On Wednesday 16 January 2013, Enrique Chacón presented a workshop on Intercultural Communication in the Classroom for GATA Winter Academy 2013.
From the workshop description, Enrique writes that,
“Teaching in Canadian classrooms can be a challenge if the instructor is not aware of the influence culture has in people’s learning and communication styles. Becoming aware of one’s own culture and learning basic skills to navigate other’s is key to deliver effective messages and to handle potential conflict. We’ll review some useful tips, explore common differences between Canadian classroom culture versus the most common countries of origin of our international students.
Enrique’s slide presentation is embedded below and he’s also shared the Student Information Card he uses at the beginning of new classes. I hope these resources will be helpful to you in preparing for your GA and TA work.
GATA Winter Academy 2013: Intercultural Classroom by Enrique Chacón
And the student information card:
GATA Winter Academy 2013: Course Internationalization 101 Student Information Card by Enrique Chacón
From an email sent by Beverly Hamilton, Executive Assistant, Teaching and Learning at the University of Windsor:
On The Verge: Debating the Future of University Teaching
The University of Windsor-Oakland University Conference on Teaching and Learning
University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
May 1-2, 2012
Proposal Deadline: February 28, 2013
Join us at the Provosts’ Forum on the Future of University Teaching (May 1) and the University of Windsor-Oakland University Conference on Teaching and Learning (May 2)!
This year’s topic, On the Verge: Debating the Future of University Teaching asks us to explore where we are headed next. What innovations are changing the way your students are learning, and the way you’re teaching? The conference will focus on teaching and learning now and soon – what you envision, what you dread, and what you’re doing about it.
Proposals are welcome from faculty, staff, and students until February 28. For more information on possible topics, see below.
To learn more about the conference, and/or submit a proposal visit: http://cleo.uwindsor.ca/oakland/index.php.
The future of how: modes, media, and meaning in an era of ubiquitous information
Questions like….
- How are you using new technologies and new media to reach students in new ways?
- How are you implementing new approaches like flipped classrooms, MOOCs, e-books, or learning outcomes assessment? What difference is it making to teaching and learning?
- How do you work with, and around, the connectivity of mobile technologies?
- How are you contributing to the future of university teaching?
- How are you addressing challenges emerging from the political, economic and social climate in the post-secondary sector?
- How do you balance information acquisition, meaning making, and skill development in your teaching and program development?
- How are institutions beginning to use massive data sets to inform institutional and teaching decisions? How are these practices impacting learning and success
- How does your new program meet emerging needs of students, employers and your discipline?
The future of who: learners, traditional and non-traditional; communities; networks; markets, education systems, and the role of government
Questions like….
- Who are the learners at the university of the future? What are the implications of changing populations for your practice?
- What new interdisciplinary and interdepartmental teams are building integrated support and opportunity for your students?
- Which students need specific kinds of support or opportunities – and how are you meeting those needs? What emerging groups of students need more help?
- Who are the instructors now and in the future — and how are you supporting their development and growth?
- Who is marginalized now – or will be – and how are you trying to address that?
- Who is open to change? Who isn’t? Why?
The future of what: curricula, programs, pressures, purposes
Questions like….
- What is the purpose of university study, and how is that changing? What has that meant in your program or teaching?
- What are the core programs of your university? What changes are being incorporated, and why?
- What impact are changes you’ve made in your program having on student learning and prospects?
- What have you changed or added to a program, course, or institution recently? Why, and how will that unfold in the future?
- What new kinds of information are shaping decision making about university programs and practices?
- What do you think we’re losing as we head into the future? What do you think we should do about it?
- What was the last straw? What did you do then?
The future of where: creating space for learning — on campus, in the work place, at home
Questions like….
- If the University is where students and faculty create knowledge and learning, where is the university now and where will it be in the future?
- Given emerging technologies, private industry models, internationalization, the growth of colleges – where is post-secondary learning happening now and what will the future bring?
- How are new campus spaces, and newly equipped campus spaces, changing what you and students can do?
- Where do you students come from? Why does that matter?
- Articulation agreements and credit transfer among institutions – what is emerging, and what are the implications for teaching practice?
The future of when: teaching at the speed of change; new patterns and pathways to credentialing and re-schooling.
Questions like….
- What innovations around credentialing and prior learning assessment are evolving at your university or in your field?
- What are the necessities, pitfalls and promise of flexible curriculum design (e.g. shorter degrees, credit transfer, modular programs, and certificate programs)?
- When will universities become more flexible in the face of disruptive change to the sector as a whole?
- What are the emerging challenges and effective practices associated with asynchronous learning?
The future of why: factors determining new directions, and the interests that our institutions serve
Questions like….
- Why are students in your course, program, or university succeeding like never before?
- Why will universities thrive in the future? Or why will everything fall apart?
- Why did your initiative get support? What actions did you take that made it sustainable over the long run?
- Why are you changing what you do in the classroom or with student? How is that working out?
- Why will people keep teaching? What will make them resilient in the face of change?
- Why will everyone take their courses online? Why won’t they? Evidence from your practice.
To learn more about the conference, and/or submit a proposal visit: http://cleo.uwindsor.ca/oakland/index.php.
The guest post below is from Laura Prada. Laura works on campus in the University of Windsor’s Educational Development Centre where she facilitates many workshops for students through the S.T.E.P.S. (Skills to Enhance Personal Success) program.
