Bridges
Reflecting the Scholarship of
Teaching and Learning at the
University of Saskatchewan
Fall 2010
Volume 9, No. 1
A Perspective on
W
hen we think of heritage, many
images may come to mind:
family lineage and traditions, ethnic
or racial ancestry, or events from some
collected memory of our shared history.
The heritage of the university might be
imagined as a medieval construction
of European origin, preserving and
guarding scarce knowledge and
carefully monitoring
its retransmission to
the next generation’s
elite. Or it might be
imagined through
the pomp and
circumstance and
colourful robes of our
convocations.
The University of
Saskatchewan’s
heritage might be
thought of as rising
from the dreams of
Saskatchewan’s early
settlers, seeking a
classical education for their children.
But today we want to offer a different
notion of heritage for the University
of Saskatchewan –springing from
the territory along the banks of a
swift-flowing river, land that defines
our sense of place, land that has been
here for millennia, territory defined in
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1
Heritage
Treaty 6 and subject to Treaty 8 and
11. The heritage of Saskatchewan
dates back to a history long before the
European settlers. And the heritage
of the University of Saskatchewan is
intimately linked to the land on which
it stands and the people who walked
this land throughout its past, present
and future.
For many of its early years, the
University of Saskatchewan progressed
without much heed of Aboriginal
peoples and held a colonialist
perspective that still persists in
some of its traditions, practices and
1
presumptions. But finally, in recent
years, we see the beginnings of a
sincere desire to connect the University
with Aboriginal peoples and perhaps
to recognize its true heritage. We
sometimes use the language of
“engaging”1 Aboriginal communities,
connecting in a significant way the
activities of the University with the
activities of Aboriginal
communities. But
even the language of
engagement still sets
up an “us and them”
duality. We all must
get beyond that. We
all must recognize
the University of
Saskatchewan as having
its roots, its heritage,
in the land of First
Nations. And in so
much as the University
of Saskatchewan is the
university of the people
of Saskatchewan, and if
this University indeed needs to honour
its heritage, the “us” in “usask” needs to
refer to all the people who tread on this
land: past, present and future.
If we seek to understand, value and
celebrate our sense of place, we also
www.usask.ca/gmcte
Fall 2010
Vol. 9 No. 1
The Gwenna Moss Centre for
Teaching Effectiveness
University of Saskatchewan
Room 50 Murray Building
3 Campus Drive
Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A4
Phone (306) 966-2231
Fax (306) 966-2242
Web site: www.usask.ca/gmcte
Bridges is distributed to every
teacher at the University of
Saskatchewan, to all the teaching
centres in Canada, and to some
beyond. It is also available on
our web site. Your contributions
to Bridges will reach a wide
local, national, and international
audience.
Please consider submitting an
article or opinion piece to Bridges.
Contact any one of the following
people; we’d be delighted to hear
from you:
Jim Greer
Director, ULC and GMCTE
Phone (306)966-2234
jim.greer@usask.ca
Brad Wuetherick
Program Director
Phone (306)966-1804
brad.wuetherick@usask.ca
Christine Anderson Obach
Managing Editor (Bridges)
Program Manager
Phone (306) 966-1950
christine.anderson@usask.ca
Corinne Fasthuber
Assistant
Phone (306) 966-2231
corinne.fasthuber@usask.ca
need to understand, value and celebrate
the heritage of this place and its
Aboriginal roots. From this view of
heritage stemming from land on the
banks of a fast flowing river dotted
with game and teepees, the greystone
buildings may seem a little out of place,
the traditions we have long honoured
may seem a little odd, and the way
we have been teaching may seem a
little weird. The dissonance of these
perceptions warrants some reflection.
ENDNOTE
1. Oddly, the term “engage” has many
meanings – to engross or hold the
attention of someone, to fascinate
or win over someone, to employ or
obtain the services of someone, to bind
through legal or moral obligation, to
enter into (an activity), to keep busy or
occupied, to cause something to mesh
or interlock, to draw into conversation,
to enter into battle, or even to bring
the enemy under fire – and none
of these meanings is really all that
desirable.
http://engage.askdefine.com/
Jim Greer is the Director
of the University Learning
Centre and the Gwenna
Moss Centre for Teaching
Effectiveness. He is also a
professor in the Department
of Computer Science.
Candace WasacaseLafferty was appointed
to the position of director,
aboriginal engagement
with Human Resources
in January 2010. She has
been with HR for the past
eight years and for the past
four as an HR consultant.
In This Issue.....
1—A Perspective on Heritage
3­—Beyond the Tower
5—Angela Ward
6—Stories that Leave
Lasting Impressions
9—It Is Not How Far,
But How Well
10— ‘Scholarship
Reconsidered’ Reconsidered
14—There Must Be Fifty Ways
16—Course Design Week:
A Retrospective
18—Congratulations
on Ten Years
20—Teaching Award Info
To me,
education is a
leading out
of what is
already there
in the pupil’s
soul.
Muriel Spark
Views expressed in Bridges are
those of the individual authors and
are not necessarily those of the
GMCTE staff.
ISSN 1703-1222
2
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1
Beyond the Tower:
Internationalizing the Learning Environment
By Sheryl Mills, GMCTE
G
lobalism and the University of
Saskatchewan: The Foundational
Document for International Activities
at the University of Saskatchewan
(September, 2003) stated: “It is
imperative that we train our students
to be responsible to the challenges and
opportunities of the rapidly changing
global society and economy” (p.1). The
document highlights five dimensions:
•Internationalizing the learning
environment
•Enhancing international
academic mobility
•Promoting the academic
success of international students
•Strengthening international
research and graduate training
•Supporting internationalization
through service and outreach
I used this excerpt from The Evolving
Self (Csikszentmihalyi, 1993, p.
69) to introduce the concept of
ethnocentrism to my education
students. Ethnocentrism is a common
human tendency; we are generally
more comfortable and favouring of that
which we know and deem “normal.”
For me, internationalizing the
curriculum, at its very foundation, is
highlighting this tendency and learning
beyond it.
This article focuses on the first
dimension: Internationalizing
the learning environment.
Peasants living in the tiny
hamlets of the Hungarian plains
occasionally told visitors: ‘Did
you know that our village is the
center of the universe? No? You
can check it out for yourself easily
enough. All you need to do is go to the
square in the middle of the village. In the
middle of the square is the church. If you
climb its tower, you can see the fields and
forests spreading out in a circle all around,
with our church at the center.’ The fact
that neighboring villages also thought
they were at the center of the universe
didn’t matter because—after all what did
foreigners living on the periphery of the
universe know?
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1
shock when I became vice-principal
at Pleasant Hill Community School.
This was the most culturally different
experience I had to that point in my
life. I was 26. My university experience
prepared me to be a teacher, but it did
nothing to prepare me for anything
culturally different from that to which
I was accustomed. I was ill prepared to
cross the river let alone cross the world!
I’ve since travelled extensively and have
come to realize that we all often share
the perspective of the Hungarian
peasants unless we are exposed
to other towers. Even though the
world has become smaller with
technology and increased mobility,
it may still be the case for some
of our Saskatchewan students
that they, metaphorically and/or
literally, have not yet gotten off
their continent. It is imperative
that Saskatchewan students have
the opportunity to be introduced
to the global community, and
that international students feel
welcomed and included when they
come here from other countries
for their post-secondary and/or
graduate education.
Internationalization assists
When I first attended this university
students who do not have the
as a student, after attending Walter
opportunity to study abroad to
Murray Collegiate, I only had to
gain global perspectives through an
travel further down Preston Avenue,
internationalized education at home
probably no farther than the distance
and, for students traveling from other
the Hungarian peasants could see from countries to study at the University of
their church tower. I moved further
Saskatchewan, an internationalized
afield for my first teaching job—I
curriculum potentially offers a
crossed the South Saskatchewan to
hospitable and welcoming environment
teach at River Heights Elementary
that facilitates learning and sustains
School. From Eastview to River
engagement.
