March 13, 2020

Session 1 - 2:15 to 3:45pm - HSB 240

Gender Pronouns and Teaching

Tommy Mayberry, University of Guelph

We’ve all done it. Said the wrong pronoun, used the wrong name, and/or otherwise referred to someone in some sexed/gendered way and immediately wished we could take it back. (And, guess what? We are all going to do it – we’re all human; we all make mistakes.) So, how can we as instructors forestall these mistakes in our teaching practices and activate in ourselves an inclusive ideology for gender and sexed identities in our classrooms? In this session, we’ll start with some grammar and linguistic history to identify where these words come from in our language and how they work (and don’t work), and then we’ll discuss impacts and impasses of privilege and inclusivity to get us into some strategies for positive engagement with gender pronouns and teaching.

Tommy Mayberry (he/she/they) is an Educational Developer in the Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL) at the University of Guelph as well as Co-Chair of the QUofG Network (the Queer University of Guelph Faculty and Staff Network). As an academic drag queen, Tommy works and researches from an embodied standpoint to explore, both individually and intersectionally, gender, pedagogy, performance, language, social media, and reality TV (to name but a few) and has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants, the most recent of which is the University of Guelph’s Learning Enhancement Fund (LEF) for “The Science Library Project/Le projet de bibliothèque scientifique” (2019-2020). Tommy is also co-editor of the forthcoming book, RuPedagogies of Realness: Essays on RuPaul’s Drag Race and Teaching and Learning (McFarland, 2020) and has presented academic work and research across Canada and internationally in Oxford, Tokyo, Washington DC, and Honolulu.

June 3, 2019

Session 1 - 1:00 to 2:30pm - UCC 146

Frontiers of Science: Equipping All Students with Scientific Habits of Mind

David J. Helfand, Columbia University

Join Dr. David Helfand to learn about how first-year students benefit from being introduced to the forefront areas of scientific research while also learning quantitative reasoning skills and scientific habits of mind. These skills are essential for life as an informed citizen in our technology-saturated world. Columbia University is about to celebrate the centennial of its common Core Curriculum, a series of courses taken by all first- and second-year students in seminar format. Until fifteen years ago, however, this so-called "Intellectual Coat of Arms" of the institution consisted of seven humanities courses and zero courses in science and math. This changed in 2004 with the introduction of the Frontiers of Science course. David will share his experiences with structuring the course and describe the techniques that were used to implement and assess the curriculum. 

Dr. David Helfand chairs the department of astronomy at Columbia University where he has served on the faculty for four decades. He has also been a visiting scientist at the Danish Space Research Institute, the Sackler distinguished visiting astronomer at the University of Cambridge and president of the American Astronomical Society. He was a founding tutor and served as president and vice-chancellor at Quest University in Canada. He has published commentary in Nature, Physics Today, The Globe and Mail, The Washington Post and The New York Times, among other publications.

Session 2 - 2:45 PM TO 4:00 PM - UCC 146

How do We Engage Students as Partners in Teaching and Learning?

Peter Felten, Elon University

Typically, we teach to students. What happens if we approach our work differently, aiming to teach with students? Emerging research suggests that engaging students as partners in teaching and learning has the potential to enhance, and perhaps even transform, student learning—and our teaching. This interactive session will explore practical strategies from diverse disciplines for creating and sustaining student-faculty partnerships in teaching and learning.

Dr. Peter Felten is a Professor of History, Assistant Provost for Teaching and Learning, and Executive Director of the Center for Engaged Learning at Elon University. His books include the co-authored volumes: Engaging Students as Partners in Learning and Teaching; The Undergraduate Experience: Focusing Institutions on What Matters Most; and Transforming Students: Fulfilling the Promise of Higher Education. His current research focuses on the influence of human relationships, as well as individual and institutional change, in undergraduate education. He was president of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (2016-17) and is a fellow of the Gardner Institute, which works to advance equity in higher education.

June 4, 2019

Session 3 - 4:00 PM TO 6:00 PM - Weldon Library 258

Assessing Intercultural Learning Outcomes at the Course Level

Darla Deardorff, Duke University

Intended as an advanced workshop for those already familiar with intercultural learning outcomes assessment, this workshop will engage participants in case study discussions as well as further development of intercultural learning outcomes assessment in their own contexts.  Participants are asked to bring specific course outcomes with them. 

Dr. Darla Deardorff is the Executive Director of the Association of International Education Administrators, a research scholar at Duke University’s Social Science Research Institute, and holds faculty positions at universities in several countries including Nelson Mandela University and Shanghai International Studies University. She is on the faculty of Harvard University’s Global Education Think Tank as well as the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication in Portland, Oregon. She is a founder of global research and development network ICC Global and regularly gives invited talks, trainings and workshops around the world.

June 6, 2019

Session 4 - 4:30 TO 5:30 PM - Weldon Library 258

Healing the Wound with the Weapon: Post-Secondary Education and Reconciliation

Co-Sponsor: Candace Brunette-Debassige, Special Advisor to the Provost (Indigenous Initiatives)

Kevin Lamoureux, University of Winnipeg

This session will explore the role of institutions, such as universities, in reconciliation. We are not responsible for having created the problems, but we have all inherited the wreckage of broken relationships. We have also inherited tools and opportunities to create change. We will discuss practical ways that we can work together in post-secondary to move forward in a good way.

Kevin Lamoureux is a faculty member at the University of Winnipeg and a well-known public speaker. He has served as an Associate Vice-President for the University of Winnipeg, education lead for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, and as scholar in residence for several school divisions. He has appeared on television, in documentaries, in print and in the media. He is committed to reconciliation and contributing to an even better Canada for all children to grow up in.

 June 7, 2019

Session 5 - 9:00 TO 11:00 AM - UCC 146

Reconciliation within Post-Secondary Institutions: An Indigenous Woman's Leadership Experience

Jacqueline Ottmann, University of Saskatchewan

Co-Sponsors: Equity & Human Rights Services and Candace Brunette-Debassige, Special Advisor to the Provost (Indigenous Initiatives)

In this presentation, Jacqueline Ottmann will share the university-wide structural, systems and systematic transformations that supported reconciliation that she has experienced and initiated from an Anishinaabe woman’s leadership perspective.

Dr. Jacqueline Ottmann is the Vice-Provost of Indigenous Engagement at the University of Saskatchewan, an international researcher, an advocate, and a change-maker who aims to transform practices inclusive of Indigenous leadership, methodologies, and pedagogies. She is Anishinaabe (Saulteaux), a former elementary and high school teacher and principal. She was at the University of Calgary for 13 years where her roles included coordinator of the First Nations, Métis and Inuit undergraduate teacher education programme and director of Indigenous education initiatives within the Werklund School of Education. She also co-chaired the Werklund School of Education Indigenous strategy, and alongside the provost, the university-wide Indigenous strategy.