray, History
Do you find yourself missing deadlines? Procrastinating? Are you stressed out because you don't have enough time to get everything done? In this workshop, we will discuss various strategies and assessment tools to help manage time and avoid unnecessary stress. Participants will have the opportunity to develop their own time management system that they can then implement in the coming semester.
TA/Graduate Student Workshops

Learning and Teaching in First Year Math [First Year Course Instructors Community (FYCIC) Series]
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
3:00 ~ 4:00 PM, HHB 128
Facilitator: Alfonso Gracia-Saz, Department of Mathematics and Statistics and The Learning and Teaching Centre.
For many, the perception is that first-year math courses result in high failure rates. This has led to seemingly endless deliberations on possible approaches to improve student success in math. This presentation will take these into consideration and will focus on the challenges and opportunities associated with learning and teaching in first-year mathematics courses. The changes that we have implemented at UVic to support math students will be highlighted. Dr. Gracia-Saz will also discuss what he considers to be the challenges that are unique to teaching math and will look forward to input from other instructors in this regard.
First Year Course Instructors Community (FYCIC) Series

Optimizing the Multiple-Choice Test Item [Teaching Tips Series #10]
Thursday, March 21, 2013
10:00 AM ~ 12:00 PM, HHB 128
Facilitator: Dr. Marty Wall, Department of Educational Psychology & Leadership Studies, and the Learning and Teaching Centre Multiple-choice tests appear deceptively simple to prepare but are arguably among the most difficult to produce well. What features of student learning do such tests really discriminate? We will re-examine various pre- and post-test criteria that can be used to assess and improve the quality of individual multiple-choice test items that one designs for in-class clicker sessions as well as for tests. These criteria include the format of the question stem, the cognitive level of the item, and the discriminability of the item as a predictor of overall performance. Multiple-choice testing might not always be an optimal instrument for assessing student learning, but when used it should follow best practices. It does make a difference.
Teaching Tips Series Information

Student Engagement in the 'Flipped Classroom' [Student Learning Series] and [Technology Innovation in Education Series]
Tuesday, March 26, 2013 [Lunch provided]
12:00 PM ~ 2:00 PM, Cadboro Commons, Arbutus/Queenswood room
The first ½ hour is for lunch & ‘mingling’, and the next 1½ hours is for the presentation and questions.
Facilitator: Dr. Mats Selen, University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign
This session will promote ideas for engaging students during lecture and also best practices for using clickers in class.
Students' unprecedented access to content on the web is providing a unique opportunity to transform the role of lectures in education, moving the focus from content delivery to helping students synthesize content into knowledge. The Physics Department at the University of Illinois has introduced a variety of activities to facilitate this transformation, including Web-based, pre-flight assessments of student understanding before lecture, web-based multimedia pre-lectures designed to provide students with content before lecture, and peer instruction (clickers) to assess and facilitate student understanding during lecture. In this presentation, Dr. Selen will discuss the pedagogical motivation for introducing these activities, and the impact they have had on their courses, including published outcomes data that demonstrate the effectiveness of using Web-based activities to enhance learning.
This event is co-promoted by the Learning & Teaching Centre, Learning Systems and the Technology Integration and Evaluation (TIE) Research Lab, and is sponsored by MacMillan.
Student Learning Series
Technology Innovation in Education Information

Publishing in The Arbutus Review [TWC Workshop]
Thursday, March 28, 2013, 1:00 PM ~ 2:20 PM, Library Room 129
Facilitators: The Writing Centre Staff
This workshop will give you the tools to turn your research paper into a scholarly article for an interdisciplinary audience. We will provide an overview of The Arbutus Review publishing guidelines, including how to create a catchy title, identify key words, write an abstract, incorporate feedback from the peer review process, and polish your writing for publication.

Please go here to register. If you are having problems using our online booking system to register for workshops, watch this tutorial: How to Register for The Writing Centre Workshops
Once a workshop is full, you can add your name to the waitlist by sending an email to TWCdir@uvic.ca. Please include your name plus the title and date of the workshop you would like to be waitlisted for.
Please note that you cannot register for a workshop through email.
TWC Workshop Information

Senior Instructor and Teaching Professor Scholarship Fund ~ Submission Deadline
Sunday, March 31, 2013
4:00 PM, HHB 126
Information and Application Form

April 2013 Events