Schedule

Opening Remarks
John Nychka, Vice-Provost (Learning Initiatives)

Introduction of Keynote
Jennifer Ward, Educational Developer, Indigenous-Focused

Keynote Tommy Mayberry, Manager of Outreach and Recruitment at St. Jerome’s University at the University of Waterloo

Gender Pronouns, Teaching and Learning, and Cultures of Respect 
We’ve all done it. Said the wrong pronoun, used the wrong name, and/or otherwise referred to someone in some sexed/gendered way and immediately wished we could take it back. (And, guess what? We are all going to do it – we’re all human; we all make mistakes.) So, how can we as instructors forestall these mistakes in our teaching practices and activate in ourselves an inclusive ideology for gender and sexed identities in our classrooms? In this keynote, we’ll start with some grammar and linguistic history to identify where these words come from in our language and how they work (and don’t work), and then we’ll discuss impacts and impasses of privilege and inclusivity to get us into some strategies for positive engagement with gender pronouns and teaching and learning. We’ll wrap up with highlighting pronoun awareness and cultures of respect to ultimately reflect on whiteness, marginalization, trauma, and continued struggle.

Special Guest Dr. Greg Thomas, Professor, Secondary Education

Metacognition: Developing successful learners in remote learning environments

Presentation slides available here.

'Metacognition' refers to an individual's knowledge, control, and awareness of their thinking and learning processes and strategies. Students (and teachers) vary in relation to their metacognition. However, it is agreed upon that the quality of any individual's metacognition impacts the quality of their learning. The shift to remote learning environments necessitates consideration of how we conceptualize and enact instruction that develops our students to be successful in such environments, whether synchronous or asynchronous. A key consideration is understanding how we can embed and model the prompts that challenge students to prepare and plan for learning, to monitor their learning progress, and to evaluate and reflect on their learning outcomes. This presentation will provide both theoretical and practical perspectives regarding developing and enhancing students' metacognition that are relevant to our evolving, remote instructional contexts.

CJ de Jong, Access Services Coordinator, Librarian
Kim Frail, Public Services Librarian

Engaging Your Students with Online Readings: New Library Tool!

The library is launching a new tool for online reading lists of course materials. Learn about how faculty and instructors can:

• create reading lists
• embed readings and links to licensed resources in eClass courses
• request items for purchase
• use analytics for insights into student engagement

... all through one system! CJ and Kim will walk you through the basics of registering for the service, creating a list and embedding the list in your eClass course. You'll be up and running in no time!

Jen Ward, Educational Developer, Indigenous-Focused

Creating an Engaged Remote Learning Environment while Remaining Equitable, Diverse and Inclusive
This interactive webinar will showcase wise practices for engaging with Indigenous and anti-racist pedagogy and content in course development and implementation for the remote teaching and learning environment. We will learn how to create an engaged remote learning community while ensuring our courses are equitable, diverse, and inclusive.

Ellen Watson, Senior Educational Developer, Assessment

Using Self-assessment in Online Classes to Promote Students’ Learning
One of the most difficult shifts to teaching online is that assessment needs to be re-thought and re-taught! In the classroom, students' learning is regulated and easily monitored by the instructor; for example, we can walk past a desk and check to see how they are progressing. Unfortunately, when teaching online this becomes difficult since we are not always in contact with students. In this session, instructors will be introduced to methods of engaging students in self-assessment as well as approaches that can be used to check students' learning of content they work through at home.

Dr. Cosette Lemelin, Assistant Director

• How do I help students manage their distractions as they learn how to learn effectively online?
• What do I do when students lurk in the course, meaning they enter Zoom or eClass to watch or read, yet they rarely participate in activities?
• What are the most common uncivil behaviours in online learning environments and how can I manage these concerns?

While engaging, interactive, and inclusive course design and content are important in addressing the above questions (see the CTL website “Remote Teaching” resources), this session will focus on your teaching presence and the importance of teaching presence to improve these common virtual student engagement concerns.

Dr. Cosette Lemelin will share the most current literature and evidence on these questions and provide a list of references and resources for you to explore at your own pace after the session.

Graeme Pate, Educational Developer, Technology

Synchronous Teaching: Moving Beyond the Q&A
As we move to an asynchronous approach for transferring knowledge to students, there are questions about what a synchronous approach will look like. Should we even have synchronous inputs and, if we do, what should be done to move beyond just having a Q&A? In this session, CTL Educational Developer Graeme Pate will be offering some suggestions about to engage students in a synchronous environment, fostering relationships, digging deeper into content and using other online resources to help engage students in their learning.