GTLP Level 1: Foundations & Upcoming Sessions

Level 1: Foundations - Workshop Series | Next SEries January 3 - 12, 2024

January 2024 Schedule:

Session 1 - Graduate Teaching and Learning Program (GTLP): Orientation
January 3, 2024 | 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. (MST)

OPTIONAL- Not for GTL/PD Credit 

Register in campusBRIDGE  |  Zoom Link

Presenter: Renee Polziehn, PhD, Director of Professional Development, Founder of Graduate Teaching and Learning Program, GPS

Overview: In this session, you will learn about the Graduate Teaching and Learning Program offered by the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies. The program is open to all graduate students and postdoctoral fellows for free and has four levels. We will discuss the different components of the program, what is required for completion, and the benefits of completing the program. 

Session 2 - Copyright in the Classroom (Self-Paced)
Opens in eClass January 3 - 15, 2024
No Registration Needed

*IMPORTANT Self-enrol in the GTL Program | Level 1 Foundations eClass Site to access the Copyright in the Classroom online workshop. Complete between January 3 - 15, 2024.

GTL Level 1 CORE Requirement

Academic Integrity and Ethics Training Requirement Credit: 1.0 Hour

Presenter: Amanda Wakaruk, MLIS, MES, Copyright Librarian, Copyright Office, Learning Services, University of Alberta    

Overview: What are the copyright implications of scanning a book chapter and uploading it to eClass? What can you do when you find your (or your course coordinator's) lecture slides in a fee-based course content aggregator like OneClass or Course Hero? This session will introduce the UA's Use of Copyright Materials Policy and help participants make decisions about copying, presenting, and distributing resources for instructional purposes.

Session 3 - Preparation, Presence, Reflection
January 3, 2024 | 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (MST)

GTL Level 1 Option Workshop
Professional Development Credit: 1.0 HOUR | 1 hour workshop; no mandatory independent work

Register in campusBRIDGE  |  Zoom Link

Presenter: Lisa Guirguis, BSc Pharm, MSc, PhD, Associate Professor, Faculty of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences

Overview: What are the essential components for planning and delivering an engaging lab or seminar and how can you develop your teaching skills over time? In this session with Anita Parker, Educational Developer with the Centre for Teaching and Learning, we'll focus on aspects of your pre-class preparations, your in-class strategies for engagement, and how reflection is key to creating meaning from every experience.

Session 4 - Applying the Code of Student Behaviour in the Classroom
January 3, 2024 | 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. (MST)

GTL Level 1 CORE Requirement

Professional Development Credit: 2.0 HOURS | 2 hour workshop; no mandatory independent work

Register in campusBRIDGE  |  Zoom Link

Instructor: Chris Hackett, Student Conduct Officer, Student Conduct and Accountability, University of Alberta

Overview: Knowing the "ins and outs" of the Code of Student Behaviour and how to respond to code violations that emerge in the classroom is critical in your role as a teaching assistant or principal instructor. Using case studies as a jumping-off point, this session will provide you with real-life examples of the issues that can emerge in the classroom, how they intersect with the Code of Student Behaviour, and the best course of action in your role as a teaching assistant and/or principal instructor. This session will also provide an introductory overview of the University of Alberta Sexual Violence Policy and what to do if you receive a disclosure or complaint. 

Session 5 - Teaching Presentation Skills
January 4, 2024 | 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. (MST)

GTL Level 1 CORE Requirement

Professional Development Credit: 2 HOURS | 30 minutes pre-workshop independent work; 1.5 -hour workshop 

Register in campusBRIDGE  |  Zoom Link

Presenters: Rob Desjardins, PhD, Professional Development Instructional Designer, Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies | Principal Instructor, Graduate Teaching and Learning Program

Jay Friesen, PhD, Senior Lead and Education Curriculum Developer, Graduate Teaching and Learning, Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies | Principal Instructor, Graduate Teaching and Learning Program

Renee Polziehn, PhD, Director of Professional Development, Founder of Graduate Teaching and Learning Program, GPS  

Overview: Teaching presentation skills are central to your competency in the classroom, impacting the effectiveness with which your material is presented and the extent to which students feel compelled to invest in the shared responsibility for learning. Failure to draw upon basic presentation strategies in combination with uncontrolled nerves can sabotage your efforts in the classroom, leaving you frustrated with your own performance and students unconvinced of your credibility as an instructor. This session will equip you with presentation basics and strategies for managing nerves - all of which is based on current and proven research - which, when put into practice, will allow you to look and sound like a teaching pro. 