Heights wasn’t a shock, but I was in
3
www.usask.ca/gmcte
As a sessional lecturer in Education,
I started most first classes of the term
with a go around of introductions.
Because I felt that it was as important
for students to get to know each other
and me as it was to be introduced to
course expectations, every student had
the opportunity to hear everyone’s
name several times and to say each
name at least once.
One year, at the end of the term, an
international student with a multisyllabic, culturally different first name
came and personally thanked me for
the name game we played in the first
class. More students approached her
and included her in that class than
in any other class she had taken on
campus. She attributed that to other
students being able to pronounce her
name. You may have experienced that
awkward feeling when you have either
forgotten someone’s name, or you can’t
pronounce it. A common strategy in
such a situation is avoidance. When
other students could say her name, this
student was included more often.
Practical Ideas
A successfully internationalized
curriculum emphasizes a wide range
of teaching and learning strategies
that support a diversity of learning
modes, including experiential learning.
The best teaching and learning
strategies engage local students with
international students, especially in
well-structured cooperative projects.
Make a point to include case studies,
field studies, role-plays, simulations,
and reading content that contain global
content, multicultural/intercultural
examples, and international situations.
Include research assignments and
problem-solving exercises that focus
on global content, skills, practices, and
local organizations or companies that
do international business or projects.
Invite student participation and
provide opportunities for independent
learning perhaps through journal
writing and other kinds of selfreflective writing with a global focus.
In addition to avoiding the
reinforcement of cultural stereotypes,
proactively challenge and dispel
cultural stereotypes. Provide examples
of how knowledge is constructed
differently from one culture to another.
Address social injustice, human rights,
and political, economic, cultural or
social issues from a global perspective.
Specific to your discipline, focus on
business, industry, environmental
issues, and/or management practices
from a global perspective. Incorporate
professional skills or practices from
other countries and cultures. Address
human relations, health, and/or family
practices and skills, and focus on
ethical issues from a global perspective.
Keep this checklist front
and centre:
In my classes I…
•Embed global, international,
intercultural examples in the content
of the course.
•Integrate active learning strategies,
such as cooperative learning, case
studies, problem-solving, field
studies, independent study and
research, reflective journal writing,
and/or simulations.
•Assign and encourage readings
that highlight a wide variety of
perspectives.
•Take every opportunity to
challenge cultural stereotypes.
•Use global examples from your own
travels and experiences.
•Point out the tower we’re observing
from.
•Encourage students to know and
be able to say each other’s names.
FYI
Watch for internationalization and
inter-cultural workshops being offered
by the Gwenna Moss Centre this fall.
The U of S will be hosting the 2011 conference for the Society of Teaching and Learning
in Higher Education (STLHE) on June 15-18, 2011.
Theme: From Here to the Horizon: Diversity and Inclusive Practice in Higher Education.
The Gwenna Moss Centre is delighted to be coordinating this event. If you are interested in being part of
the conference planning team or a volunteer, please send an email to stlhe.2011@usask.ca.
4
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1
Introducing
Dr. Angela
Ward
the New Vice-Provost,
Teaching & Learning
I am deeply honoured to be following
Ernie Barber into the Acting ViceProvost, Teaching and Learning
position.
I’ve spent the last few weeks
realizing the scope of the University
of Saskatchewan’s commitments to
enhancing teaching and learning in
our institution. The range of plans
and projects is very encouraging,
because it means that Jim Greer and
the team at the Gwenna Moss Centre
for Teaching Effectiveness, along
with the University Learning Centre,
have succeeded in raising the profile
of teaching and learning among staff
and faculty at the University. As well,
Ernie’s consummate ‘behind the scenes’
strategies have encouraged all academic
and support units to contribute to
improved teaching and learning on
campus. He has for the past two
years advocated for the recognition of
the invaluable work of GMCTE and
supported all units on campus to think
more deeply about innovation and
scholarship in teaching.
from preschool through to graduate
education. Many of my most
rewarding life experiences have been
in classrooms, as both a teacher and a
researcher.
For my one year as Acting ViceProvost, I will strive to carry on Ernie’s
commitments as fully as possible,
but I also hope to focus especially on
students’ experiences as learners at our
institution. I’m deeply interested in
learning support programs, such as
those run through the ULC, and also
in the ways we invite Aboriginal and
international students into the learning
life of the university.
I look forward to conversations with
students, faculty and staff about ways
to implement the newly adopted
Learning Charter. I hope to make
a modest contribution to carrying
forward all our commitments to
teaching and learning, but most
of all to increased success for a
diverse population of students. I’m
anticipating an exciting year!
Dr. Angela Ward
My approach to the Vice-Provost
position is influenced by my long
experience in teaching at all levels,
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1
5
U of S
SOTL
Symposium
Sept. 7, 2010
The Centre for Discovery in Learning (CDL) and the Gwenna Moss
Centre for Teaching Effectiveness
(GMCTE) are pleased to announce
the First Annual U of S Scholarship
of Teaching & Learning (SOTL)
Symposium to be held on September 7, 2010. The event will feature
a plenary session and workshops by
Dr. Gary Poole, Professor, UBC and
President of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching
and Learning.
Featured Plenary - Dr. Gary Poole
“Understanding and Participating
in the Scholarship of
Teaching and Learning”
Location: Convocation Hall,
College Building
One of the most challenging and
interesting aspects of the scholarship
of teaching and learning for those
who have not made a career out of
it is to understand just what SOTL
can encompass. Another challenge
is to broaden one’s understanding
of the range of possible outcome
measures. In this session, we will
consider a definition of the scholarship of teaching and learning and we
will look at some of these outcome
measures and brainstorm some of
our own.
Registration is free, but an RSVP
for each workshop is required. The
plenary session does not require an
RSVP. Please register through the
Calendar of Events.
www.usask.ca/gmcte
www.usask.ca/gmcte
Stories that Leave
Lasting Impressions
By Kim West, Educational Development Specialist, GMCTE
and Susan Tupper, PhD Candidate in the College of Medicine, Community Health and Epidemiology
I
n the last issue of Bridges, I talked
with Ron Marken, former Director
of The Gwenna Moss Centre, 3M
Teaching Fellow, and Professor
Emeritus of the English Department,
about the magic and meaning of
story. In the article,
I discussed why
storytelling is such
a powerful medium,
describing how stories:
each time we sat in a circle, with each
workshop participant taking a turn to
tell a brief story about themselves (the
first story they ever heard) and a story
that they tell to their students. It was
an incredibly rewarding experience
It turns out that there
are many structural
and artistic elements
that work in tandem
to make a story
that leaves a lasting
impression. Susan
and I will share what
we’ve learned from
our experiences after
you’ve had a chance
to read the story
she shares with her
students (Lawson
1986). But first, we
want you to read
Susan’s story with a
critical eye. What
stands out in the
story for you? Is it
memorable for you?
Why or why not?
-create community
-establish rapport
-build shared
experiences
-retell history
-make concepts more
real and memorable
(and thus help us
to understand and
remember)
-transform our way
of thinking about or
seeing the world
-connect us back to
our own memories
and experiences
-help us build
connections in our
brains
-empower us to
construct ideas in our
own words
-draw upon our
imaginations
-engage our creative
senses
In May 2010, after the
article was published
in our Spring 2010 newsletter, we
held a “Teaching as Storytelling”
workshop series at The Gwenna Moss
Centre. We met twice as a group, and
and Epidemiology, told one of the
stories that I remember vividly. After
listening to Susan’s story, I began to ask
myself, “Why did I remember the story
that Susan told us so vividly?” and
“How can I replicate the same type of
storytelling in my own
classroom?”
in which the participants revealed
deeply personal and complex aspects
of themselves through story. Susan
Tupper, from Community Health
6
A mother assumes when
she signs consent for
surgery that her child
will receive the best
care. In February 1985,
Jill Lawson assumed
her premature son,
Jeffrey, would receive
pain medicine and
anaesthesia during his heart surgery; but
he did not.