On Wednesday, January 09, 2013, as part of GATA Winter Academy, Laura Prada helped participants think through the process of explaining things effectively. Teaching assistants are often called upon to repeat or clarify concepts from lectures, labs, or textbooks. Follow Laura’s presentation below for some tips on being more effective the next time you need to explain something.
Lecturing is about effective communication, in particular, effective explanation.
Learning how to lecture can help you not only with classroom teaching, it can help you with the countless lectures that go by other names: presentations, addresses, speeches, and sermons.
When you explain something, you want the person to be able to imagine what you are talking about. Use lots of details, describe feelings, include emotions (like fear and surprise). In the example video, the husband seems convinced right away. In real life however, you need to be ready for questions and debate.
Lecture actively: Attention tends to drift off after 15-20 minutes so it’s your opportunity to introduce an activity, a discussion, a video to shake things up. By doing this, students will get a
second peak of attention that would be beneficial.
Know your audience: Don’t make assumptions about your students’ knowledge of lack of it. Pay attention to body language and signs of frustration or confusion.
Seduce their curiosity: The beginning matters the most. An engaging opening grabs students’ attention. During the lecture, students are trying to maintain their attention while making connections to the opening you used. The beginning and the end is what they remember the most.
Begin with a question: A provocative question sets off the lecture as the answer to the question posted.
Get to the point: It is your job to specify the destination of the lecture and help people get there. Make sure they get the point of the lecture without wondering around through irrelevant tangents. Repeat the main points to ensure they’re remembered.
Jargon kills understanding: Whenever you must use it, you should explain it.
Use cues to direct attention: As you come to an important point let them know by using phrases like “Here’s the first concept you need to remember. Listen closely”
Encourage student response: Let students ask questions. Invite students to disagree and object.
Less is more
Create a coda: An interesting bit that captures the overall point of a lecture that summarizes and sets off further thinking.
Basically:
- Make a concise statement.
- Display it visually.
- Re-express it.
- Elaborate using details, illustrations, graphics, stories, examples.
- Get feedback.
- Summarize and re-state the point.
Your lecture should only be as long as your explanation.
Resources
Literary tools work wonders: Metaphors, analogies, examples, anecdotes and stories are all powerful tools. When something does not make sense to students, an example or a story can be the perfect way for them to get the concept.
Use visual aids: The more input the better.
The focus of the lecture is not the slides: If you must use slides, do not use an overload of information. Rather, use them as a guideline to help students keep track of the lecture.
Give yourself options: Have a discussion as a Plan B or an activity in case things don’t go the way you planned them.
Make a case: When trying to convince them, use diagrams, facts, competing pros and cons.
Add some drama: A good one! A compelling story or humour work well. Be careful though, you don’t want to offensive so watch for signs since this is hard to predict.
Don’ts
- Do not leave without a conclusion
- Do not go over time and expect them to stay in the classroom
- Don’t overwhelm them with data
- Don’t have a slide with important information without taking the time to read it out loud
- Make sure you are not writing your slides or visual aids the way you speak remember: spoken English is not written English.
- Don’t lecture when another method is more appropriate!
Cons of Lecturing
Lecturing presents the same content at the same pace for all people even though we all learn differently and have different levels of background knowledge on the subject.
With lecturing, learners are assumed to be passive vessels. One-way communication has proven to be as beneficial as no lecture at all by some researchers when it comes to teaching skills like problem solving and critical thinking.
Lectures are not effective when teaching attitudes and values; these requires expression, application/experience and reflection.
Overall, lectures are less effective than other teaching methods at helping students learning and retain content, and to transfer what they have learned to other courses. If people are not paying attention, they aren’t learning.
Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) is seeking a summer research intern. Could that be you?
Internship Position Title: Summer Research Intern
Location: Toronto
Duration: Up to four months (May – August 2013)
Type: Full-time contract position (paid $18.40 per hour)
Job Description
HEQCO seeks skilled policy/education/social science students or graduates to join our small and dynamic research team. We are looking forward to the opportunity to help you enhance and develop knowledge and skills that will be useful for your career success; familiarize you with the opportunities that exist for careers in public policy research; and provide you with extensive knowledge in higher education and the postsecondary sector in Ontario. At the end of this opportunity you should be well placed to advance in your career.
Reporting to the Executive Directors, the Summer Research Intern may be responsible for any or all of the following:
- conducting literature reviews, developing surveys and performing scans on policy development
- writing and preparing briefings, reports, graphs, tables and presentations for senior researchers
- assisting in statistical data analysis and evaluation using data analysis software such as SAS, STATA, or SPSS
- participating in projects, workshops, conferences, etc. as part of a team
As the Summer Research Intern, you will be involved in a number of research activities, in particular on a research project of your choice with a senior research member where you will be exposed to a variety of research techniques and problems in public policy research.
Job Requirements:
- currently enrolled in or recently graduated from a graduate/post-graduate program in public policy, education, social science or a related field and/or experience in applied research utilizing quantitative and qualitative methods
- understanding of policy planning, research, analysis, design, development and evaluation processes
- organized, self-motivated, and able to work both independently and as a team member
- exceptional writing and verbal communication skills
- knowledge of office productivity software (e.g. MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
- statistical analysis and evaluation skills
- knowledge of higher education (and ideally the postsecondary sector in Ontario) would be an asset
Interviews will take place: at the Employer’s Location
Number of Positions: TBD
Interested applicants are invited to submit both a cover letter and resume electronically to HEQCO by February 18, 2013 at the following email address: hr@heqco.ca.
Please note only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
For more information visit: http://www.heqco.ca/en-CA/About%20Us/Career_Opportunities/Pages/Home.aspx.
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