August 2007
Bridges
In this issue...
Teacher Training for
Graduate Students:
A Self-ethnological
Approach
New Programs, Website and
Fall Workshop Themes
What We’ve Learned
About Teaching
The Teachers Write: Advice
to a New Professor
Discovering the Joy of
Teaching: A Review of Peter
Filene’s Guide for New
Instructors
Teaching Award News
Techology Enhanced Learning:
Limitless Possibilities
Emapping Your Way to New
Solutions: Educational
Media Access and
Production
University Learning Centre
Programs
•Peer Assisted Learning
•Writing Help
•Math Help
•Community ServiceLearning
•Online Support
PAWS Course Tools
Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1
Volume 6, No. 1
Reflecting the Scholarship of
Teaching and Learning at the
University of Saskatchewan
The University Learning Centre and The Gwenna
Moss Centre for Teaching Effectiveness
Jim Greer, Director ULC
As we begin a new
academic year, a new
year of teaching and
learning, I want to
bring you greetings
from the University
Learning Centre. For
some faculty, this
serves as a “first
welcome”; for others,
this is “welcome back.” I invite you to join
us in ULC activities this term.
First, I hope to clarify the relationship
between University Learning Centre
(ULC) and the Gwenna Moss Centre
(GMC). Administratively, the University
Learning Centre represents the overarching entity supported by the entire
University community to provide
central support for teaching and
learning. The Gwenna Moss Centre,
while administratively inside the ULC,
has as its mandate building excellence
in teaching and academic programming.
Those seeking administrative symmetry
continue to look for a complementary
“student-side” centre under the umbrella
of the ULC. We have chosen not to
offer a symmetry of student and faculty
“sides”. Instead, the ULC should be
viewed by students as a central resource
for accessing learning support and
programming largely aimed at students.
Both the ULC and the GMC are to be
viewed by our clients as tightly affiliated,
coordinated, and integrated parallel
centres with the following attributes:
The University Learning Centre
• is the administrative structure
under which teaching and learning
programming is managed
• is the point of access for students
to central academic support
services
• offers specialized assistance to
students in writing, mathematics,
and statistics
• offers peer mentoring and support
for service-learning programming
• offers study skills training and
personalized consultations for
students
• is a partner with the Gwenna Moss
Centre in many initiatives.
The Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching
Effectiveness
• is a centre in its own right
• is the point of access for faculty
and instructors to teaching support
services
• offers specialized assistance to faculty
and academic units in curriculum and
program development
• offers workshops and training
sessions related to teaching
• sponsors the publication of the
Bridges newsletter
• works in collaboration with the ULC
to support student programming.
www.usask.ca/gmcte
August 2007
Vol. 6 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 and to all the Instructional Development Offices in
Canada, and some beyond.
It is freely available on the world
wide web through 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
Phone (306)966-2234
Jim.Greer@usask.ca
Kathy Schwarz
Program Director
Phone (306)966-1804
kathy.schwarz@usask.ca
Christine Anderson Obach
Program Coordinator
Phone (306) 966-1950
christine.anderson@usask.ca
Corinne Fasthuber
Assistant
Phone (306) 966-2231
corinne.fasthuber@usask.ca
Views expressed in Bridges are
those of the individual authors and
are not necessarily those of the
staff at the GMCTE.
While the Gwenna Moss Centre staff
offices are in 50 Murray, across from
the Murray Library entrance, the ULC
staff offices are currently in 37 Murray,
just beyond the library’s elevators. ULC
staff offices will be moving upstairs to
106 Murray as soon as ground floor
renovation begins.
We are now embarking on our ULC
Phase 2 renovation project, part of
the larger University Learning Centre
/ Library Transformation project. In
September, construction begins on the
Murray Library’s first and sixth floors
to develop office space for Library staff
who are currently working in areas that
need to be opened for the ULC. As
soon as that space is completed and
staff members have moved to their new
offices, demolition will begin on the
ground floor of the Murray Library. The
renovated space on the ground floor,
together with modified space on the first
floor, will constitute a new, expanded
“Learning Commons” which will be home
to the ULC. The Learning Commons will
house Library services for circulation,
reference and reserve, ITS services for
student computing, USSU services for
student photocopying, and ULC services
for general and special-purpose learning
spaces. Architectural plans are available for
your perusal at the ULC and the GMCTE.
We have filled our various staff positions
within the ULC. In this issue, our studentprogram director, Gina Koehn, will
introduce you to her staff and highlight
programming they are rolling out this fall
for students.
The programming offered through the
Gwenna Moss Centre will be more
extensive this fall than ever before. With
a full program for new faculty orientation,
a comprehensive set of workshops,
and the resumption of our faculty peer
consultation program, we will have much
to offer. In this issue, Kathy Schwarz will
introduce you to the GMCTE’s upcoming
programs.
I want to extend a personal invitation
to come by to visit us. There is an open
invitation to drop in for a cup of coffee
or tea at our weekly hour-long Teaching
Effectiveness Afternoons (TEAs) at 3:30
on alternating Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Alternatively, you can informally drop by
at your convenience – just to chat, browse
our library of teaching resources, or take
a tour of our facilities.
Finally, please visit our websites, and set a
bookmark at both http://www.usask.ca/ulc
and http://www.usask.ca/gmcte.
w
Tips to survive the first day of class
• On the board, write the course
name, number, section, and
your own name, office hours,
and phone number.
• Tell your students something
about yourself and make eye
contact with them; if you are
nervous, admit it - many of
them will be nervous, too.
• If the class is small enough,
have the students introduce
themselves aloud. If the class
is too big for that, ask them
to introduce themselves to a
neighbour. Some instructors
also have their students
provide information about
themselves on a 3” x 5” card.
• Talk about the text, the edition
they will need (Is a second
hand copy of last year’s text
outdated?), additional readings
and where to find them.
• Be explicit about your
expectations of the
students. Explain clearly the
preparations required for class,
describe assignments, quizzes,
tests, and outline the learning
objectives for the course and
how they will be evaluated.