Jeffrey Lawson was born 3 months
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1
premature and weighed less than two
pounds. He had many health problems
including a patent ductus arteriosis
(PDA) – a naturally occurring junction
between the ventricles of the heart that
allows blood to bypass the lungs while the
fetus is in the womb. With medication
and time the PDA often closes; however,
Jeffrey required heart surgery to close the
PDA.
On the morning of surgery, Jeffrey’s
status worsened, but not enough for the
anaesthesiologist to reschedule. Jeffrey
received medication to paralyze his
muscles; however due to his worsened
condition he was not given any pain relief
or anaesthesia before, during or after
surgery.
Jeffrey had a ventilator tube put down his
throat and catheters placed in his jugular
veins on either side of his neck. His chest
cavity was opened between two of his
ribs – the muscles cut from the breast bone
around to the spine, the ribs pried open
and the lung lifted out of the way to make
room for the surgeon to tie off the PDA in
the heart. Jeffrey received layers of stitches
to close the chest, stitches for the catheter
holes in his neck and had a chest tube
inserted to drain fluid.
Jeffrey’s mother wrote, “The operation
lasted one and a half hours. Jeffrey was
awake through it all. The anesthesiologist
paralyzed him with Pavulon, a curare
drug that left him unable to move, but
totally conscious. When I questioned the
anesthesiologist later about her use of
Pavulon, she said Jeffrey was too sick to
tolerate powerful anesthetics. Anyway, she
said, it had never been demonstrated to
her that premature babies feel pain. She
seemed sincerely puzzled as to why I was
concerned.” (Lawson, 1988)
“I cannot help but wonder how such a
situation came to develop...If I had been
told by a physician, no matter how senior,
that infants don’t feel pain, I would never
have believed it. What constitutes the
difference between my reaction and that
of the thousands of physicians who did
believe it?” (Lawson, 1988)
Teaching Points
I teach classes in the pediatrics and
professional issues courses in the Master
of Physical Therapy program. There are
many teaching points that can be raised
from the Jeffrey Lawson story. In the
pediatrics classes I use it to discuss the
progress in knowledge about the ability
of infants to feel pain. It was not unusual
prior to the late 1980’s for infants up to
the age of two to undergo surgery without
pain control. Although standards of
practice have changed over the past two
decades, clinician assumptions still need
to be challenged about the importance of
eliminating or reducing pain in children.
Second, I use this story to discuss the
importance of managing pain during
physical therapy procedures. Third, this
story can be tied into a discussion on the
challenges of measuring pain in children
who cannot communicate verbally. In the
professional issues class I ask the students
to recall this story for a discussion on
advocacy and the role of research, political
and societal factors that make major
practice change happen.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Meaningful
Simple
Easy to remember
Universal
Structured
(with unexpected elements)
6) Insightful
7) Transformative
8) Emotional
9) Shared
10) Easy to retell
The reason we asked you to think about
what stood out for you in the story
Susan told is because people are often
drawn to different elements within the
story. This may be based on personal
experiences, paradigms, worldviews,
learning styles, or a variety of different
factors. The Jeffrey Lawson story is
memorable because it is so disturbing.
Most of the students hearing this
story were born in the mid-to late1980’s, which makes the story more
relatable as students consider, “that
could have been me.” While a good
story is simple and easy to remember,
it is at the same time universal in its
ability to appeal to a wide group of
listeners. The Jeffrey Lawson story has
complex details, but the final message
is simple, clear and memorable: infants
feel pain, unmanaged pain can have
long-lasting and sometimes devastating
consequences, but there are many
interventions that can be used by
health care providers to reduce pain in
their patients. The next time you read
or listen to a great story, think about
what appealed to you in the story.
Then consider what elements of the
story could appeal to different learners
and why.
As you can see, Susan uses this story in
her teaching for a number of reasons.
As with any pedagogic approach, you
should first reflect on the reasons
why you wish to use stories in your
teaching. You should think about why
a particular story is meaningful and
how it relates to the situation at hand
(teachable moment) or the content you Good stories also follow a certain
pattern, or structure, that is created
teach.
The night of the surgery, Jeffrey had to
from three elements: protagonist (main
be resuscitated and his lab tests showed he But beyond that, what leads a story to character), conflict, and plot (structured
was in extreme stress and shock. Jeffrey
order). Most conflict is created by
make a lasting impression? In almost
died five weeks later. His mother reflected, any context, including teaching, good
setting the protagonist against an
antagonist (opposing character), or
stories are:
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1
7
www.usask.ca/gmcte
to a lesser extent, against nature or
society. The opposing force may even
be part of the protagonist’s self so
that the conflict becomes a journey
for the protagonist to overcome a
personal weakness, and in doing so,
he or she becomes a changed person
(Perrone n.d.). As I’m not a literary
expert, I won’t attempt to outline all
the details of plot, other than to say
that it typically follows a period of
set-up that introduces the story and
source of conflict (Act I), followed by
complications and higher stakes (Act
II), and culminating in a moment of
truth, final battle and resolution of
conflict (Act III; Perrone n.d.).
While there are certain aspects of a
good story we can come to expect,
there are other forces that conspire
to engage and entertain us by always
keeping us on our toes. The hook
draws the listener or reader into the
story, drawing upon the senses and
creating anticipation about what
may happen. Along the way, there
is a certain degree of unexpectedness
that occurs (Heath and Heath 2008),
creating turning points and plot
twists that keep the listener or reader
guessing along the way.
The conflict within a story may
be presented actively, whereby the
listener or reader responds to the
conflict, or passively, told by a narrator
through a specific point-of-view
Life will go on
as long as there is
someone to sing,
to dance, to tell
stories and
to listen.
Oren Lyons
(e.g. first or third person). Although
moviegoers are regularly passive
recipients, teachers can use stories
to actively engage their students in
critical thinking and problem-solving
processes (Heath and Heath 2008).
For example, in the story that Susan
told, a challenging medical situation
was described. This story provides a
level of insight into the physical and
emotional complexities, realities, and
difficulties that Susan’s students will
face someday as health practitioners.
The story also described how a single
incident or story has the power to
transform a whole community, in this
case, the medical profession. The story
she tells immediately creates shared
experiences amongst her students – “I
know someone who had that same
surgery as Jeffrey…’’-exposing personal
vulnerabilities and creating connections
that help students to understand and
remember at a much deeper level
than simply discussing the facts of a
detached case file or medical history.
Susan is able to relate the story to her
own more recent experience as the
mother of a premature infant. When
she asked if her daughter was receiving
pain medication, she was told, “she’s
too sick to feel pain.” By revealing this
personal connection to the story, Susan
is able to build a shared connection
with the students while highlighting
the ongoing misconceptions about pain
in infants.
Good stories are also easy to retell.
When we are inspired by others to
create our own stories, we engage
in a deeper understanding of the
dynamics at play and the situation
at hand. Sharing stories is a way
to connect with others and create
community. Good stories are simple
and easy to remember because we can
relate to them (universal). They are
structured in certain ways, and are
unexpected in others. They provide
insight into the complicated realities
of our professional lives (meaningful,
8
emotional) and our own vulnerabilities
as human beings. And lastly, they have
the potential to transform us by leaving
lasting impressions on our students and
ourselves.
Susan Tupper would like to acknowledge
Carl von Baeyer, professor emeritus in
Psychology, for his review of an early
version of the story. Susan is a trainee
member of Pain in Child Health, a
CIHR funded Strategic Training
Initiative in Health Research (CIHRSTIHR) and a member of the Research
Group on Pain in Childhood at the
University of Saskatchewan (www.
usask.ca/childpain).
References
Heath, C. and Heath, D. 2008. Made
to stick: Why some ideas survive and
others die. New York: Random House.