Session 6 - Mapping Learning Objectives and Outcomes
January 4, 2024 | 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (MST)

GTL Level 1 CORE Requirement

Professional Development Credit: 1.5 HOURS | 30 minutes pre-workshop independent work; 1-hour workshop 

Register in campusBRIDGE  |  Zoom Link

Instructor: Rob Desjardins, PhD, Senior Lead and Education Curriculum Developer, Graduate Teaching and Learning, Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies | Principal Instructor, Graduate Teaching and Learning Program 

Overview: Learning outcomes play a central role in course design and delivery and serve as the guiding light for virtually every instructional decision you will make in the classroom. During this workshop, you will learn how to write SMART learning outcomes that will support instructional decisions related to lesson planning and assessment.

Session 7 - The Art of Lesson Planning
January 4, 2024 | 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. (MST)

GTL Level 1 CORE Requirement

Professional Development Credit: 1.0 Hour | No mandatory independent work

Register in campusBRIDGE  |  Zoom Link

Instructor:  Renee Polziehn, PhD, Director of Professional Development, Founder of Graduate Teaching and Learning Program 

Overview: Why are some instructors able to create engaging classes that always seem to perfectly fill the time allotted? Experience is certainly one factor, but creating a lesson plan is a critical step to having positive teaching outcomes and for students to have a good learning experience. In this session, we will cover principles to consider in making your lesson plan.

Session 8 - Effective Teaching in the Lab
January 4, 2024 | 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. (MST)

GTL Level 1 OPTION Workshop

Professional Development Credit: 1.5 HOURS | No mandatory independent work

Register in campusBRIDGE  |  Zoom Link

Instructor: Carla Starchuk, PhD, Lab Coordinator, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Alberta

Overview: If you are teaching a lab or hands-on activities with students, this session provides a great overview of how to make your teaching experience much better. This session will demonstrate effective strategies for teaching labs, primarily in the life sciences. We will explore ways to engage students as well as develop methods for guided inquiry in undergraduate laboratories.

Session 9 - Teaching and Learning: Context Matters
January 5, 2024 | 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.(MST)

GTL Level 1 CORE Requirement

Professional Development Credit: 1.5 HOURS | 30 minutes pre-workshop independent work; 1 hour workshop

Register in campusBRIDGE  |  Zoom Link

Instructor: Neil Haave, PhD

Overview: In this session, we will consider how our learning experiences inform our own approach to teaching. We have all had excellent and heinous learning experiences. How can we use these experiences to inform how we teach? Critically reflecting on our own learning and teaching experience is one of the four critical lenses that Stephen Brookfield suggests we use to develop our own teaching praxis. We will discuss these lenses and how we can use them to become critically reflective teachers. Finally, teaching (and learning) is highly context-dependent; the teaching strategies we use need to consider our students' prior experiences and the learning culture in which they are embedded. This session will culminate in thinking through how context matters to teaching and how that results in teaching and learning being different for every instance we teach.

Session 10 - Ethical Principles in University Teaching
January 5, 2024 | 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (MST)

GTL Level 1 CORE Requirement

Professional Development Credit: 2.0 HOURS | 30 minutes pre-workshop independent work; 1.5 hours workshop 

Register in campusBRIDGE  |  Zoom Link

Instructors: Chris Hackett, Student Conduct Officer, Student Conduct and Accountability

Overview: Situations arise in teaching that sometimes tests us on conflict of interest, conflict management, and ethical boundaries. Using a few case scenarios, we will look at different ways that people may interpret what has happened and how as teachers you may want to handle these situations. The objective of this session will be to build strategies to help resolve potential conflicts regarding instructor-student relationships.

Session 11 - Indigenizing and Decolonizing the Academy
January 5, 2024 | 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. (MST)

GTL Level 1 Option
Professional Development Credit: 1.5 HOUR | 1.5 hour workshop; no mandatory independent work

Register in campusBRIDGE  |  Zoom Link

Instructor: Andrea Menard, PhD, Lead Educational Developer, Centre for Teaching and Learning

Overview: How can graduate students support the curriculum and effectively support Indigenous students? How can we unpack educational practices and begin to decolonize and Indigenize our academic institutions (Battiste, 2013; Gaudry & Lorenz, 2018)? We need to transform learning, inform practice, engage in provocative conversations, and rebound from mistakes so that Indigenization is meaningful, systemic, and lasting. Building upon the Cree understanding of Wahkohtowin relational accountability and reciprocity, we can positively impact student learning and engagement. In this session, we will build relationships, learn from each others' experiences, and become aware of Indigenous histories and contemporary realities.