A University of Saskatchewan Teaching and
Learning Guide for Instructors p. 14. Available at www.usask.ca/gmcte
Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1
Teacher Training for Graduate Students:
A Self-ethnological Approach
Malreddy Pavan Kumar, University of Saskatchewan
Introduction
Ron Marken in 2001 and was designed by
Kim West and Tereigh Ewert-Bauer, two
Since the 1990s, the
program coordinators of the Gwenna
debates on graduate
Moss Center of Teaching Effectiveness
students’ teacher training at the U of S. With 22 regular sessions,
in North America
and two micro-teaching workshops,
have focused on the
three central themes of the course merit
preventative strategies,
scholarly as well as analytical attention:
such as “dealing with problems,” “tackling self-embeddness, performative techniques,
situations,” as well as the performative
and professional engagement.
techniques concerning group discussions,
curricular design, lecture delivery styles,
The self-embeddness theme was
and, in some cases, observation of the
introduced through a wide range of topics:
teaching/learning process in classrooms
discovering a teaching identity, creating
for the prospective university teacher
a teaching philosophy, and reflecting on
(Luo, Grady, & Bellows 2001; Prieto and
authentic and effective teaching. The
Meyers 2001). Undoubtedly, the emphasis course emphasized the decisive role of
on mere performative aspects of teaching metaphors, images, and moments, be they
lacks the disciplinary commitment
symbolic, cultural, or aesthetic. In doing so,
and sophistication of the teacher
it encouraged students to associate with
education paradigms and programs at
those teachers, events, and incidents that
the non-university level. In fact, graduate
made a mark on their learning process as
student teacher training remains largely
effective pedagogic practices. Lakoff and
unprofessionalized today because research Johnston’s (1980) readings — on mapping
knowledge, writing, and learned scholarly
teaching identity through individual
abilities are taken as an adequate proxy
experience, reflection, and persuasive
for pedagogical experience which would
metaphors that instigate graduate
otherwise be cultivated through teacher
students to question why they want
education programs (Cochern-Smith,
to teach — have been highly thought2000). In this essay, following the concerns provoking in identifying their vocational
raised by the teacher education scholars
temperament with a strong commitment
(Imaig and Switzer 1996; Zechner and
to intellectual and individual honesty. That
Trbachink 1981; Boyle and Boice, 2004),
said, the inspiration drawn from teaching
I suggest that while focusing on the
metaphors may not necessarily be a
performative techniques of teaching is
pedagogic; it can stem from other learning
necessary, attention should be paid to
activities such as sports, art, parenthood,
both the philosophical and professional
mentorship, and so on. Thus, becoming
aspects of graduate student teacher
an authentic and effective teacher means
training.
to carry metaphors from the previous
associations of what one considers to be
“good” teaching in their recognized style
GSR 989: A Case Study
and delivery. Such a relational and nonThe University of Saskatchewan’s GSR 989 deterministic view between good and
being one of the few outstanding cases of bad teaching is also supported by Carson
the above perspective, my participation in (1996) and Cranton (2001) readings.
the course offers distinct self-ethnological
The self-embeddness of teaching
insights from which the problems and
metaphors and their symbolic
prospects in the literature on graduate
exemplification remains central to one’s
teacher education could be analyzed and
contextualized. GSR 989 was initiated by teaching philosophy. By deciphering
Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1
and elaborating teaching metaphors that
they carry, students creating a teaching
philosophy should equally explore the
concept of learning, thereby articulate
their teaching goals, rationale, pedagogic
practices, and expectations. It is also a
constantly changing set of beliefs about
what it means to teach in the process of
discovering one’s own teaching identity.
In addition to the above, academic integrity,
collegiality, becoming a faculty member,
reflecting upon feedback, and designing
curriculum are among the topics devoted
to the professional engagement of teaching.
Intellectual or academic honesty remains
central to the professional ethic and
code of conduct in teaching at all levels,
but particularly at the university level.
Hickson and Fishburne (2006) state that
academic honesty is a continuum that
spans from one’s work as a student to
one’s work as a teacher, wherein teachers
should not only ensure that knowledge is
used with public responsibility and duly
acknowledged without manipulation, but
they also should account for learners’
diverse backgrounds, and their intellectual
(in) capacities hindered and disguised
often by disabilities, racial, cultural and
other socially disadvanged backgrounds.
To this end, the essays of McIntosh (1990),
Thompson (2003) and Vacarr (2001) proved
to be useful references on anti-racist,
anti-oppressive teaching. This, however,
would have been better complemented
by a discussion on the professional
expectations of teaching in the context of
a multicultural classroom, particularly since
the constellations of diverse educational
cultures, both sciences and non-sciences,
in the contemporary society seem to be
more nuanced than oppression, racism or
discrimination (Ladson-Billings, 1995; Gay,
2000; Howard, 2000).
Receiving feedback is crucial to the
understanding of professional challenges.
GSR 989 employed Brookfield’s notion
www.usask.ca/gmcte
of reflective teaching, which conditions
teachers to be aware of their own
unawareness of students’ misperceptions
of their actions (of teaching) as the basis
for articulating the pedagogic challenges
which would otherwise set them up for
a life time of frustration without ever
addressing their naiveté or innocence in
assuming that the meanings they place in
teaching are in fact the ones students take
from them.
At the university level, collegiality and the
transformation to faculty status are the
issues that graduate students must deal
with during the course of their academic
career. This means students should
carefully recognize their research and
teaching needs, along with their personal,
interpersonal, and collegial relationships.
In teacher education, there is a common
tendency to underplay the importance of
these aspects. In the case of GSR 989, too,
there is a disconnect in the curriculum
which fails to address or indicate how, and
in what ways, can collegiality be reinforced
by teachers’ personalities and individual
temperament, or the extent to which
it may have an effect on the personal
orientation of the professional university
teacher.
lectures,
Establishing
assessment
trustand
with
evaluation,
students and
micro-teaching
is touted asare
a source
covered
ofinexerting
depth
through
credibility
classroom
and control,
discussions,
teaching
debate
and practice.
rapport, and
Among
creating
others,
a respectful
tonality,
voiceclassroom
modulation,
environment
and relaxing
(Brookskills
before
field,
one
1990;
enters
Haskins,
the classroom
2000). are a
good addition to the course. However,
a few more sessions on the body
language, dress code, and congruency in
presentation would have been helpful.