Lawson, J. 1986. Letter to the Editor.
Birth. 13, 2 ( June 1986): 124-125.
Lawson, J. 1988. Letter to the Editor.
The New England Journal of Medicine,
318, (May 26): 1398.
Perrone, C. (n.d.) Crafting outstanding
presentations: Storytelling techniques.
Transcript and slideshow retrieved
June 17, 2010 from http://www.
slideshare.net/cperrone/outsandingpresentations-4351640.
Note: The premier award in pediatric
pain advocacy, given out since 1996, is
called the Jeffrey Lawson Award. http://
www.ampainsoc.org/awards/lawson.
htm
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1
IT IS NOT HOW FAR,
BUT HOW WELL
Douglas Akhimienmhonan
PhD Candidate
Department of Bioresource Policy
Business & Economics
University of Saskatchewan
douglas.a@usask.ca
I
t was 9:30 am on Friday, January
29, 2010. Our first quiz for BPBE
272 would be the next Monday. By
my estimation we were about one day
behind on the scheduled topics before
the quiz. So in planning my teaching
for that morning, I had decided to
go a little faster than my normal pace
to enable me to complete the topics
scheduled for quiz 1. Unknown to me,
I had set a very big agenda for myself.
I had only fifty minutes to accomplish
it. How else was I supposed to catch up
with the schedule other than going a
little faster?
For the first twenty minutes I taught
at my pre-determined pace. Then, with
a feeling of accomplishment about the
‘progress’ I was making, I paused to test
my students’ understanding of what
I had just taught. I posed a question
and randomly called on one of them
to answer it. He failed. So I re-phrased
the question and requested response
from another students. She also failed.
And one student at a time, with rephrasing again and again, the question
Unfortunately on
that Friday, I was
a different teacher:
one guided by the
goal of completing a
task, rather than by
the desire to impact
knowledge.
went round seven of the twenty three
students in the class. None of them
provided a satisfactory response. At
this point I felt disappointed. At first
my sense of disappointment was for
the students. What were they doing
while I talked? They just wasted the
little precious time we had left. But
then I quickly realised it was actually
me who just failed as a teacher. If the
entire seven sampled students did not
understand my teaching, then there
had to be something fundamentally
wrong with it.
I had been so engrossed in my desire
to complete my scheduled task that
I totally forgot it was not how much
I taught that mattered, but rather
how much the students learnt. I had
performed my teaching task so fast,
that I did not give my students any
opportunity to perform their learning
The great end of education is to discipline
rather than to furnish the mind; To train
it to the use of its own powers rather than
to fill it with the accumulation of others.
Tryon Edwards
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1
9
task. It was very much unlike me to
talk for twenty minutes without asking
a question and without soliciting
questions from my students. It was
also unlike me not to have noticed
any blank expression on my students’
faces, or the little side glances and
occasional whispering, which would
have suggested to me that I wasn’t
carrying them along. Unfortunately on
that Friday, I was a different teacher:
one guided by the goal of completing
a task, rather than by the desire to
impact knowledge. So it wasn’t the
students who failed. It was me. I just
failed as a teacher.
I realised at that point that I was yet
to achieve anything for the day. The
last thirty minutes was a waste. I had
to spend the remaining 20 minutes
explaining the concepts again. I had to
begin again from the very beginning.
I had to go slowly. I had to enquire
and make sure they understood every
concept before proceeding to the next.
It did not matter to me anymore that
we were behind schedule for quiz #1.
And as a matter of fact, we ended
that class with an agreement to defer
the quiz by one class day. It was not
how far we went that mattered. What
mattered was how well we went.
www.stlhe2011.usask.ca
www.usask.ca/gmcte
Scholarship Reconsidered’ Reconsidered:
Celebrating Twenty Years of the
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
‘
Brad Wuetherick, Program Director, Gwenna Moss Centre
I
want to start by wishing the
Scholarship of Teaching and
Learning (SOTL) a Happy
Anniversary (or is it Happy Birthday?)!
In 2010, we are celebrating twenty
years since Ernest Boyer, former
President of the Carnegie Foundation
for the Advancement of Teaching,
wrote Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities
of the Professoriate (1990) and coined
the phrase ‘scholarship of teaching’.
This seems a perfect opportunity to
reflect on, or ‘reconsider,’ where we are
with SOTL here on campus, and how
we continue to move forward in this
important area.
Over the past year, as readers of
past issues of Bridges know, the U
of S has launched the Centre for
Discovery in Learning – a research
centre dedicated to advancing the
scholarship of teaching and learning
across the campus as an important,
valued, and valuable contribution to
our collective scholarly work. This
centre builds on a growing tradition
of research into teaching and learning
in higher education on campus across
the disciplines, yet for many on campus
there is still some uncertainty about
what SOTL is and how it is recognized
and rewarded on campus.
What is SOTL?
Seeking to overturn the dominant view
that to be a scholar is to be a researcher,
Boyer argued that individual faculty
must assume responsibility for ensuring
that scholarship retains a richer, more
vital meaning than has traditionally
been understood in universities
(1990). Boyer’s paradigm posits
four overlapping and interdependent
scholarships that represent the shifting
landscapes of what we engage in and
with as scholars in higher education:
• The scholarship of discovery –
advancing knowledge in the various
disciplines
• The scholarship of integration –
advancing our understanding of
interdisciplinary nature of knowledge
• The scholarship of engagement
(originally called “application”) –
advancing our understanding of how
knowledge informs and engages
society
• The scholarship of teaching
and learning – advancing our
understanding of how we teach and
learn most effectively
study of learning and/or teaching, an
underlying goal of improving student
learning and/or teaching practice, a
commitment to peer review and public
dissemination, and an impact beyond
the local context – helping to advance
the field of teaching and learning and
build the collective knowledge base in
this area.
Since Boyer, numerous definitions
of the scholarship of teaching
and learning have been proposed.
Cambridge (2001) argues that
SOTL entails problem posing about
an issue of teaching or learning,
study of the problem through
methods appropriate to disciplinary
epistemologies, application of results
to practice, communication of results,
Shifting Landscapes: Multiple Scholarships
Teaching &
Learning
Discovery
Scholarship
Engagement
Integration
From: www.uregina.ca/ctl/assets/images/sotl/sotl-01.gif
While a universally-accepted definition
of SOTL does not exist (just as there
are no universally-accepted definitions
of the other three scholarships),
common elements of most definitions
include the rigorous and systematic
10
self-reflection, and peer review. Gale
(2008) argues that SOTL involves
the gathering and interpretation of
evidence of student learning, while
inviting peer review and “going public”
with insights about how, where,
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1
and why students learn. He argues
further that in its dissemination,
SOTL influences teaching, learning
and scholarship beyond the local
context. And McKinney (2004)
argues that SOTL is the systematic
study of teaching and/or learning
and the public sharing and review
of such work through presentations,
publications or performances.
“Study” is broadly defined given
disciplinary epistemological differences.
Scholarship of teaching and learning
shares established criteria of
scholarship such that it is made public,
can be reviewed critically by members
of the appropriate community, and can
be built upon by others to advance the
field.
Baume (1996) has argued that, at
its core, SOTL asks the following
questions: What are you doing in your
teaching? Why? Is it working? What
theories and principles and values
underpin or spring from your practice?
It does so, however, as a form of
scholarly work - something we engage
in with academic rigour, integrity,
honesty and an open mind. By making
the process and outcomes of scholarly
work public for scrutiny by peers it
becomes ‘scholarship.’
Scholarly Teaching vs. the
Scholarship of Teaching
and Learning?
A common question that has emerged
over the years has emerged out of the
grey line between what has been called
scholarly teaching and the scholarship
of teaching and learning, and how
those relate to our understandings of
teaching excellence.
