Partnered in Teaching and Learning: Shared Experiences

Learning can be assessed in many ways. Instructors at McMaster are pushing the boundaries of traditional assessment to explore innovative methods of assessing student progress that promote learning, creativity, and growth.

Join us for an engaging reflection and discussion on the ways in which meaningful, authentic assessments can be created that assess student learning and reimagined the use of traditional assessments this year and beyond. Participants will have an opportunity to hear from panelists and to ask questions during a live Q&A.

This virtual panel series aims to provide a platform for educators to discuss shared challenges, successes and experiences as they engage with the new Partnered in Teaching and Learning Strategy. These meaningful and timely discussions are an opportunity to reflect on what we have learned, what we can build upon and what initiatives can be nurtured in alignment with the strategy to advance teaching and learning at McMaster.

Panelists:

Marika Brown: PhD Candidate, English and Cultural Studies, Faculty of Humanties

Abeer Siddiqui: Learning Support Librarian, School of Interdisciplinary Science, Faculty of Science

Stacey Ritz: Assistant Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences

The spaces where our instructors teach and our students learn have an important impact on the overall learning experience. It is critical that we support a wide array of spaces to serve the needs of instructors and learners—this includes spaces that integrate technology, allow for community engagement, and much more.

Join us for an engaging reflection and discussion on the ways in which McMaster can create and leverage existing spaces that enhance the learning experience for our students. Participants will have an opportunity to hear from panelists and to ask questions during a live Q&A.

This virtual panel series aims to provide a platform for educators to discuss shared challenges, successes and experiences as they engage with the new Partnered in Teaching and Learning Strategy. These meaningful and timely discussions are an opportunity to reflect on what we have learned, what we can build upon and what initiatives can be nurtured in alignment with the strategy to advance teaching and learning at McMaster

Panelists:

Ilana Bayer: Assistant Professor, Pathology & Molecular Medicine; Director, Learning Technologies Lab

Stephanie Springgay: Director and Associate Professor, School of Arts

Brent McKnight: Associate Professor, Strategic Management, DeGroote School of Business

Dave Heidebrecht: Advisor on Special Projects, Office of the Vice Provost (Faculty); Sessional Instructor, CityLAB Hamilton

Our approach to teaching and learning has been dramatically disrupted over the past two years. This has presented post-secondary institutions with a unique opportunity to think strategically about reimagining approaches to program design, learning spaces, educational technologies, scholarly teaching, learning experiences, student engagement, and more.

The past year has been defined by adjusting our approaches to teaching and learning during the pandemic. Through this period, McMaster learners and educators explored new ways of connecting, new opportunities for engaging with content, and new ways to think about the teaching and learning experience. As we begin a new academic year, we reflect on what we have learned, what we can build upon and what initiatives can be nurtured in alignment with the new Partnered in Teaching and Learning Strategy to advance teaching and learning at McMaster.

Panelists:

• Susan Tighe: Provost and Vice President, Academic
• Kim Dej: Acting Vice-Provost, Faculty
• Caroline Seiler: President, Graduate Students Association
• Denver Della-Vedova: President & CEO, McMaster Students Union

Knowledge comes in many forms beyond traditional academic texts and exercises. We must recognize that critical knowledge and creativity stems from each student and instructor’s unique identity, background and perspective, and respect diverse and expansive ways of knowing.  

Join us for an engaging reflection and discussion on the ways in which we can foster diverse and expansive ways of knowing through our shared experiences in teaching and learning this year and beyond. Participants will have an opportunity to hear from panellists and to ask questions during a live Q&A. 

Panellists:

Rodrigo Narro Perez: Postdoctoral Fellow, Office of the Provost and the Faculty of Science

Stacy Ann Creech: Sessional Faculty, Department of English and Cultural Studies

Sarah Wojkowski, Assistant Dean, Physiotherapy; Director, Program for Interprofessional Practice, Education and Research

Adrianne Xavier, Acting Director, Indigenous Studies Program

The combination of academics, extracurricular activities and social connections have a deep impact on a student’s ability to excel at McMaster. As educators, we must consider all of these criteria when supporting student learning experiences.

Panelists were:

Sue McCracken: Associate Dean, DeGroote School of Business

Faith Ogunkoya: Manager, Black Student Success Centre

Nancy Doubleday: Director, Water Without Borders Graduate Diploma Program; Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy

Kyle Ansilio: Educational Developer, Faculty of Engineering; Program Lead, MacChangers

Interdisciplinary teaching encourages instructors to consider new forms of collaboration across and through traditional disciplines, especially with the added complexities of our remote teaching and learning environment.  

The recent Strategic Alignment Fund focus on interdisciplinary program development, presents an opportunity for faculty members to be involved in the creation new programs and to explore the collaborative and innovative opportunities interdisciplinary programs present. 