Establishing trust with students is touted
as a source of exerting creditability and
control, teaching rapport, and creating
a respectful classroom environment
(Brookfield, 1990; Haskins, 2000). In spite
of its importance, trust as the gauge of
teaching rapport categorically undermines
the role of scholarly and intellectual
authority in achieving the same goal.
Furthermore, the concepts of “attitudes,
sensitive issues, and negativity” highlighted
by the readings forge somewhat
trivializing liberal notions which gloss
over intellectual challenges which may
be discomforting to engage but vital to
the learning process (eg. discussing death
anthropologically although students from
some cultures may find it sacrilegious).
The focus on small-group teaching,
and learning in labs required further
elaboration as it seemed to be presented
in the absence of a comparison with other
context of teaching that are disciplinary
specific, such as teaching through
ethnographic observations, field trips, or
experiential discussions.
On a similar topic, the section on
giving great lectures succeeds in better
preparing graduate students for the
diverse nature of lecture demands in
classrooms of diverse sizes. The difference
between graduate and undergraduate
student lecture styles is particularly wellthought-out. For research-driven graduate
students, the discussion on Brinkley’s
notion (1999) that a lecture is not an
act of performance “but an argument”
appeared to be strongly appealing and
reassuring.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of the
entire course has been Baljit Singh’s
lecture on motivating your students. Yet
it is gratifying to note that GSR 989 did
not advocate a particular lecture style,
perhaps notwithstanding Baljit Singh’s, as
the catalyst of student motivation. Dr.
Singh – a low-profile veterinary professor
who is well known in select teaching
Curricular design, too, seems to have fallen
circles in Canada – showed by example
Notwithstanding its high-tech style,
out of place. Given that most institutions
that caring, listing, and perceiving students
provide a pre-designed curriculum to fresh teaching through electronic sources has
as vulnerable and needy individuals
been an extremely insightful component
graduate students, it remains unspecified
beyond the classroom context, and how
of GSR 989. Yet the ethics of the
to what choices and expectations novice
the recognition of these attributes can
technology use remain largely untouched.
teachers must conform. Besides, setting
turn students’ attention to the subject
As Hughes (2005) essay makes the bold
the ‘parameters of subjects,’ as GSR
matter by way of the aura and congruency
assumption that “online pedagogies exist,”
989 does, or even discussing definitive
displayed by the teacher. Reinforcing
teaching through technology has become
‘objectives’ of curricular design involve
Savion’s (2003a and 2003b) concepts of
a taken-for-granted replacement of regular
mata-questions that Paul Rothenberg
intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, Dr.
classroom teaching. Technology-centered
(1996) demonstrates in his essay on the
Singh favored intrinsic motivation over
teaching frequently defies, if not deludes,
politics of discourses and arguments.
the extrinsic, one that is influenced by a
the disciplinary or scientific authority of
Given that curriculum design must
learning spirit as opposed to the rewardincorporate varied levels and standards of the old teaching methods. In the latter,
driven one, as the most effective way of
this shift for better or effective teaching
the research content of a given discipline
getting students wired to the lectures.
methods cannot simply be e-selective.
at the undergraduate and graduate level,
Instead, an entire paradigmatic is required
it is hard to demarcate course objectives
The two micro-teaching sessions
to justify the merits of each teaching
and expectations without compromising
towards the end of the course have
the spirit of one’s teaching philosophy and method in its entirety, including the
been immensely practical, well-balanced
relevance and effectiveness of transition
identity.
in content, and impeccably consistent
between such distinguished teaching
with the courses major themes of
methods. For instance, it needs to be
Like most graduate student teaching
self-embeddness and professional
considered how a storyteller teacher
programs, performative techniques are
engagement. In particular, they advocated
or raconteur in poetry class can make a
a major component of GSR 989. Topics
a demonstrative approach to prodding
transition into technology-based animation
concerning credibility and control,
theory into practice and philosophy into
of the subject content, and would it have
motivating students, identifying teaching
performance. The two sessions were
the same effect?
and learning styles, organizing great
Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1
allocated just the right amount of time
and space for the teaching practicum
without privileging teaching techniques
and performative strategies over
philosophy or theory, which is usually
the case with the teaching workshops
and seminars for graduate students. They
encouraged students to grapple with
selective criteria for individual teaching
styles, philosophy, and professionalism
prior to micro-teaching. In the latter, the
sessions were organized in such a way
that students were asked to develop a
course design for the teaching topic of
their choice, one that would reflect their
teaching goals, objectives and philosophy.
In all, the micro-teaching exercises
accommodated students into a pedagogic
space in which they could position
themselves of what they recognize to be
the best practices in student motivation,
lecture styles, credibility and control as
discussed in the earlier part of the course.
Conclusion
In spite of a few shortcomings, GSR 989
is a commendable effort to developing
a coherent teacher training program for
graduate students. The compilation the
pedagogic themes are well researched
and will certainly go a long way in
contributing to a hitherto undermined
debate on graduate student teacher
training. Furthermore, it resonates Diez’s
(2002) call for a teacher education that
is not dictated by theory, nor reduced to
the determinism of practice. It allows a
unique freedom and agency to graduate
students to avoid the intellectual traps by
not advocating a particular style or mode
or pedagogy, but by recognizing their
distinct association with research and
scholarship in the continuation of their
teaching vocation. Following Diez’s (2002)
model, the course illustrates the need for
teacher training which would incorporate
performative aspects and lean towards
a teacher training which is communityminded, independent, self-reflective
of learners, and thus endows greater
responsibility on university teachers as
are placed at the top of the hierarchy of
knowledge production, dissemination, and
innovation.
Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1
References
Alston (pp. 387-95). Urbana, IL:
Philosophy of Education Society.
Boyle, P. & Boice, B. (2004). Systematic
mentoring for new faculty teachers and
graduate teaching assistants. Innovative
Higher Education, 22 (3), 157-179.
Imig, D. G., & Switzer, T. J. (1996). Changing
teacher education programs. In J. Sikula
(Ed.), Handbook of research on teacher
education (pp. 213-226). New York:
Macmillan.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The
dreamkeepers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Brinskley, A., B. Dessants, M. Flamm,
C. Fleming, C. Forcey, & E. Rothschild
(1999). The art and craft of lecturing.
In the Chicago handbook of teachers: A
practical Guide to the College Classroom
(pp. 51-64). Chicago: Chicago University
Press.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors
we live by. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press.
Brookfield, S.D. (1990). The skillful
teacher: On technique, trust &
responsiveness in the classroom. SanFrancisco: Jossy-Bass Publishers.
McIntosh, P. (1990). White privilege:
Unpacking the invisible knapsack.
Independent School, 49, (111), 31-36.
Luo, J., Grady, M., & Bellows, L.H. (2001).
Instructional Issues for Teaching Assistants.
Innovative Higher Education, 25 (3), 209-230.
Rothenberg, P. (1996). The politics of
discourse and the end of argument. In E.F.
Friedman, W.K. Coleman, C.B. Flint, and
P. Rothenberg (Eds.), Creating an inclusive
college curriculum: a teaching source book
Cochran-Smith, M. (2000). The future of from the New Jersey Project (pp. 59-69).
teacher education: framing the questions New York: Teacher’s College, Columbia
that matter. Teaching Education, 11(1),
University.
13-24.
Savion, L. (2003a). Motivating your
Cranton, P. (2001). Becoming an authentic students, chapter one. The Successful
teacher in higher education. Malabar, FL:
Professor, 2 (1), 5-7.
Krieger Publishing Company.
Savion, L. (2003b). Motivating your
Diez, M.E. (2002). Innovation in teacher students, chapter two. The Successful
education: Example and counter
Professor, 2 (2), 6-8.
example of standards-based reform in
the United States. Prospects, XXXII, (3),
Thompson, A. (2004). Anti-racist work
311-318.
zones. In Philosophy of education (Ed.) Kal
Vaccar, B. (2001). Mindfulness in the
Gay, G. (2000). Culturally responsive
diverse classroom. Harvard Educational
teaching. New York: Teachers College
Review, 71 (2), 285-295.
Press.
Zeichner, K., & Tabachnick, B. R. (1981). Are
Haskins, W. (2000). Ethos and
the effects of university teacher education
pedagogical communication: Suggestions washed out by school experiences?
for enhancing credibility in the
Journal of Teacher Education, 32, 7-11.
classroom. Current Issues in Education,
3(4). Retrieved on July 29, 2007, from
http://cie.ed.asu.edu/volume3/number4/.
Carson, B.H. (1996). Thirty years of
stories: The professors place in student
memories. Change, 28 (6), 11-17.
Hickson, C. & Fishburne G.J. (2006) Can
we help? Mentoring graduate teaching
assistants. Retrieved on July 29, 2007,
from http://www.aare.edu.au/06pap/
hic06205.pdf
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Howard, T.C. (2001). Powerful pedagogy
for African American students:
Conceptions of culturally relevant
pedagogy. Urban Education, 36(2), 179202
Hughes, G. (2005). Learning-to-learnonline: fostering student engagement
with online pedagogies. In P. Hartley,
A. Woods, and M. Pill (Eds.), Enhancing
teaching in higher education: new
approaches for improving student learning
(pp. 69-79). London and New York:
Routledge.
www.usask.ca/gmcte
New GMCTE Website &
Fall Workshop Themes
by Kathy Schwarz, Program Director
Our website has
been updated!
In addition to
a new look, we
have additional
material within
our resource
section:
1. Handbooks on Teaching & Learning
This includes a Teaching & Learning Guide
for faculty at the U of S; a handbook for
Grad Student Teachers; and First Nations
and Métis Students: A Faculty Handbook.
2. Teaching Topics
Topics such as Prior Learning, Assessment,
and Recognition (PLAR), Teaching
Portfolios, and What To Do On the First
Day of Class are addressed.
3. Teaching Tools
Examples include sample one-minute
memos.
4. Research on Teaching & Learning,
organized by discipline [NEW]
Find out what the latest research says
about teaching in your discipline.
5. Materials from 2007-2008 GMCTE
workshops and presentations
6. Online Journals About Teaching and
Learning
Includes links to online journals licensed
by the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching
Effectiveness and discipline-specific online
journals available through the library.
7. Links to Other Teaching and Learning
Centres
8. Books About Teaching and Learning
[NEW] This section lists books available
in our library. You can also find book
reviews here.
9. Teaching Dialogues [NEW]
Contribute Teaching Tips or Teaching
Questions to a message board.
Workshops
Beginning this fall, watch for workshops
organized around a series of themes.
Below each theme are examples of the
types of workshops that will be offered
throughout the year.
Theme 1
Creating Positive Learning Environments
• Classroom Management
• How Motiviating is Your Teaching
• An Introduction to Working with Students with Disabilities
Theme 2
Teaching and Technology
• Designing and Developing Manageable
Online Courses
• Moderating Online Discussions
• Teaching with WebCT
• Media for Instruction and
Presentations
• Podcasting
• Constructivism and Web
Re-presentations of Lectures
• Clickers in the Classroom
• Digital Ambitions: Transitioning from a
Point and Shoot to an SLR Camera
Theme 3
Instructional Skills Development
Theme 3a) Analysis
• Knowing Your Learners
Theme 3b) Designing Instruction
• Teaching Strategies
• Teaching and the Ne(x)t Generation
• Instructional Strategies for Large
Classes
• Writing Learning Outcomes
• Getting Them Thinking: Models &
Methods for Developing High-Order
• Thinking Skills
• Teaching in the Sciences
• Active Learning Strategies
• Designing and Implementing Case
Studies
• The Magic of Numbers: Teaching and
Learning with Large Classes
• Questioning
• Critical Thinking
• Teaching Effective Labs
• Self-Reflection and Your Teaching
Philosophy/Approach
- How Do I Teach?