Kreber (2002) and Thompson (2001)
have both argued, for example, that
there are clear overlaps between these
three aspects of teaching and learning,
as demonstrated by the figure below:
Teaching
The third circle, however, distinguished
the scholarship of teaching and
Scholarly
Teaching
Scholarship of
Teaching and
Learning
From: Thompson, Samuel B. (2001)
In the largest circle - ‘teaching’ – we
can place all faculty, sessionals, and
Boyer (1990) originally articulated
graduate students who are engaged
four distinct reasons for SOTL to be
in teaching activities. It is even
an important concern for academics in reasonable to assume, that rather than
higher education - to raise the status of just ‘going through the motions’ with
teaching in higher education, to teach
respect to teaching, we should be
more effectively, to assess the quality
striving for some form of excellence in
of teaching, and, most importantly, to
our teaching. Excellent teaching can
enhance student learning. Over the
be understood to be when an instructor
past twenty years, however, a couple of is successful at achieving the outcomes
key questions have arisen about SOTL they have set for student learning,
that are key to our understanding
whether done intuitively or based on
of how the Centre for Discovery in
a deep understanding of pedagogical
Learning, in partnership with the
process.
Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching
Effectiveness and the University
The spirit of Boyer’s Scholarship
Learning Centre, will continue to
Reconsidered, however, would be that
advance SOTL here at the U of S.
we should in fact be moving beyond
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1
excellent teaching, to engaging in
teaching as part of our scholarly work
(defined above). If we truly engage
in our teaching with academic rigour,
integrity, honesty, and an open mind,
it leads us towards what has been
called ‘scholarly’ or ‘expert’ teaching,
which can be understood to be when
an instructor informs their practice
with an understanding of teaching and
learning literature (whether through
their own study or study facilitated by
others).
11
learning as a separate entity that
overlaps with excellent and scholarly
teaching, but does not necessarily
require one to be engaged actively in
teaching activities to undertake. When
an instructor or researcher explores
a specific question about teaching
and learning in a scholarly manner,
with the purpose of deepening their
understanding about students’ learning
or instructors’ teaching practice, then it
becomes SOTL.
A key component, but not required
component, for many people in the
SOTL literature is the importance
of taking a discipline-based approach
to the exploration of these questions
(Healey, 2000). Who better, for
www.usask.ca/gmcte
example, to study why chemistry
students are struggling to learn a
specific concept in organic chemistry,
and to determine possible ways of
changing pedagogical practice to
help move students beyond that
troublesome knowledge, than a
chemistry instructor who is teaching
those students and understands the
disciplinary context and knowledge?
Is SOTL always ‘Research’?
Another common question asked by
academics new to SOTL, and that
follows directly from the previous
section on scholarly teaching vs.
SOTL, is whether or not SOTL is
‘research.’ This question, which might
cause us to pause and reflect on what
we mean by the term ‘research’, is
usually couched in the struggle to
understand the role of SOTL in the
faculty evaluation and tenure and
promotion processes that academics
have to navigate.
Trigwell and Shale have argued
that there are three very different
audiences for SOTL, and depending
on the audience, significantly impacts
whether it should be counted as
‘research’ (2004). First, they argue
that SOTL can have a personal
audience (by me/for me), which
ranges from the cues teachers get
from class to classroom research/
classroom assessment techniques (see
Angelo and Cross, 1993) to improve
personal practice. Second, Trigwell
and Shale argue that SOTL can be
shared/local knowledge, where the
assessment/research is to inform (often
for policy or curriculum development
purposes) a teaching team/department/
college/institution without broader
dissemination. And third, he argues
that SOTL can be public knowledge,
where the assessment/research shared
to the broader community, with public
scrutiny (often including peer review).
While there has been debate in the
SOTL community about whether
all three audiences really count as
scholarship, there is more agreement
that it is the latter form (public
knowledge) that is understood as
‘research’ into teaching and learning.
There are, however, two sides of the
coin with respect to this issue. On the
one hand, the argument for defining
SOTL as solely public knowledge
(often peer reviewed) has emerged
largely as a response to criticism that
SOTL projects looking to improve
teaching and learning have largely
ignored the higher education/SOTL
research already done (Bok, 2006). As
well, we have not yet realized SOTL’s
promise to “make visible the theories
implicit in the practice of experts
and novices in the higher education
classroom” (Huber and Hutchings,
2008:228). On the other hand,
however, if SOTL is to be more than
a special research area of a few faculty,
it requires a “big tent” where there is
space for small-scale efforts aimed
mostly at local improvement that allow
faculty to broaden and deepen their
understanding of what it means to ask
questions, investigate, try out and share
ideas about teaching and learning.
Advancing SOTL at the
U of S
The U of S has a long tradition of
faculty, sessional lecturers, and graduate
students engaged in SOTL. Several,
in fact, have become leading experts
on teaching and learning in their
disciplines. There are, however, a
number of programs, and upcoming
events, at the U of S that are helping to
further advance SOTL on campus:
First, the CDL is hosting a research
symposium on SOTL on September
7, 2010. We are pleased to welcome
Dr. Gary Poole, former Director
of the Centre for Teaching and
12
Academic Growth and the Institute
for the Scholarship of Teaching and
Learning at UBC, and President
of the International Society for the
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
(ISSOTL), who will provide a keynote
lecture. As well, we will be having a
few workshops throughout the day
in addition to a reception showcasing
posters of SOTL projects (including
works-in-progress) from across
campus.
Second, the CDL and GMCTE
will jointly be offering a SOTL
short course (a series of workshops
that will ladder interested faculty,
sessionals, staff and students through
a SOTL project from conception to
dissemination) co-facilitated by Marcel
D’Eon, Brad Wuetherick and Krista
Trinder.
Third, annually the GMCTE offers
a number of competitive Teaching
Scholars grants, a small grant of $2000
to allow a faculty member (or team of
faculty members) to undertake a small
SOTL project.
Fourth, all faculty, sessionals, staff and
graduate students who undertake a
SOTL project on campus are welcome
to submit a short article for inclusion
in future issues of Bridges.
And fifth, the U of S is hosting the
Society for Teaching and Learning in
Higher Education (STLHE) 2011
conference. STLHE is the primary
national scholarly organization for
teaching and learning in higher
education, and the conference would
provide an ideal place to disseminate
your SOTL work, or to hear about
SOTL projects from across the country
and around the world. STLHE also
recently launched the Canadian Journal
for the Scholarship of Teaching and
Learning, which is a peer-reviewed
scholarly journal for SOTL in Canada.
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1
References
Angelo, T. and Cross, P. (1993). Classroom Assessment Techniquies. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
McKinney, K. (2004). “The Scholarship
of Teaching and Learning: Past Lessons, Current Challenges, and Future
Visions.” To Improve the Academy, 22,
3–19.
Baume, D. (1996). Editorial. International Journal for Academic Development. Thompson, Samuel B. (2001). Tutorial
on the Scholarship of Teaching and
1 (1), 3-5.
Bok, D. (2006). Our Underachieving
Colleges. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Boyer, E. (1990). Scholarship Reconsidered. Princeton, NJ: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Cambridge, B. (2001). Fostering the
scholarship of teaching and learning:
Communities of practice. In Lieberman, D. & Wehlburg, C. (Eds.), To
Improve the Academy (pp. 3-16). Boston,
MA: Anker. Gale, R. A. (2008) Points without limits: individual inquiry, collaborative investigation, and collective scholarship.
In E. Robertson and L. Nilson (Eds.).
To Improve the Academy, Vol. 26. (pp.
39-52).
Healey, M. (2000). Developing the
Scholarship of Teaching in Higher
Education: A discipline-based approach. Higher Education Research and
Development. 19 (2), 169-189.
Huber, M. and Hutchings, P. (2008).
Editorial: The Scholarship of Teaching
and Learning in the Humanities - The
Place and Problem of Theory. Arts and
Humanities in Higher Education. 7 (3).
Kreber, C. (2002). Teaching Excellence,
Teaching Expertise, and the Scholarship of Teaching. Innovative Higher
Education. 27 (1), 5-23.
