September 2013

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

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Fall TA Conference
Tuesday, September 3 to Friday, September 6, 2013
9:00 AM ~ 5:00 PM, Harry Hickman Building
Organizer: Cynthia Korpan, TA Training Program Manager, the Learning and Teaching Centre
The TA conference is spread over four days to ensure that you are able to attend the workshops YOU want! The first day - Tuesday, September 3th - is the most important. The workshops for that day are organized to take you through the most essential steps necessary to fulfill your role as a new TA. They include topics such as: Introduction to Teaching at UVic, Time Management, What You Need to Know About That First Day of Class, How to Build Your Confidence, Who Students Are Today, plus more. The next three days will include many more topics, such as: How to Grade and Design Rubrics, How to Promote Collaborative Learning, What To Do for a Guest Lecture, and much more!

The conference is designed to help you develop and improve your teaching skills. We have invited experienced UVic TAs, Teaching Assistant Consultants (TACs) and faculty to present workshops covering a wide spectrum of topics. The conference is divided into three streams: one caters to new TAs, another to International TAs, and the other caters to experienced TAs, but all streams are open to anyone who wants to attend.

The conference is a great opportunity to connect and share your ideas and experiences with graduate students in other faculties, and for professional and personal development. The conference is FREE for all graduate students, new and returning teaching and academic assistants, and instructors. Pre-registration required.
TA/Graduate Student Workshops
TA Conference Information
Register

Introduction to Academic Writing [TWC Workshops]
Saturday, September 7, 2013
1:00 PM ~ 2:20 PM, Location: TBA
Facilitators: Writing Centre staff
Please note: This is a repeat of the workshop offered on Tuesday, August 27, 2013.
This workshop introduces students to the effective and efficient 40/20/40 academic writing process and provides tips on planning, researching, and incorporating sources, avoiding plagiarism, revising, and self-editing.
TWC Workshop Information

Advanced Research and Writing, Part I: Writing a Top-notch Research Paper [TWC Workshops]
Saturday, September 7, 2013
2:30 PM ~ 3:50 PM, Location: TBA
Please note: This is a repeat of the workshop offered on Tuesday, August 27, 2013.
This workshop covers how to write effectively and efficiently through strategic planning and revision. A librarian will review with students how to conduct a literature search to narrow the topic, predict counterpoints and fill in the literature review.
TWC Workshop Information

Advanced Research and Writing, Part II: Developing your Paper [TWC Workshops]
Saturday, September 14, 2013
1:00 PM ~ 2:20 PM, Location: TBA
Please note: This is a repeat of the workshop offered on Thursday, August 29, 2013.
Facilitators: Writing Centre staff
You have a fairly clear idea for a paper and have done some research. Now you need to develop the paper into a strong piece of research-based writing. This workshop will help you refine and focus your topic and plan out your paper.
TWC Workshop Information

Advanced Research and Writing, Part III: Presenting your Research [TWC Workshops]
Saturday, September 14, 2013
2:30 PM ~ 3:50 PM, Location: TBA
Facilitator: Catherine Nutting, Department of Art in History
Please note: This is a repeat of the workshop offered on Thursday, August 29, 2013.
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.
TWC Workshop Information

Electronic Health Records in Classroom: Effects on Health Informatics Competency Development [Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Series]
Wednesday, September 18, 2013 [Brown Bag Lunch]
11:30 AM ~ 12:30 PM, HHB 128
Facilitator: Elizabeth Borycki, Health Information Science
The purpose of this presentation is to describe the impact of providing hands-on exposure to an electronic health record (EHR) upon health informatics student competency development.
Participants: Students in the third year of the School of Health Information Science who were enrolled in the "Electronic Records and Decision Support Systems" course in the third year of their health informatics studies.
Procedure: A quasi-experimental study was undertaken (i.e. a pre-test, post-test design). Students were provided with an opportunity to engage in hands-on work with an EHR as part of the laboratory component of the study. Students completed a demographic and learning styles questionnaire at the beginning of the course. Students were also asked to complete a case study and self-rate their health informatics competencies both before and after hands-on exposure to the EHR in the course.
Authors: E. Borycki, J. Griffith, P. Reid, A. Kushniruk, A. Kuo
SoTL Series Information
Register

Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards (JCURA)
Nomination FINAL Deadline: September 15, 2013
JCURA Information

Strong Writing [TWC Workshops]
Saturday, September 21, 2013
1:00 PM ~ 2:20 PM, location: TBA
Facilitators: Writing Centre staff
Learn how to write clear, concise sentences and paragraphs through a combination of lecture and hands-on practice. Topics include unity, transitions, academic wording and conciseness. Please bring with you five pages of your own writing on which to practice.
TWC Workshop Information

Managing Your Thesis or Dissertation [TWC Workshops]
Saturday, September 21, 2013
2:30 ~ 3:50 PM, location: TBA
Facilitators: Writing Centre staff
Start the academic school year by refocusing your efforts! This hands-on workshop teaches graduate students strategies for organizing their writing, writing habits, and themselves so they can finish their thesis/dissertation/project. Those in the depths of dissertation despair are particularly welcome! Please note this workshop is intended for graduate students who are at least a semester into their studies. This workshop is offered every two months; students are welcome to attend as many times as they wish.
TWC Workshop Information

Teaching Assistant (TA) Preparation Program (TAPP)
Wednesday, September 25, 2013 ~ Wednesday, November 27, 2013
1:00 PM ~ 3:00 PM, HHB 128
Instructor: Cynthia Korpan, TA Training Program Manager
It is of the utmost importance that teaching assistants (TAs) are prepared to fulfill their duties as an instructor at the University of Victoria (UVic), whether grading, running discussion groups, or teaching labs and tutorials. To assist graduate students in becoming TAs, the TA and Graduate Student Professional Development program at the Learning and Teaching Centre (LTC) is offering the Teaching Assistant (TA) Preparation Certificate (TAPC). The TAPC provides tangible recognition of a graduate student’s interest in improving his or her teaching.
The certificate requires participants to engage in 18 hours of seminars that address the following topics:
1. Roles and responsibilities of a TA at UVic
2. Interpersonal skill development
3. Your identity as a teacher
4. Who students are today – diversity and inclusion
5. Active learning strategies for successful labs, tutorials, and discussion groups;
6. Technology in UVic’s classrooms and Moodle management
7. Classroom and conflict management
8. Grading protocols, and
9. Feedback and reflection

The TAPC will require participants to attend weekly, two-hour seminars for nine weeks throughout the fall term, beginning on Wednesday, September 25th and ending on Wednesday, November 27th. The course is suitable for graduate students who have not yet held a TA position or are a beginning TA. After successfully completing all nine seminars, participants will be issued a certificate of recognition. There is no cost associated with TAPC; it is free for all registered graduate students at UVic. However, enrolment is limited. To apply to take this course, you are required to fill out an application form. You will be notified by email of your acceptance in the course.
Registration/Application

Senior Instructor and Teaching Professor Scholarship Fund ~ Submission Deadline
Monday, September 30, 2013
4:00 PM, HHB 126
Information and Application Form

October 2013 Events