- How Do my Students Learn?
- Teaching and Learning styles
• Community Service-Learning
- What is Community Service- Learning (CSL)?
- Integrating CSL into Your Teaching
- Assessing Community Service- Learning
Theme 3c) Classroom Interactions
• Asking Good Questions
• Facilitating Discussions
• What to Do on the First Day of
Class
• Structuring the Effective Lecture:
How and Why
Theme 3d) Assessment and Evaluation
• Writing Effective Exams
• Developing Effective Assignments
• Rubrics
• Grading Practices
• Asking for Feedback
Theme 4
Research on Teaching and Learning in
Higher Education
Join discussions about disciplinespecific research on teaching and
learning
Theme 5
Special Topics
Watch for postings about invited
speakers and special events.
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Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1
More tips to survive the first day
of class
NEW PROGRAMS
• Discuss policies regarding
attendance, participation, and
meeting deadlines.
An Invitation to
Conversations on Teaching:
A Book Club
• Describe penalties for
late submission of work,
plagiarism, or missing
assignments. If you are willing
to make exceptions, specify
the circumstances and
criteria.
• In general, don’t talk too
fast and show the students
you are approachable and
knowledgeable. Impart on
them the importance of this
class and the material. You
found it interesting enough to
do a graduate degree in the
subject after all, so encourage
them to feel the same!
• Basically, try to make a
good impression and be
yourself…..Unless you tend
to remind people of a really
annoying, over-the-top Jim
Carrey type, in which case
you might want to try and be
someone else…
A University of Saskatchewan Teaching
and Learning Guide for Instructors p. 14.
Available at www.usask.ca/gmcte
As faculty, a lot of our time and attention goes
into teaching and meeting with students. When
research, committee work, and other professional
responsibilities are added, little time remains for
talking with fellow faculty about teaching. Even
less time is available for reading a book about
teaching.
After Ken Bain’s outstanding keynote address at
the U of S November 2006 National Teaching
Conference, “Exemplary Teaching: Inspiring
Learner Engagement and Success,” several of
us began talking about a book club. We wanted an opportunity – and an excuse, too
– to read good books on teaching and to talk together about our teaching. An hour
every three weeks or so for conversation, stimulated by a thoughtful author’s writings,
seemed possible. We decided to start with Ken Bain’s book, What The Best College
Teachers Do, and see where it goes after that.
If this book club sounds like an opportunity and/or the excuse you are looking for
– scheduled occasional conversations about teaching with friendly fellow faculty – you
are invited to join us. The plan is pretty simple. We will meet every three weeks or so
for an hour to talk our way through a good book about teaching and learning. To give
some continuity to our conversations, we will have a regular meeting time and place,
with e-mail reminders.
We will hold a short organizational meeting on Monday, September 17 at 12:00 noon
in the Gwenna Moss Centre, Murray 50. At this meeting, we will select a day, time, and
place for the book conversations, talk about guidelines, and order copies of Bain’s book
for the bookstore. If you can’t make the meeting but would like to participate, let us
know, and give us a couple of times that work for you.
John Thompson
john.thompson@usask.ca
We teach what we like to learn
and the reason many people go
into teaching is vicariously to
re-experience the primary joy
experienced the first time they
learned something they loved.
Stephen Brookfield
Kathy Schwarz
Kathy.schwarz@usask.ca
URL for Ken Bain What The Best College Teachers Do. Harvard University Press. 2004.
http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/BAIBES.html
URL for “1. Introduction: Defining the Best”
http://www.hup.harvard.edu/pdf/BAIBES_excerpt.pdf
URL for streaming video (90 minutes) of Bain keynote, UofS McGraw-Hill Ryerson
National Teaching Conference, 2 November, 2006
http://www.usask.ca/gmcte/speakers.php
URL for short review of Bain’s book
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1541-4329.2005.tb00067.x
Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1
www.usask.ca/gmcte
What We’ve
Learned About
Teaching (New Programs continued)
Brown Bag Lunch
Groups
Starting this fall, there will be three
monthly brown bag lunch groups meeting
at the Centre. This is an opportunity for
people new to the culture of teaching in
Canada, new faculty, or graduate students
interested in teaching.
The Teaching in Canada group for
international instructors will meet with
Dr. Mel Hosain and Martha Crealock.
Each week there will be a proposed topic
introduced by the leaders and discussed
by the group, such as appropriate humour
in the Canadian classroom, cultural
attitudes towards testing, and anger and
emotion. Please join us Friday, September
21, 3:30 - 5:00 pm in Room 50 Murray
Building.
The brown bag lunch group for new
faculty will meet with Dr. John Thompson
and Martha Crealock. This group will
discuss and share about issues that surface
for new professors. The group will also
use Dr. Peter Filene’s book, The Joy of
Teaching: a Practical Guide for New College
Instructors. Join us August 28th at our Fall
Teaching Institute for New Instructors to
learn more.
For graduate students who are teaching
or working TAs, there will be a monthly
lunch. This group will also look at a
weekly issue, and discuss teaching at the
university level. Dr. Ron Marken and
Martha Crealock lead this group. The first
lunch will be Tuesday, September 18th
from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, Room 50
Murray Building.
For more information, please
e-mail Martha.Crealock@usask.ca.
w
A mind is a fire to
be kindled, not a
vessel to be filled.
Plutarch
By Kim West, Program Coordinator, The Gwenna
Moss Centre for Teaching Effectiveness
One of my teaching mentors, Rick
Schwier, says his favorite time of year is
September. One year I asked him why,
thinking he might be a fan of the beautiful
autumn leaves. He replied, with a wide
grin on his face, “Because the students
are back.”