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1
T
Learning (SOTL). International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and
Learning. Retrieved from http://www.
issotl.org/SOTL.html#tutorial Trigwell, K. & Shale, S. (2004) ‘Student Learning and the Scholarship of
University Teaching’ Studies in Higher
Education, Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 523-525.
You can’t help getting older,
but you don’t have to get old.
- George Burns
he Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching Effectiveness had its grand
opening in August 2000 which makes this year our 10th anniversary.
There will be no party or parade, and send no gifts please. We are celebrating
simply (eco-friendly and budget conscious) by taking a bit of time to look
back and reflect on the past years of our involvement in faculty development
at the U of S and remember with gratitude the fine group of senior
administrators, faculty, directors, coordinators and graduate students who
have all contributed to making the Gwenna Moss Centre successful.
We especially want to thank:
Present and past senior administrators for their support and
commitment to improving teaching and building a culture at the
U of S that promotes and values teaching.
All the generous and knowledgeable faculty, sessionals and graduate
students who have come though our doors to present workshops,
lead discussion groups, and advise and consult with about our
programming. They are genuinely valued friends of the Centre.
Colleges Deans, Department Heads and Directors of many units on
campus who have supported our endeavours throughout the last 10
years.
A final BIG thanks goes to our participants (over 6000 registrations
in the last 10 years!) Your willingness to learn and share ideas has
kept us current and motivated.
Within this issue you will find many short congratulatory notes from friends
of the Centre, and we thank them for taking the time to let us know that
they appreciate our work. Without trying to sound too narcissistic, we at
Centre are feeling rather self-congratulatory about this 10 year anniversary.
We are proud of the role we have been able to play in contributing to further
enhancing the teaching and learning experience at the U of S.
13
www.usask.ca/gmcte
There Must Be Fifty Ways …
By Jim Greer, Director ULC/GMCTE
A
t a time when the world’s information seems to be only a few clicks away
and sharing that information is simpler than ever, we are constrained in what
may seem to be odd ways by laws and rights. Our current Canadian copyright
law and even the forthcoming new legislation in Bill C-32 leaves us (professors
and students, teachers and learners) on the edge of illegality pretty much every
day of our lives. This article offers a number of (maybe 50) brief scenarios that
help explore the edges of copyright and “copywrong”.
1. A new version of Jane Austin’s classic has just been published – Pride and
Prejudice and Zombies, where the original classic has been adapted to make Miss
Elizabeth Bennett a zombie slayer. No permission of the author (or her publisher
or anyone else) was required. This is perfectly legal – the original book is now in
the public domain and is fair game for any kind of use or abuse.
2. Some years ago I put some of my course notes and assignments for a
Computer Science course on the open web. One day I was contacted by a
student from somewhere in the western USA asking me for a solution to one
of my assignments – his professor has taken my assignment and used it verbatim
in his class. The enterprising student felt that if his prof could rip off the
assignment, he could do the same with the solution! The professor in question
did violate my rights by reusing this without permission. There is an implicit
copyright on materials one puts on the open web if the creator’s name is
attached. This was also a case of plagiarism.
3. If I had indicated that the materials were in the public domain, the professor
would have been legally entitled to do what he did. This still would have been
plagiarism though.
4. If I had attached a creative commons license like this one:
the professor could have used the materials as long as he was careful to cite me as
the author. In fact, with this license he could have included my assignment in a
textbook he might have been writing without any requirement to contact me or
to offer me any royalty.
5. Suppose I would like to provide a book chapter or journal article to all the
students in my class. If it is an e-journal for which the library holds a site license,
I can legally provide my students with a “deep link (URL)” to the article and they
can access it through their library login.
6. If I were to turn the article into a PDF and put it on PAWS or Blackboard for
my class, I would be breaking the law, even though the library holds a site license.
Under the new Bill C-32 this might be OK, but it may need testing in court.
7. If the article in question were in a print journal, and I wanted to photocopy
a class set for my students, this could be done freely under our current Access
14
http://creativecommons.org/about/downloads
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1
Copyright license as long as the
a Blackboard site available only to my
students are not charged money for the students. Under the new Bill C-32,
copies.
this would be OK too, as long as the
source was cited and within 30 days
8. If the article was to be sold to the
after the end of the class, the slide was
students (e.g. in a coursepack), an
destroyed and students were informed
additional fee of 10 cents per page per that they could not reproduce the slide
student would be payable to Access
or retain the PowerPoint notes longer
Copyright.
than 30 days after the end of the class
either.
9. If the article in question were turned
into a PDF and put on PAWS or
14. Next suppose I put my same
Blackboard, this would be illegal now. PowerPoint slides containing the comic
Under the forthcoming legislation, this strip on a public slideshare site. This
practice would be allowed provided
would be a copyright violation (subject
that we continue to hold an Access
to fine and possible lawsuit under the
20. What if I rent a DVD at
Copyright license.
new legislation).
Blockbuster and show part of it in
my class? This is illegal now and will
10. If one print copy of the article was 15. What if instead of the comic strip
continue to be illegal under the new
put into the Library reserve collection I were using a figure from the class
legislation.
and students individually checked the
textbook? The same rules apply. This
article out to make a personal copy, this is illegal under current law (without
is completely legal to do, even without explicit permission from the publisher) 21. What if I buy a DVD and show
it to my students in class? This is still
the Access Copyright license.
but will be permitted under the new
illegal without the publisher’s consent.
legislation as above.
When the University buys DVDs, the
11. If the library creates an e-reserve
institution also pays for permission to
system that allows students to obtain
16. Now what if it were a figure from
rebroadcast them in classes.
a personal copy of a reserve article
another textbook? Again, this is
through an electronic download, this
currently illegal but will be permitted
22. Some professors wish to show in
might be allowable without Access
under the new legislation as above.
class news highlights or news parodies
Copyright. Some universities are
like the Colbert Report. Again, if
trying this now, and it will be tested
17. What if I record a two-minute
in court soon I suspect. By the way, in clip of a Rider’s game on my PVR and recorded from a TV broadcast, this is
the USA under their very restrictive
show it in my class the Monday after? illegal. If it is a clip on YouTube, the
new legislation permits showing this
Digital Millennium Copyright Act,
This is a clear copyright violation.
in class, as long as the YouTube clip
a license with a body like Access
was put up legally by the contributor.
Copyright is not required for
18. What if this is a highlight clip on
If the clip was in contravention of the
educational institutions.
some broadcaster’s website – can I
law (ripped from a TV broadcast), you
show it in class now? Under the new
should not be re-broadcasting it in
12. Suppose I find the perfect comic
legislation, yes.
class. If it was in contravention of the
strip in a magazine and I scan it into
law, YouTube will take it down as soon
a powerpoint presentation for a class I 19. Suppose further that my class
as they catch it.
am teaching. I simply show the comic is being “Coursecast,” that is, my
strip in class to my students and never classroom activity is being recorded
23. Areas of the internet not open
put the powerpoint slides on the web.
and made available in PAWS or
Under the current Canadian law, I
Blackboard for my students afterward. to the public — for example, those
involving a personal subscription and
would be in violation – but under the
Such use of a web clip from an open
a login/password or any kind of digital
new Bill C-32, this would be OK, as
website is likely OK under the new
long as the source was cited.
legislation (assuming the 30 day rule). lock — may not be displayed in class
But this might need to be tested in the without permission of the owner.
13. Now suppose instead that I also put courts to be absolutely sure.
the PowerPoint slides on a PAWS or
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1
15
www.usask.ca/gmcte
24. The current copyright law is rather
bizarre and has led to some deep
cynicism. Going back to the comic
strip example, at the current time I
could cut out a comic strip from a
magazine and pass it around to all
students in my classroom, I could
hold it up for people to look at, or
I could magnify it using a projector
that does make a copy. I could not
copy it onto a transparency and use an
overhead projector. I could not scan
it in a PowerPoint presentation. The
new legislation gets rid of this bizarre
distinction.