Session 12 - Supporting an Environment for Student Motivation
January 8, 2024 | 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. (MST)

GTL Level 1 CORE Requirement

Professional Development Credit: 1.5 HOUR | 30 minutes pre-workshop independent work; 1-hour workshop 

Register in campusBRIDGE  |  Zoom Link

Instructor: Lia Daniels, PhD, Professor, Faculty of Education - Educational Psychology Dept

Overview: A common trap that we as instructors can fall into is the belief that students are either motivated or they are not. In reality, the issue of student motivation is not this straightforward. This session will explore the factors that influence student motivation and the role that the instructor plays in supporting engaged, enthusiastic students who are prepared to take responsibility for their own learning and play a positive role in the classroom environment.

Session 13 - Classroom Communication I: The Basics
January 8, 2024  |  3:30 - 4:30 p.m. (MST)

GTL Level 1 CORE Requirement

Professional Development Credit: 1.0 HOUR | No mandatory independent work
[Not for GTL credit for those who have taken “Circular Communication in the Classroom”]

Register in campusBRIDGE  |  Zoom Link

Instructor: James White, PhD Candidate and Teaching Fellow, Peter Lougheed Leadership College, University of Alberta; Graduate Student Teaching Award winner

Overview: In this session, students will learn how to develop effective pathways of communication both in and out of the classroom, understand instructional best practices, create insight about verbal and non-verbal cues, and engage with technologies to encourage participation beyond the traditional lecture sessions.

Session 14- Fundamentals of Grading and Assessment Workshop
January 9, 2024 | 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. (MST)

GTL Level 1 CORE Requirement

Professional Development Credit: 2.0 HOUR | 30 minutes pre-workshop independent work; 1.5-hour workshop

Register in campusBRIDGE  |  Zoom Link

Instructor: Cheryl Poth PhD, Professor, Faculty of Education - Department of Educational Psychology 

Overview: Assessment is an integral part of teaching any course. This session aims to provide you with some of the skills needed to discuss and apply different assessment techniques in post-secondary education. Participants will explore ideas including formative assessment, evaluation and grading, designing course assessment plans, and best practices in assessment.

Session 15 - Identifying, Helping, and Referring Students in Distress
January 10, 2024 | 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. (MST)

GTL Level 1 CORE Requirement

Professional Development Credit: 1.50 HOUR | No mandatory independent work

Register in campusBRIDGE  |  Zoom Link

Instructor: Suman Varghese, Registered Psychologist, Counselling and Clinical Services

Overview: As a teaching assistant or principal instructor, you play an important role in fostering an environment that promotes and supports student mental health and well-being. You play a front-line role, and your close contact with students means that you may be one of the first people to notice a student experiencing difficulty or distress. Students may choose to disclose their struggles to you. Your ability to recognize students who may be in distress and require support may support early intervention for students.  This workshop will help you identify common indicators of distress and will help you feel confident in responding to students in distress and in referring them to campus support.

Session 16 - The Policy and Practices of Classroom Inclusion
January 11, 2024 | 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.

GTL Level 1 CORE Requirement

Professional Development Credit: 1.0 Hour | 1.0 Hour Workshop; no mandatory independent work

Register in campusBRIDGE  |  Zoom Link

Instructor: Everett Igobwa, PhD, Lead Educational Developer, Critical Pedagogies and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity, Centre for Teaching and Learning

Overview: In this session, we will explore how an ethic of equity can inform pedagogy. We will discuss the salience of Discrimination, Harassment, and Duty to Accommodate Policy and relevant procedures. There will be a focus on human rights, accommodation, and equity and their role in fostering inclusion.  