I’ll always remember that moment. Rick’s
enthusiasm for teaching shone through
in that simple statement. He helped me
remember a central part of myself that I
had forgotten. The prospect of becoming a teacher had been an exciting one
for me. My first year of teaching was
difficult, saturated with challenges and
times where I fell short of my own expectations. When Rick responded to my
question, I remembered the excitement I
first felt about sharing the knowledge of
my discipline with students. He reminded
me to embrace the enthusiasm and joy of
being a teacher, and, in a way, he rejuvenated my spirit.
My students have been there for me, too.
They tell me, truthfully, what I need to
work on and what I am doing well. Without this community of students and teachers to support me, I don’t think I would
feel confident about taking risks, trying
new things, and mostly, about learning
from my mistakes. Parker Palmer, in The
Courage to Teach, says, “The growth of any
craft depends on shared practice and honest dialogue among the people who do it.
We grow by private trial and error, to be
sure -- but our willingness to try, and fail,
as individuals is severely limited when we
are not supported by a community that
encourages such risks” (Palmer 1998).
One of my teaching goals is to facilitate
programs that bring communities of
teachers together to share ideas, practices, obstacles, and challenges with one
another. *A few of our programs here at
the Gwenna Moss Centre try to do just
that. GSR 989: Introduction to University
Teaching brings together graduate student
teachers from all disciplines on campus
I have been teaching for several years
and meets regularly each week for two
now, but every September, I still remind
terms. Transforming Teaching is a similar
myself of what Rick said. I spend time
course offered online to faculty and seseach year reflecting on how to become
a better teacher, talking to my colleagues sional lecturers and meets once a month
so that faculty and instructors from difabout teaching, and trying to learn from
ferent disciplines have the opportunity to
my student’s feedback. I have learned my
meet and get to know one another. The
fellow teachers are a source of inspiraScholarship of Teaching and Learning Protion and support. They have taught me
gram is designed for teachers who don’t
more about teaching than I ever could
have learned on my own. They have been have the time to meet every week, but
who would still like the opportunity to
there for me on the good days and the
bad days, engaging in dialogue and sharing become part of a teaching community.
ideas. They have watched me succeed
In these programs, we find facilitators and
and fail as I’ve tried new teaching strateparticipants who really care about teachgies.
ing, from as many disciplines on campus
Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1
as we can. It’s interesting to see how the
mentoring relationships develop between
the experienced and newer participants.
The diversity of approaches presented by
guest speakers and the teaching team also
help participants to see that there is no
“right” way of teaching.
Participants in these programs have the
opportunity to voice their perspectives
and to discover how and why they teach
what they teach. Most importantly, we try
to integrate opportunities for participants
to get to know one another. Each year
each group has its own rhythm, but it is
not uncommon for participants to stay in
touch with one another, to forward each
other job opportunities, and to stay in
touch with the instructors. We emphasize
that the best teachers are those who are
lifelong learners, and who continue to
learn from each other. These participants
enrich my teaching through the community they create with each other and with
our teaching team.
Recently I decided to ask our GSR 989
alumni to share some of their collective
wisdom and experience with me. I asked
them to tell me what they’ve learned
about teaching. Although most of these
teachers are only beginning their teaching
careers, their comments reflect a deep
understanding of how students learn,
teacher-student relationships, enthusiasm,
inspiration, community, lifelong learning,
and the joy of teaching. Here are their
responses:
T.E. Cronin says,
“Learning to be an
excellent teacher is a
career-long undertaking, because a great
teacher is never a
finished product but
rather is always in the
process of becoming”
(Cronin 1992).
5. “Teachers need confidence to teach
others.” -Anonymous
6. “Teaching does not need to happen
in a classroom (or lab, or clinic…etc).
Some of my best ‘teaching moments’
have happened during informal discussions outside a ‘structured learning environment.’” -Todd Raine
7. “Teaching is about inspiring students
to have confidence in their ability to
learn. … A good teacher needs to be
able to see things from the student’s
point of view. … To be an effective
teacher, you should be excited about
the subject matter you are teaching.”
-Sarah Lipoth
8. “There is no end to learning, each
and everyday you learn something. …
Patience and perserverance are two
most important things to become a
helpful teacher.” -Sunita Ghosh
1. “The learning process is an iterative
one where teacher is also student and
student is also teacher. When properly
facilitated, this shared dynamic creates
an optimal learning environment.” -Cami Ryan
9. “Every class is different and no group
will ever react exactly how a group
previously reacted to a lecture. … No
lecture is ever set in stone, sometimes
you have to move with the mood of the
day.” -Nicole Berard
2. “Becoming an excellent teacher is a
learning process not a natural state. It’s
achievable!” - Anonymous
10. “It is important to take time to
think through and write down why
you want to teach. … When difficulty
arises, it will be your teaching philosophy that motivates you to continue. …
We don’t have to teach the same way
as we were taught. Try to experiment
with methods that are used in other
disciplines. … How to spark interest
3. “Teaching can be a joy.” -Anonymous
4. “Networking and the exchange of
ideas with fellow teachers is important.”
-Anonymous
Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1
in your course materials? Make them
relevant, Relevant, and RELEVANT!” Catherine Hui
Teaching, in its finest form, grows
through dialogue and conversation,
whether it be with our former students
or our mentors. As a teacher, I urge
you to take every opportunity you can
to explore new techniques and to share
your practice and experience with fellow
teachers. As T.E. Cronin says, “Learning
to be an excellent teacher is a careerlong undertaking, because a great teacher
is never a finished product but rather
is always in the process of becoming”
(Cronin 1992).
References
Cronin, T. E. 1992. On Celebrating College Teaching. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 3, 149-168.
Palmer, P.J. 1998. The Courage to Teach:
Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s
Life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
*Registration for our programs is available on our website at http://www.usask.
ca/gmcte/drupal/index.php.