Our panellists were:

• Chad Harvey, Associate Professor, Integrated Science Program
• Kate Whalen, Senior Manager, Academic Sustainability Programs
• Emad Mohammad, Director, Integrated Business and Humanities Program
• Colin McDonald, Associate Director, Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences Program

Our panellists were:

• Joanne Kehoe – Lead Educational Developer: Educational Technologies (MacPherson Institute)
• Jamie-Tyler Sewerniuk – Learning Technologies Help Desk (MacPherson Institute)
• Susie O’Brien – Professor and Chair, Department of English and Cultural Studies
• Bridget O’Shaughnessy – Associate Professor, Department of Economics 
• Bruce Wainman – Director of the Education Program in Anatomy and Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine 

Download our Blended Teaching Guide (Pressbook)

Our panellists were:

The past year has been defined by adjusting our approaches to teaching and learning during the pandemic. Through this period, McMaster learners and educators explored new ways of connecting, new opportunities for engaging with content, and new ways to think about the teaching and learning experience. As we begin a new academic year, we reflect on what we have learned, what we can build upon and what initiatives can be nurtured in alignment with the new Partnered in Teaching and Learning Strategy to advance teaching and learning at McMaster.

Panelists:

• Susan Tighe: Provost and Vice President, Academic
• Kim Dej: Acting Vice-Provost, Faculty
• Caroline Seiler: President, Graduate Students Association
• Denver Della-Vedova: President & CEO, McMaster Students Union

Knowledge comes in many forms beyond traditional academic texts and exercises. We must recognize that critical knowledge and creativity stems from each student and instructor’s unique identity, background and perspective, and respect diverse and expansive ways of knowing.  

Join us for an engaging reflection and discussion on the ways in which we can foster diverse and expansive ways of knowing through our shared experiences in teaching and learning this year and beyond. Participants will have an opportunity to hear from panellists and to ask questions during a live Q&A. 

Panellists:

Rodrigo Narro Perez: Postdoctoral Fellow, Office of the Provost and the Faculty of Science

Stacy Ann Creech: Sessional Faculty, Department of English and Cultural Studies

Sarah Wojkowski, Assistant Dean, Physiotherapy; Director, Program for Interprofessional Practice, Education and Research

Adrianne Xavier, Acting Director, Indigenous Studies Program

The combination of academics, extracurricular activities and social connections have a deep impact on a student’s ability to excel at McMaster. As educators, we must consider all of these criteria when supporting student learning experiences.

Panelists were:

Sue McCracken: Associate Dean, DeGroote School of Business

Faith Ogunkoya: Manager, Black Student Success Centre

Nancy Doubleday: Director, Water Without Borders Graduate Diploma Program; Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy

Kyle Ansilio: Educational Developer, Faculty of Engineering; Program Lead, MacChangers

The first panel session looked back at the hurdles, stumbles and triumphs experienced by teaching peers across campus during the spring/summer online transition.

The panelists were:

There is a growing need to consider equitable, inclusive and diverse spaces to support the holistic growth of students from various backgrounds and experiences in our learning environments.

We understand that there is a growing need to attend to accessible course design, content creation, and course delivery to support instructors in meeting the needs of  students with disabilities, as well as students experiencing accessibility issues for potentially the first time, with the sudden and disruptive shift to online / virtual learning environments.

Our fourth virtual panel was about fostering increasingly accessible and disability-inclusive spaces in your classroom, with your teaching and within student learning communities.

Our moderators were:

• Kate Brown, Manager Accessibility Program-Equity and Inclusion Office
• Jessica Blackwood, Accessible Digital Media Specialist-Faculty of Science

Our panelists were:

• Allison Williams, Professor, School of Geography and Earth Sciences
  
• Li Wang, Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesia
  
• Anne Pottier, Associate University Librarian

During this session, we experimented with a few accessibility tools. The video is captioned with MacVideo (Kaltura) automatic captioning. During the session we also used Otter.ai captioning (a paid service) as well.

We also had Ai-Media provide a human-generated transcript of the session. You can read or download it here.

As with all of the sessions, this one had a lively chat where good questions were asked and resources and links were shared. You can view a copy of that here.

There are many moving parts to consider as we pivot this Fall to a complete online teaching model for introductory psychology.

We had a discussion with key members of McMaster Introductory Psychology program transition team: Joe Kim (Course Designer), Michelle Cadieux (Course Coordinator), Thomas Samson-Williams (Head Teaching Assistant) and Joseph Oluwasola (Student).

This edition of our virtual panel series focused on transitioning a large course to an online format that includes both synchronous and asynchronous components.

In the online space we must re-think traditional methods of evaluation and testing. Fortunately, there are many individuals at the University developing authentic, meaningful and impactful ways to assess students in an online environment.

Panelists were:

Relationships, studies, research and work have all been impacted as a result of the transition to a remote teaching and learning environment. These changes have also disrupted graduate student activities such as degree completion, thesis defenses, and academic research. Supervisors and mentors will need to be prepared to help grad students navigate these challenges and inevitable changes that must take place to successfully deliver on their plans, timelines, and program requirements.

Our panelists were:

• Sandeep Raha, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics & Director, McMaster Children and Youth University 
• Lorraine York, Distinguished University Professor, Department of English and Cultural Studies 
• Qiyin Fang, Professor, Department of Engineering Physics 
• Karen Balcom, Associate Professor, Department of History & Sarah Whitwell, PhD – Department of History