25. Well, we are half way to 50 and
this article is getting quite long. So I
will stop here and will make just one
final point about the title of this article.
For those of a certain vintage, the five
simple words in my title might conjure
up four additional words that together
constitute a title of a certain Paul
Simon song. Did I violate copyright
with my title? That I will leave as an
exercise for the reader to resolve.
Course
Design Week:
By Jaymie Koroluk, GMCTE
One of the first tasks I inherited with
my job as an instructional designer
with the Gwenna Moss Centre was
to facilitate a faculty workshop about
course design. I approached the
enterprise with enthusiasm, and some
nervousness too; after all, this was my
first big teaching “gig” since starting
with the GMCTE in October of 2009.
Following are some thoughts and
reflections on my experience.
“Consecrated” time
This year’s workshop took place from
May 10-14. That’s right: participants
spent a whole week immersed in the
wonderful world of course design.
While there are always questions and
concerns about this kind of time
commitment (from myself included),
there was a method to my madness:
When we offer sessions on copyright
university instructors of all types are
at the Gwenna Moss Centre, normally
incredibly busy people. Carving out
attendance can be taken with the fingers
the time to devote to something like
of one hand. Yet many actions of our
course design is no mean feat. My
instructors will regularly fall near the
goal, then, was to give participants the
boundaries of the law. Furthermore, the
University of Saskatchewan is urgently
reconsidering whether we will renew
our license with Access Copyright. If
we cancel the Access Copyright license,
copyright violations suddenly will be
taken MUCH MORE SERIOUSLY.
Anyone liberally using copyrighted
materials in their PowerPoint
presentation (without citation) or
anyone who is distributing copyrighted
materials illegally to their students is
likely to be held accountable. Know
the law and know your rights (and
wrongs). If this article has stimulated
questions, please contact the Gwenna
Moss Centre to ask them. If you are
interested in learning more, there will
be several opportunities in the very near
future.
16
A Retrospective
opportunity to work on their courses. I
figured if a week-long workshop would
help keep the meetings, phone calls
and emails at bay, if only for a little
while, then a week-long workshop it
would be.
“I think that the one week format for
this class is good; leaving time for people
to work on their courses in the afternoon
is a good idea because the participants
[were] seriously engaged with the task
of course design in the consecrated time.”
(Participant feedback)
Each morning, the group worked on
a different aspect of course design.
We went through the entire process,
from exploring the essential purposes
of teaching and learning, through to
mapping courses, writing objectives,
organizing content, and incorporating
evaluation.
An important aspect of this year’s
workshop was the inclusion of
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1
unstructured “working time” in which
participants could get down to the
business of applying what they’d
learned. There were other benefits
to this format, too. Participants got
to build relationships with their
colleagues and get an opportunity for
individualized feedback.
Teaching as a social,
collaborative act
Another great part of this year’s
workshop was the opportunity to
work with a number of wonderful
colleagues from around campus.
Marcel D’Eon (College of Medicine)
and I facilitated most of the week, with
help from Sophie Robichaud (College
of Medicine) and Andrew Robinson
(Physics Department).
Teaching is such an inherently social
activity – it makes me wonder how
we ever got into the tradition of a
lone teacher standing at the front
of a classroom. Having the other
opportunity to observe the teaching
styles of others, and have others
observe you, is invaluable. Bringing
in a variety of resource people has
benefits for learners, too.
“A combination of early careers
instructors and long-time serving
teachers provided diversity of ideas
that met the expectations of the
entire group.” (Participant feedback)
Subject matter experts
Instructors from across campus are
invited and encouraged to attend
workshops at the GMCTE, and this
year’s course design workshop was
no exception. It was great to have
such a diverse group. Working with
colleagues from a variety of colleges
and subject areas provides important
opportunities for networking. Beyond
that, something special happens when
someone who is unfamiliar with
your subject looks over your course
materials: instant student perspective!
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1
One of the things I enjoy most about
being an instructional designer is the
constant exposure to new ideas and
topics.
Many of the ideas presented in the
class have already proven very useful
and effective in my teaching, and the
relaxed atmosphere and openness
to variant feedback helped create an
environment for genuine discussion
and critical thinking about my own
teaching.” (Participant feedback)
Each subject, each class, each
offering, has unique characteristics
and concerns. Good course design
communicates more than simply the
content of your chosen subject. It
helps to impart to your students your
commitment, experience, and passion
for your field of study.
What I’ve learned
As with any good teaching experience,
I ended up learning about my own
subject. There are three ideas that I
would like to pass on to anyone who is
working at designing or redesigning a
course in the upcoming year:
1. Protect Your Time
Your willingness to put aside time
to devote to course design is a good
investment. No matter what your level
of experience with instructional design,
by taking the time to consider the
design of your course, both you and
your students will benefit.
2. Use Your Resources
It’s important to remember that
you have many resources at your
disposal: colleagues in your college or
department, as well as resources that
the University has to offer – including
resources available through the
GMCTE.
3. Consult With Others
In line with the idea of using your
resources is the notion of sharing what
you’re working on with other people.
The simple act of bouncing your ideas
17
off another person can help solve
problems and generate new ideas.
The Course Design Workshop will
be offered again next spring. As well,
the GMCTE periodically offers
workshops on various aspects of
course design throughout the year.
Contact us for more details.
Jaymie received a B.Ed in Arts
Education and a B.A. in Visual Art, both
from the University of Regina in 2005.
She came to the U of S in 2007 to pursue
a M.Ed in educational communications
and technology. At the Centre, Jaymie
coordinates workshops and consults on
teaching strategy and instructional
design, and teaches the Centre’s course
design workshop.
Jaymie’s research interests include
informal self-directed learning, video
game research, and information
visualization. Jaymie can be reached by
E-mail jaymie.koroluk@usask.ca or by
phone (966-2245).
I fully realize that I have not
succeeded in answering all
of your questions…Indeed,
I feel I have not answered
any of them completely. The
answers I have found only
serve to raise a whole new set
of questions, which only lead
to more problems, some of
which we weren’t even aware
were problems. To sum it all
up…In some ways I feel we
are confused as ever, but I
believe we are confused on a
higher level, and about more
important things.
Unknown
www.usask.ca/gmcte
GMCTE 10YearAnniversary!
After 10 years it is still an honour
to have the Centre named for me. Congratulations to all the great staff,
and may the Centre continue to
enhance and support teaching at our
University.
Gwenna Moss
We’re looking forward to the next ten
years of working together to ensure
teaching remains innovative and
exciting at the U of S.
Best wishes
the GMCTE the one place on campus
that helps inspire my teaching--the one
place, that is, beside the classroom and
wherever else I meet with students--a
warm thank you, and congratulations
on the 10th anniversary! Susan Gingell, Professor of
English
I am very grateful to the Gwenna Moss
Centre for its support of my research in
engineering education, and for raising
the profile of teaching and learning
campus-wide. Congratulations on your
10th anniversary!
Allan Dolovich Department of
Mechanical Engineering
GMCTE Teaching and
Learning Scholar 2009-10
Master Teacher 2010
Congratulations GMCTE on 10 great
years! I value the support and admire
the commitment of everyone associated
with the Gwenna Moss Centre. I
Congratulations to all the wonderful
Elizabeth Lulchak, Acting
always feel refreshed after attending
people (past and present) at the
a workshop or meeting there (... and
Director, Media Access &
Gwenna Moss Centre for 10
that’s not just from the cookies).
Production (eMAP)
years of successful faculty and
Fred Phillips
instructor development work. Your
Congratulations to the GMCTE FOR Professor of Accounting and
passion and excitement for teaching
TEN WONDERFUL YEARS. Such Baxter Scholar, Master Teacher and learning is highly contagious!
a terrific addition to our University
Thank you!