Session 17 - Classroom Communication II: Managing Difficult Situations
January 12, 2024 | 2:00 - 3:30 p.m. (MST)

GTL Level 1 CORE Requirement

Professional Development Credit: 2.0 HOURS | 30 minutes pre-workshop independent work; 1.5 hours workshop 

Register in campusBRIDGE  |  Zoom Link

Instructor: Jay Friesen, PhD, Educational Curriculum Developer, Graduate Teaching and Learning, Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies | Principal Instructor, Graduate Teaching and Learning Program 

Overview: One of the greatest sources of anxiety for instructors is the encounter with emotionally-charged classroom situations. Let's face it, student learners face incredible pressures to succeed and while most have the capacity to self-regulate their thoughts and feelings, some simply do not have those skills yet. We are cognitive and behavioral role models for all students. In this session, self-reflection and group discussion will assist in identifying various behavioral archetypes that we will encounter with students. Recognizing possible disruptions on a continuum will assist in determining the level of action required from a human and institutional point of view. Relevant codes and policies will be reviewed regarding what to do with the most extreme of situations.

Level 1 is open to all University of Alberta graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. It is offered in August and January. Students on a leave of absence do not qualify.

To get started in the program, register for a Level 1 workshop through campusBridge.  When you register for a session on campusBridge you will find information on how to register for the full Level 1 program, which is completed through eClass.

You may also choose to attend Level 1 workshops without enrolling in the program. Your attendance for the purposes of the Professional Development Requirement will be recorded in campusBridge.

• Build foundational knowledge of:
  • Teaching scholarship in higher education;
  • Ethical practices in teaching and learning and university policy;
  • Strategies for classroom communication, management and leadership; and
  • Strategies for student learning and inclusion.
• Deepen workplace professionalism.
• Build self-confidence and personal effectiveness.

You may attend as many sessions as you wish, but must complete the core required workshops and minimum of two option workshops to qualify for level completion. You are free to complete the requirements for Level 1 over several offerings; however, you must complete Level 1 prior to entering Level 2. For those enrolled in the program, a record of your progress will be kept in eClass.

Level 1 core required workshops cover teaching basics and focus on three themes including: (1) pedagogical principles; (2) classroom communication, management, and leadership; and, (3) ethical practices and principles in teaching and learning. A variety of option workshops allow you to complement the core required workshops by selecting topics that support your particular teaching context or personal interest.

Some departments require teaching assistants to complete training in the Graduate Teaching and Learning Program. Please consult your department for possible requirements.

Foundational and Pedagogical Principles

• Mapping Learning Objectives and Outcomes
• The Art of Lesson Planning
• Fundamentals of Evaluation and Assessment
• Teaching and Learning: Context Matters
• Supporting an Environment for Student Motivation

Classroom Communication, Management, and Leadership

• Classroom Communication I: The Basics (previously Circular Communication in the Classroom)
• Classroom Communication II: Managing Difficult Situations (previously Dealing with Difficult Situations and Students)
• Teaching Presentation Skills
• Identifying, Helping, and Referring Students in Distress
• The Policy and Practices of Classroom Inclusion (previously Social Location and Unconscious Bias in the Classroom)

Ethical Practices and Principles in Teaching and Learning*

• Ethical Principles in University Teaching
• Applying the Code of Student Behaviour in the Classroom
• Copyright in the Classroom

Please note: *Ethical Principles in Teaching and Code of Student Behaviour in Teaching may be used towards the Academic Integrity and Ethics Training Requirement.

To be selected from a variety of sessions, including (but not limited to):

• Effective Teaching in the Lab
• Facilitating Classroom Discussions
• Mindfulness in the Classroom
• First Class: Creating a Positive Tone in Campus Classroom OR  Your First Class: How to Make it First Class
• Indigenizing and Decolonizing the Academy
• Teaching in the Canadian Classroom
• Leadership and Authority in the Classroom
• Preparation, Presence, and Reflection: Leading an Effective Class 

To complete Level 1, you must complete all the core required workshops and two option workshops (approximate 23-25 hours) and an exit survey/critical reflection.

Graduate students who complete Level 1 will receive the following notation on their transcripts: Graduate Teaching and Learning Program: Foundations. All participants will receive Level 1 completion letters for their teaching dossiers.

All workshops except the GTLP Information Session, Ethical Principles in Teaching, Code of Student Behaviour in Teaching be used towards the Professional Development Requirement.

All professional development and ethics activities must be approved by your department. To attend the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies's (GPS) workshops, you must register through campusBridge. Your attendance for the purposes of the Professional Development Requirement will be recorded here.

Questions regarding the Graduate Teaching and Learning Program (GTLP), including the recent changes to the program can be directed to: gradpd@ualberta.ca