Teaching and Learning Workshops 2014

The office of Teaching and Learning is pleased to present its Fall 2014 series of teaching and learning workshops and roundtables for engineering faculty. Although most sessions are designed with engineering content delivery in mind, science faculty members would also benefit, and are welcome to participate.

Two types of formats are used:

Workshops

Workshops typically feature periods of content delivery followed by periods of participant activity. Instructors most often benefit while thinking about their own courses during their workshop participation. This enables instructors to leave a session with a plan for how to implement what has been discussed / presented in their own teaching activities. Duration:  2 hours

Roundtables

Roundtables typically involve some form of short pre-reading or presentation to start the discussion, and include small group discussion where participants are able to exchange ideas with their colleagues on a specific topic. The facilitator will guide the discussion, and set intermediate break points to redirect the conversation at appropriate times. Duration:  2 hours   

All workshops and roundtables will be offered twice on consecutive days so as to minimize conflict with teaching schedules. Light refreshments will be served at all sessions.

Register online for any workshop or roundtable http://www.eventbrite.ca/o/schulich-school-of-engineering-university-of-calgary-7220327959?s=29150133

 

Workshop #1:  How Learning Works

Date:  September 25 OR September 26

Time:  10AM-12PM

Location:  EEEL 103

Facilitator:  Ron Hugo, Associate Dean Teaching and Learning 

Through a combination of cognitive science, educational psychology, computer science, anthropology, sociology, neuroscience, and other fields, the learning sciences have seen significant advancement over the last 20 years. As a result, a more comprehensive understanding of how humans learn is emerging. By recognizing these advances, it is possible for educators to develop more effective teaching and learning practices. This workshop will review these advances and provide instructors with strategies for more effective teaching.

Roundtable #1:  The Robert and Susan Problem

Date:  October 16 OR October 17

Time:  10AM-12PM

Location:  EEEL 103

Facilitator:  Ron Hugo, Associate Dean Teaching and Learning 

Over the last 20 years, the demographic of the typical university student has changed significantly. This leaves many instructors perplexed as to why their teaching methods of old now seem to be failing them. Come learn about the Robert and Susan problem, and then discuss methods that can enable us to more effectively reach students with starkly contrasting motivations.

Workshop #2:  Introduction to Active Learning

Date:  October 30 OR October 31

Time:  10AM-12PM

Location:  EEEL 103

Facilitator:  Ron Hugo, Associate Dean Teaching and Learning 

Active learning methods engage students directly in thinking and problem-solving activities. Active learning can assist students in developing a deeper appreciation of learning. This workshop will provide faculty with ideas to assist them in designing and integrating active learning methods that involve either peer interaction or faculty-student interaction.

Roundtable #2:  Higher Education in the Digital Age

Date:  November 20 OR November 21

Time:  10AM-12PM

Location:  EEEL 103

Facilitator:  Ron Hugo, Associate Dean Teaching and Learning 

Consider these recent developments:  i) free education for all American Starbuck’s employees via Arizona State University; ii) former President of Yale University now CEO of Coursera; iii) Udacity / Georgia Tech / AT&T partner to offer an online master’s degree in computer science for $6,600 providing AT&T with first access to the best and brightest globally; iv) MIT’s President Rafael Reif’s vision to increase enrollment by having MIT students spend one year abroad while taking MIT courses online via edX. These and other high-profile ventures have all of the characteristics of a disruptive innovation. With the aid of pre-reading, the roundtable discussion will center on where higher education is going in the digital age and how we might prepare for this change.  

Workshop #3:  Blended Learning I - Technology

Date:  December 4 OR December 5

Time:  10AM-12PM

Location:  EEEL 103

Facilitator:  Ron Hugo, Associate Dean Teaching and Learning 

Blended learning, flipped classrooms, online teaching – all of these describe content delivery where the content is pre-recorded and provided to students outside of lecture time. The question of what to do with lecture time is always a concern with any of these delivery methods; this topic will be covered in a Winter 2015 workshop. In the meantime, the Fall 2014 workshop will introduce technology that can be used to record and deliver lecture content to students with surprisingly effective results.

Roundtable #3:  Group Study Programs – Destination Greece, Switzerland, and China

Date:  December 19

Time:  11AM-1PM

Location:  EEEL 103

Facilitator:  Ron Hugo, Associate Dean Teaching and Learning 

The Schulich School of Engineering has offered Group Study Programs to destinations around the world for almost one decade. This roundtable will be celebratory in nature, and will feature an overview of existing group study programs to Greece, Switzerland and China. The China Group Study Program will include a video produced by the Journalism Department at Shantou University that merges Reality TV with Engineering Education. Come celebrate the end of semester and the holidays by sampling the delicacies of all three countries, while learning more about Group Study Programs and how they can benefit our students.