Culture. You all have made a good
Thanks to its dedicated and talented
Peggy Proctor, Clinical
University so much better.
staff, the Gwenna Moss Centre
Assistant Professor
Len Gusthart
has been very successful in offering
School of Physical Therapy,
innovative, high-quality events and
Professor, Kinesiology
programs to faculty, graduate students, U of S, Sylvia Wallace Sessional
Master Teacher, 3M Fellow
and sessional lecturers aimed at
Lecturer Teaching Excellence
building and enhancing teaching
With the approval of the University
Award winner 2008
performance. Congratulations to the
of Saskatchewan Learning Charter
Centre on its 10th anniversary. May we
by Council this June, I believe that, by
Congratulations and thank you to the
continue to benefit from your work in
building on its many successes of the
Gwenna Moss Centre on their 10th
the years to come.
past decade and the new opportunities
anniversary of providing exceptional
Michael Atkinson, Executive
provided by the Charter, the Gwenna
encouragement and support to
Moss Centre will, more than ever,
Director of The Johnsonteaching and learning at the University
play a vital role in enhancing teaching Shoyama Graduate School of
of Saskatchewan. Their services and
and learning at the University of
programs are essential to the success of
Public Policy
Saskatchewan.
our students.
Richard Long, Chair, Teaching My best wishes are for a very successful Peter MacKinnon, President
and long life for the Gwenna Moss
& Learning Committee of
and Vice-Chancellor
Centre for Teaching Effectiveness.
Council, 2008-2010.
To all the faculty, staff, and students
who have made and continue to make
Lesley Biggs, Professor
Department of History
18
Happy anniversary Gwenna Moss
Centre! GSR 989 has helped me
prepare my job applications, find my
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1
teaching philosophy and styles, and
improve my teaching skills. It was very
useful and should be taken by all
graduate students who are interested
in becoming a faculty member!
Regards,
Indratmo
Former GSR 989 Student
How does one mark ten years? My first thought was to check the
traditional gifts for a 10th wedding
anniversary—tin and aluminum. No
rich veins of metaphor there! Anyway,
it’s misleading to dwell on the number
ten, for how can one quantify the
Gwenna Moss Centre’s work? It
may be possible to tally the number
of workshops or even to calculate the
number of professors, instructors,
and graduate students who have
attended sessions, borrowed materials,
or asked for consultations (dreary, but
possible!). Yet, after a decade, the
Centre’s richness is defined not in
numbers but in influence, in engaging
U of S teachers in the enduring quest
for excellence, and in contributing to a
vibrant, dynamic learning environment
at the university.
Eileen M. Herteis, Director of
the Purdy Crawford Teaching
Centre at Mount Allison
University (founding Program
Director of the Gwenna Moss
Centre)
Congratulations to the GMCTE on
your 10th anniversary! You continue to
be an invaluable resource to me, and, as
a result, to my students!
Jason Perepelkin, Former GSR
989 student
Assistant Professor of Social
and Administrative Pharmacy
College of Pharmacy &
Nutrition
The university looks to the
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1
Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching
Effectiveness as a leader and a source
of expertise for teaching practices and
professional development for faculty,
sessionals, and graduate students.
Since 2000 the centre has developed
positive working relationships with
other units that support excellence
in teaching, and has contributed
to an awareness of the importance
of teaching to the entire campus
community. With its amalgamation
10th Anniversary Issue: A
Tribute to the GMCTE
What a wonderful ten years of
enhancing teaching and learning at
the U of S. Congratulations.
It seems like only yesterday that I
was sitting quietly in the audience
at the inauguration ceremony of
the Gwenna Moss Teaching and
Learning Centre. I was extremely
thankful to those who named the
centre after Dr. Gwenna Moss,
a great educational leader at the
University of Saskatchewan. For
years, she was mainly responsible for
maintaining a decent educational
development program on campus
with strong support from the
Division of Audiovisual Services.
She encouraged many of us to
become involved with the activities
of the Society for Teaching and
Learning in Higher Education
(STLHE). She would be pleased
to know that the 2011 Annual
Conference of STLHE will be held
here on the U of S Campus.
Dr. Ron Marken, a good friend and
the first National 3M Teaching
Fellow from the Province of
Saskatchewan, deserves great
applause for developing the Gwenna
Moss Centre from scratch, as the
Founding Director. The other first
staff members were Eileen Herteis,
19
with the University Learning Centre
in 2007, the Gwenna Moss Centre
has led the way in establishing events
and awards that honour U of S faculty
and instructors. I would like to
congratulate the centre for the past
ten years of excellent work and look
forward to a successful future for the
GMCTE. Brett Fairbairn,
Provost and VP Academic
Director of Programs, assisted by
Christine Anderson and Corinne
Fasthuber along with graduate
students (who have now finished their
programs) Kim West and Tereigh
Ewert-Bauer.
Dr. Jim Greer, a Master Teacher and
a shining star in the Department
of Computer Science, became the
Director of the Centre when Ron’s
term was over. Jim transformed the
Centre into one of Canada’s most
reputable institutions. Jim was able to
put together a dynamic team which
included the likes of Martha Crealock
and most of the other original
members of the staff.
During the “Teaching in Canada”
sessions, many participants, who had
undergraduate training overseas,
were quick to acknowledge the great
assistance they received from the
Centre. Jim received strong backing
from the University Administration as
well as from some of the former 3M
Fellows like Dr. Richard Schwier, Dr.
John Thompson and Dr. Ron Marken.
My sincerest congratulations to the
Centre.
Mel Hosain , Professor
Emeritus, College of
Engineering,
Master Teacher and 3M Fellow
www.usask.ca/gmcte
Teaching Award News
By Corinne Fasthuber, Assistant, GMCTE
This past year has been exciting for
the Gwenna Moss Centre in that
we have been able to reward and
award so many more people for
their dedication to teaching at the
University of Saskatchewan.
This past spring, 20 new Provost’s
Awards for Outstanding Teaching
were given out to deserving
recipients. The deadline for
colleges to forward their nominee
for the Provost’s College Award
for Ourstanding Teaching to the
Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching
Effectiveness is February 15th,
2011.
The deadline for nominations to
be received by the Gwenna Moss
Centre for the Provost’s Awards
for Outstanding Innovation in
Learning, Excellence in Aboriginal
Education, Excellence in
International Teaching,Outstanding
Graduate Student Teacher, and
Outstanding New Teacher is
February 1, 2011. If you need more
information about these awards
please read about them on our
website www.usask.ca/gmcte or give
us a call at 966-2231.
Deadlines for submissions for
the Teacher Scholar’s Grant and
the Provost’s Prize for Innovative
Practice in Teaching & Learning
and the Provost’s Project Grant
have been moved from end of June
to August 31st.
The Sylvia Wallace Sessional
Lecturer Award deadline for
submissions of nominations is midNovember each year.
Master Teacher nomination
deadline is mid-February each year.
For more information on each of
these awards, and others offered on
campus, please go to our website
www.usask.ca/gmcte and click on
Teaching Awards and Grants on
the left side bar. Please feel free
to come by the Centre, have a
coffee and chat with us about any
questions or concerns you may
have.
2010 Spring Master Teacher
Dr. Alan Dolovich
Allan Dolovich, professor in the
College of Engineering, began his
career at the U of S in 1990 and from
the start, he distinguished himself
as a passionate teacher and a gifted
lecturer.
Teaching Excellence Award, and the 2010
Provost’s College Award for Outstanding
Teaching in the College of Engineering.
Dolovich is truly a master teacher in all
senses, earning the respect and admiration
of his students. His dedication to students
both in and out of the classroom, his desire
to mentor other faculty and his work to
advance engineering education are shining
evidence of a master teacher.
He won the inaugural College of
Engineering Teaching Excellence
Award in 1997, the Saskatoon
Engineering Society Educator of the
Year Award in 2003, the 2003 USSU
20
Bridges, Vol. 9, No. 1