The Evil TA & a movie!

On March 31, 2011, in Being a GA/TA, Laughs, by Candace Nast

Fans of Piled Higher & Deeper will be excited to hear that their beloved comic strip is coming to a movie theatre near you! Jorge Cham, the comic strip creator also wrote the screenplay, which is currently being filmed in California.

Piled Higher & Deeper is a comic series about the lives of grad students (and the people around him). Take for instance this recent post about being an evil TA and ask yourself if anything seems familiar. Have a good weekend and enjoy the nearing end of semester. Click the image to visit on the PH&D site and see more comics.

Evil TAs schedule office hours during class time or after homework is due. Bwahahaahhaa!

 

Workshop with Jan Sobocan

On March 29, 2011, in Announcements, UWindsor, Workshops/Courses, by Candace Nast

from UWindsor Daily News

Jan Sobocan

Jan Sobocan

University faculty, staff, and graduate students are invited to attend an interactive workshop on enhancing student learning and critical thinking skills, presented by Windsor’s Senior Visiting Fellow in Educational Development, Jan Sobocan.

Thinking With and Through Assessment and Evaluation takes place on Thursday, April 7, 1 to 2:30 p.m., in room 2103, Lambton Tower.

Using mastery teaching principles and research-based critical thinking evaluation practices, workshop participants will create thinking skills questions. Small inter-disciplinary groups will work together in evaluating the validity of those questions in order to highlight some key problems with creating questions that aim to test thinking skills.

The outcome of the workshop is to illustrate a general approach to evaluation that helps build instructor confidence in assessments of thinking. The exercises are also aimed at illustrating how both group and individual student participation in the evaluation process helps students build and independently practice critical thinking skills prior to an assignment or exam.

Participants are encouraged to bring in test items or essay questions from their respective disciplines that are used to test higher level thinking skills.

Sobocan, a UWindsor alumna (MA philosophy 2002), teaches educational foundations and educational equity at the University of Western Ontario. Much of her research, publications, and conference activities focus on the nature of critical thinking, its role in citizenship education, and the assessment and evaluation of higher order thinking.

She also plays key role in planning teams responsible for assessing and evaluating instructional design and enhancing learning environments through re-development of curriculum and course resources. For more information on Sobocan, visit the CTL Web site.

To register for this workshop, visit http://cleo.uwindsor.ca/workshops/ctl/2/.

 

Visual Notetaking and Inquiry

On March 28, 2011, in Being a GA/TA, Teaching Tips, Tools, by Candace Nast

Anyone who’s known me for very long knows I love new tech toys/tools. At a recent conference at the University of Guelph, I discovered Sketchbook Pro, a tool for drawing with a fantastic free 15-non-consecutive-day trial. Giulia Forsythe from Brock University was using it to sketch the keynote presentation (fantastic evolution of the portfolio by Dave Cormier, UPEI) and though I do not own an iPad, I realized I had other tools that would work: an old Wacom tablet and pen plus a laptop. Perhaps these aren’t as portable, but for working from home, they do just fine.

I decided to test out the tool as I read the STLHE Green Guide #3: Teaching the Art of Inquiry by Bob Hudspith and Herb Jenkins. Here’s the creation. For full effect, click the image to visit on Flickr, then mouseover to see notes that provide more information.

The Art of Inquiry

This tool might be useful to you if you are a visual learner or if you teach visual learners. It’s quick and easy to learn the basic functionality (much simpler than something like photoshop) and there are a few more advanced tools (like layers) that make editing easier once you get the hang of making your mark.

 

Friday Night Brains

On March 25, 2011, in Being a GA/TA, Laughs, Sharpie Sandbox, by Candace Nast

Have a good weekend everyone. See you next week!

We all know how Sharpie Sandbox will spend the weekend:

“I’d rather try to take over the world…”

brain says tonight is for studying

 

Learning by doing: Mapping Community Assets

On March 24, 2011, in Teaching Tips, UWindsor, by Candace Nast

University of Windsor Social Work students have placements in their senior years where they gain experience in the field and make community connections. They each bring passion and unique skills to their organizations. Take Lillian Gallant for example: her placement this term has been at the Ford City Neighbourhood Renewal project (housed in the Gino A. Marcus Community Centre). She started out wanting to make an inventory of the community and from that, developed a “community asset map” using GoogleMaps. Combining her skill with emerging technologies and her social work background led to this fantastic map of the neighbourhood.

The process was a hands-on way to learn and the visualization is a great way to share the results. Congrats on a fantastic project Lillian!

Click on the different icons to reveal information about each asset:


View Ford City Community Asset Map in a larger map

 

Spicy Nodes for Active Learning

On March 23, 2011, in Being a GA/TA, Teaching Tips, by Candace Nast

I love trying out new (to me) tools for teaching and learning. I was looking for a way to model “Active Learning” — this idea that students learn when they’re engaged in the process of learning. I found “Spicy Nodes” and voilà: a visualization of active learning was born. Click on the various “nodes” or bubbles to expand and see what’s buried beneath. Continue clicking on each node until it goes no further. You might find you’re actively learning about active learning. (Woah — that was kind of meta!) Go ahead and try out the tool yourself. There are both free and premium accounts available.

 

Sharpie Sandbox: Literary Emergency

On March 18, 2011, in Being a GA/TA, Laughs, Sharpie Sandbox, by Candace Nast

And note this in the comments:

“Meyer Sickness. It comes on quick, lowering the IQ until the victim suffers a permanent stupor of angst and literary shortsightedness. The only cure is a swift slap in the face from Anne Rice or an intensive Victorian/Gothic Romance lecture treatment session. The illness touches the young quickly, and with much more vigor. Tragic.”

 

March Mini Series

On March 14, 2011, in Announcements, Being a GA/TA, UWindsor, Workshops/Courses, by Candace Nast

Coloured PencilsWe’re pleased to announce the March Mini-series for TAs and GAs in History, Philosophy, and Women’s Studies!

We hope you’ll join us for one or two of the following short sessions:

Leading Discussions: The Silent Treatment

Do you get frustrated when students don’t/won’t talk? Are you unsure how to get the ball rolling or keep it going? Do your tutorials frequently end in fistfights in the corridor? Want your students to be excited about course material and eager to say what they think?

  • share your frustrations and goals
  • learn tips for encouraging meaningful discussion
  • practice strategies for leading your next discussion
  • find out how else the GA/TA Network can help you do your job

Gobs of Grading

Are you being crushed under piles of grading? Do you wonder what a rubric is and where to get one? Do you have nightmares about grading in CLEW? Do you have no time left for your own homework?

  • learn tips to manage grading and get your own work done
  • view a variety of rubrics and practice adapting them to your own grading
  • find out how else the GA/TA Network can help you do your job

All sessions will be held in Lambton Tower, room 2103 (attached to Erie Hall)

RSVP to gata@uwindsor.ca – we’re planning snacks – or just drop in!

Schedule

Leading Discussions: The Silent Treatment:
Thursday, March 17th 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Friday, March 18th 1:30pm – 2:30pm
Tuesday, March 22nd 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Gobs of Grading:
Friday, March 18th 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Monday, March 21st 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Tuesday, March 22nd 1:30pm – 2:30pm

We’re looking forward to seeing you there!

 

Problems

On March 14, 2011, in UWindsor, by Candace Nast

We’re experiencing technical difficulties updating the blog. Please hang on until we get it sorted out.

~ Candace

 

Special thanks to Sharpie Sandbox for today’s treat.

Can’t read my, can’t read my, no you can’t read my bookish-face.

Book stuck to face