Characteristics of an
Effective Instructor
• Knowledge of and enthusiasm
for the subject matter and
teaching
• Good organization of subject
matter and course
• Effective communication
• Positive attitudes toward
students
• Fairness in evaluation and
grading
• Flexibility in approaches to
teaching
A University of Saskatchewan Teaching
and Learning Guide for Instructors p. 17.
Available at www.usask.ca/gmcte
www.usask.ca/gmcte
The Teachers Write –
Advice to a New Professor
by Martha Crealock
Program Coordinator, The Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching Effectiveness
“The Teachers
Write”1 is a
new column in
Bridges. This
is a space to
hear “from the
trenches” about
professors’
experiences2
with teaching in
higher education. Because
September is a time of new beginnings,
this month’s question is about advice to a
new professor.
Behind the mask of the brilliant professor, the absent-minded professor, or any
professor lies a bag of nerves that has to
present to a room full of strangers.
To teach is to stand on the brink of both
fostering epiphanies and risking utterly
failing.
What heart-felt advice would you give to
a new teacher, or what advice have you
been given about teaching, that actually
helped you navigate the rocky times in
your teaching?
I have long felt students may forget what I
say, but most will not forget how I treated
them, so on the first day I let them know
I am glad they are there (and truly mean
it). They are told what I expect. I spend
a lot of time synchronizing lecture materials with lag times and in controlling how
much content is actually reasonable; I have
learned not to try to force more in.
Jeff Taylor
1. I tip my hat to Sy Safransky and the rest of
the team that produces the magazine The Sun
for their section “Reader’s Write” which inspires my column (thesunmagazine.org).
2. A special “thank you” goes out to the U of S
USSU teaching award winners who responded
to the question.
What anxiety I felt the night before my
first class as a University Professor. I was
sleepless most of the night. I have continued to experience a “manageable” degree
of tension before entering a classroom.
I now know that my effectiveness as a
teacher always depends on that “tension”.
I get boring when I don’t have that edge!
Karen Wright
it, the teacher is older, more experienced,
and much more knowledgeable in virtually
all fields.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that the
teacher should be an absurdly formal
stuffed shirt. It is easy to cultivate a friendly atmosphere without implying that you
want to be their friend. I once suggested
to a new teacher to begin the opening
My advice is to ... act like the instructor
class by giving the students a brief eduyou want to become. Before my first day
cational autobiography (the degrees she
of class, I felt nervous, shy, and timid, but
had received, what it took to get them,
I knew this would was not the kind of
any bumpy patches on the educational
instructor I wanted to be. As a student, I
path, etc.) in a friendly, colloquial, and, if
had taken courses with many outstanding appropriate, humorous manner. This imteachers and professors, so I had a clear
mediately tells them, first, that you are a
picture of what I wanted to achieve. So,
human being; and secondly (and more imtaking a page from a book on visualization, portantly) that you are the one who is in
I forced myself on the first day of class to charge, by virtue of your training and level
act as if I were the instructor I wanted to of expertise.
become. I varied the pitch, volume, and
Terry Matheson
rate of my voice, and to my surprise, no
one laughed at me. No one even knew
Here is the essence of what I learned in
this wasn’t natural for me. That gave me
the Transforming Teaching course. To be a
the courage to do those things again on
great teacher:
the second day of class, with the added
1) Love and respect your subject
task of doing them as I walked up into the 2) Love and respect your students
third row of the lecture theater. Again, to
3) Show that you want your students to
my surprise, no one laughed at me and
love your subject and are willing to make
nobody shrunk back in their seats in fear! that happen
Most importantly, it didn’t feel quite as
artificial and awkward as it had the first
The “secret” to my success is that I think
day. As the term went on and I continued clinical pharmacology is the most interestto act like the instructor I wanted to
ing and important subject in the whole
become, something very interesting hapcurriculum - and my enthusiasm seems to
pened - I actually started becoming the
be contagious.
instructor that I was pretending to be.
Trisha Dowling
And now, after a decade of this, that IS the
instructor I have become.
Teaching is a two-way communication. A
Fred Phillips
healthy relationship with students can encourage, stimulate, and enhance the teachEstablish a solid professional relationship
ing and learning processes.
with the students. Do NOT try to be
Xulin Guo
their “buddy”; from what I have gathered,
they get quite enough of that pseudoIf you are enthusiastic about sharing your
egalitarian atmosphere in high school.
material and exploring it with the class (as
Personally, I don’t think students have
opposed to simply delivering it as a block
much respect for that, because, let’s face
of data outlined in a rigid set of lecture
10
Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1
notes or -- God forbid -- PowerPoint
presentation), you’ll find that you focus a
lot less on your own nervousness, or your
own position in the pedagogical transaction, and a lot more on communicating
with your students.
John Porter
For my first class and when teaching to
strangers, I consider them like Grade 5
students and build up the topic in first few
minutes. This introductory 5-minute segment is critical to bring everyone to the
level where I can introduce the “big question” of the day
Jaswant Singh
When you step in front of your class you
do not cease to be human. You are always
human and your students need to see
that. Part of being human is making mistakes and (sometimes!!) not having all the
answers. It is perfectly okay to table questions that arise in class for a subsequent
class and to go and seek out the answer
you wished you’d had on the spot. It is
my personal belief that when instructors
show their human side, students become
more confident in themselves.
Patricia McDougall
• You are passionate about your area of
expertise and research, but don’t be surprised if your students are not (or even!)
passionate or interested. Don’t get take
it personally or become discouraged
because you can’t interest all of your students all of the time.
• Attention span during a lecture is very
limited - some say 10 minutes!
• Reflecting on classroom experiences and
even taking brief notes on what seems
to work and what doesn’t in a particular
class may provide you with some useful
insight and ideas.
• Building a sense of community - learn
names! This is daunting, especially in very
large classes, but there are numerous
tricks that can be implemented. Building
a sense of community may help students
develop a sense of ownership - YOUR
course may become THEIR course.
Vanina Dal Bello-Haas
adding to discussions, volunteering for
tasks. If you have to discuss a student’s behavior with them, always try to do it privately. If a student becomes quarrelsome
in the class room or laboratory, and the
situation is escalating, suggest that the two
of you discuss the issue in more depth at
a mutually agreeable time.
