Future Prof Series (FPS)

Pre-requisite: "Mental Health 101: Supporting Student Wellness" eLearning module

You have learned the basics about mental health and mental illness by completing the "Mental Health 101: Supporting Student Wellness" eLearning module. Now you want to take a strengths-based approach to the way you cultivate student mental health as a TA. In this workshop you will consider how your experiences with mental health influence your goals and leadership style as a TA, share your own wellness leadership approaches as a TA, challenge stigma and misconceptions about mental health and mental illness, and design strategies to reach students who are less likely to request mental health support.

Presenter: Kate Barnes

Pre-requisite: Pre-requisite: "Leadership in Wellness Part 1: Cultivating Student Mental Health" Future Prof workshop

In this highly interactive workshop, you will participate in multiple feedback cycles using the Notice-Listen-Connect model to practice and exchange feedback on: initiating a mental health conversation with a struggling student; engaging in an authentic, strengths-based dialogue with that student; and referring them to professional support.

Presenter: Kate Barnes

Even the best TAs can feel nervous about giving their first (or one of their first) lectures. Without a lesson outline or the built-in active learning of a lab or tutorial, it can be hard to know where to start. This workshop will walk participants through the phases of guest lecture preparation, from questions to ask the regular instructor, to outlining your talk, to collecting feedback on your lesson. Participants will reflect on what lecture formats and structures best reflect their topics and when and how to integrate active learning in even the largest, most traditional lecture classrooms.

Presenter: Lisa Aikman

How do you balance creating a space where students can express themselves and the need to maintain some control over what happens in your lesson? This session will offer methods for keeping your students on topic and on track in the classroom. Together, we will explore options for dealing with disruptive behaviours and "hot button" classroom scenarios.

Presenter: Lisa Aikman

What if I told you there’s no such thing as “the average student”? How would you go about planning a lesson or a course without knowing what kinds of cultural and learning differences your students will bring to the room? Registrants in this workshop will be added to an asynchronous learning module for 2 weeks. Through this module, you will learn how to define UDL, anticipate possible barriers in your learning environment, and reflect on your own teaching philosophy as it relates to equity, diversity, and decolonization.

Presenter: Lisa Aikman

Not all teaching happens in the classroom. Whether you are supervising a lab, guiding an undergraduate thesis project, or training team members in a new job, mentoring international and new resident students and professionals is a valuable teaching skill. In this workshop, participants will reflect on their own communication styles, explore strategies for clarifying supervisory boundaries and expectations, and discuss ways to provide clear and effective feedback to supervisees.

To get the most out of this session, we recommend reading pages 7-17, and page 23 of the “Western Guide to Mentoring Graduate Students Across Cultures”. Access the guide by clicking here.

Presenter: Lisa Aikman

This workshop explores how affect and learner motivation are intrinsically linked to individual traits, backgrounds, and identities: including neurological, cultural, and personal differences. We will discuss different ways in which learners can be engaged and motivated in learning, and how to provide multiple means of Engagement in your course designs. We will examine each of the UDL guidelines for Engagement, including how to recruit student interest, help your learners sustain effort and support students’ self-regulation.

Presenter: Lisa Aikman

This workshop focuses on how learners differ in how they perceive and understand information. We will discuss learner variability and explore concrete ways of representing information in different ways that will reduce barriers to understanding and participation for diverse classes. Participants will walk away with strategies for integrating Universal Design for Learning in general, and multiple means of representation in particular, into their work as TAs and course instructors.

Presenter: Lisa Aikman

How do you believe learning happens? What is the teacher’s job in making learning meaningful? Being able to articulate your own personal philosophy of teaching is an important step in building a reflective teaching practice and in drafting a teaching dossier. This workshop will introduce participants to some of the major theories of learning and provide space for guided reflection to begin articulating your own personal teaching philosophy. We will also review some of the characteristics of strong teaching philosophy statements to help participants prepare to write teaching dossiers.

Presenter: Lisa Aikman

In this workshop, we will focus on how learners differ in their approaches to learning tasks and their ability to navigate learning environments and express understanding. We will explore different approaches to learning and assessment design that allow for multiple means of action and expression while still upholding constructive alignment with course outcomes. Whether it's planning activities for your lab or tutorial, or designing assessments for your course, we will examine how to introduce UDL guidelines for action and expression into your teaching as TAs and Course Instructors.

Presenter: Lisa Aikman

This series of eLearning modules guides graduate students and postdocs through the process of drafting a teaching dossier, with particular focus on identifying and articulating your own philosphy of teaching. Participants will be added to the OWL site on March 27th and have access to it until April 24th. 

Note: This workshop will be offered online, asynchronously from Wednesday March 27th to Wednesday April 24th. Registration closes at 12:00PM on March 27th.

Presenter: Lisa Aikman

What role will Generative AI play in your classroom, tutorial, or lab? This session provides an overview of potential use cases of Generative AI as well as examples of where Generative AI in the classroom is not recommended. Participants will discuss strategies for finding out where, if at all, Generative AI could be a teaching tool in their classroom and will prepare ways to model the appropriate use of Generative AI for their students.

Presenters: Lisa Aikman and Muneer Huda

The Research on Teaching and Learning Symposium showcases research on teaching and learning projects done here at Western. It also provides the opportunity for faculty members, librarians and archivists, postdoctoral scholars, and graduate students who wish to learn more about research on teaching and learning or who have considered doing such scholarship to hear about colleagues' projects and ask questions. We hope that you will join us for an insightful discussion on research on teaching and learning!

Presenters: Laura Cayen (Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies), Marguerite Lengyell (Education), Jacqueline Torti (Medicine), and Katelyn Wood (Anatomy and Cell Biology) and Paul Mensink (Biology)

As a graduate student or post-doc, you are likely to encounter a situation or two that will require navigating a conflict and looking for successful resolutions and outcomes. In this session, participants will explore promising practices for conflict resolution whilst navigating cultural differences. Participants will be asked to complete brief readings before the workshop and be provided time within it to practice conflict resolution skills and discuss ways to build trusting and secure relationships with their students and supervisors.

Presenter: Nassisse Solomon