Laura Klassen
• Be yourself. Students understand that
teachers wear a number of hats, but they
detect authenticity with laser accuracy and
will withhold trust until they find it.
• Be competent and honest. It’s ok not
to know, but be sure that what you offer
is sound. If your word can’t be relied on,
you’re wasting everyone’s time.
• Keep growing. If you don’t, your students will outrun you.
Marjorie L. Benson
To be an effective teacher, the professor
must love the subject and be prepared
to share that love of subject with the
students. I also try to encourage the students by telling them that I expect them
to do well. This is especially important
when the students fear that the subject
is complex or difficult. I also emphasize
that I never mark ‘on a curve.’ One of
my favorite comments from a student’s
evaluation read: “He even makes a boring
subject like Chemistry seem interesting.”
Finally I’d like to point out the sovereign
importance of language clarity. No progress is possible if the student cannot understand your use of jargon.
John Hubbard
Even after 20 years you never know if
‘it’ is going to work or not. I attempt to
look like I’m not lecturing, even when I
am, and constantly look for ways to have
the students connect to what is being discussed. But, conversely, I have also learned
never to read too much into the class’s
response; some days they look like they’re
on the edge of their seats and other days
they look asleep. Sometimes this is because of the lecture; lots of times it is not.
Getting too wrapped up in how I think
the students are responding to my lectures on a daily basis is not beneficial.
Always be well prepared and ensure your For seminars, I have two steadfast rules.
materials are current. Respect students.
First, it is their class. They should do the
Thank them for raising insightful questions, talking, not me. I should, ideally, be the
Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1
11
quietest person in the room. If it is a senior seminar, these students have spent
the better part of three years listening
to professors talk. But, second, I don’t
let them talk nonsense or off topic or
without referring to the readings. When
they have learned that a) they will have
talk and talk regularly and spontaneously
and b) they will have to talk on topic
and about the readings some marvelous
things happen in the classroom.
Jim Handy
Control class noise from the first instant of the first lecture. If decorum is
not established from the start, it can be
difficult if not impossible to produce at
a later time. A new instructor may wish
to avoid the appearance of undue harshness, but even a few students chatting
throughout the speaker’s presentation
can be a major distraction to others
wishing to hear and understand the lecture. At the beginning of every lecture,
after asking the class to come to order,
I do not start lecturing until the room
is perfectly quiet. If, later in the lecture,
I find that two or three students are
having a private conversation, I ask them
to share their questions or concerns
with the rest of the class since a group
discussion may be of value to everyone.
If a chorus of ongoing chatter emerges,
I simply stop lecturing until the situation
is rectified. In most cases, my silence
sends a message which is loud and
clear!
Allan Dolovich
Begin on time and finish on time; they
have other classes to attend or may
need a break between classes. Make
sure that you outline the learning lectures at the start of the lecture. Pause
occasionally for questions; make sure
that you pause for a long enough period
of time to give the students the opportunity to ask; they are often timid. I
sometimes micro-teaching 5 x 8 cards
to 8 - 10 students out of a class of 70
to give feedback on the lecture; something they liked about the lecture and
suggestions for improvement. This can
give rapid, informal feedback when you
are not sure as to how your lectures
are going.
Stan Rubin
www.usask.ca/gmcte
Discovering The Joy of Teaching:
A Review of Peter Filene’s Guide
for New Instructors
Be approachable and inspire confidence to
students to gain their trust. Being yourself
is quite rewarding because the interaction
professor-student brings in new energy
and dynamics to the classroom. Create an
open-minded and friendly teaching atmosphere that doesn’t intimidate anyone.
By
My greatest satisfactions from the above
teaching strategies include receiving letters or visits from some of my former
students who have succeeded in their academic/professional career and/or personal
life thanking me for teaching and caring
about their learning and for taking the
time to discuss with them not only course
material but also how to do better in life.
Dr. Hugo Cota-Sánchez
You are invited to contribute your “two
cents” to next months question.
There has been a lot of talk about ‘Millennials,’ the Ne(x)t Generation or Generation Y, that is, young people born between
1982 - 2000. What differences do you
see between how your students learn and
how you and your generation learned?
What challenges and gifts does this generation bring to university learning?
Tereigh Ewert-Bauer, Academic Program Coordinator [Humanities]
On July
11th, 2007, a
controversial
thread was
started on
the Chronicle
Forums about
the strengths
and weaknesses
of faculty
development (http://chronicle.com/
forums/index.php?topic=39782.0). The
discussants, in the spirited exchange that
ensued, agreed that they most appreciated
practical teaching tips and strategies
offered by experienced teachers.
Drawing upon years of personal teaching
experience, Peter Filene offers a utilitarian
survival manual in The Joy of Teaching: A
Practical Guide for New College Instructors.
In the interest of space and hearing from
Filene writes in a conversational tone,
many people, please limit your thoughts to making the information accessible, and the
80 words. E-mail your insights to
book pleasurable to read. He peppers
Martha.Crealock@usask.ca by October 1, each chapter with realistic suggestions
2007.
for surviving one’s first (and subsequent)
years teaching in a post-secondary
institution, and then illustrates these
suggestions with anecdotes from other
seasoned university instructors. Chapters
six (“Discussion”) and seven (“Broadening
the Learning Environment”), for example,
provide clear, simple, yet effective
“I entered the classroom with the
instructional strategies that not only make
conviction that it was crucial for
the teacher’s work more efficient, but that
me and every other student to be
also enhance and deepen the students’
an active participant, not a passive
learning.1
consumer...[a conception of] education
as the practice of freedom.... education
Filene’s classroom experiences have taught
that connects the will to know with
him that effective teaching is about far
the will to become. Learning is a place
more than “tips,” “tools,” and “strategies.”
where paradise can be created.”
Whether helping new instructors chart
Bell Hooks, Teaching to Transgress, NY:
their first course, or offering warnings and
Routledge, 1994.
advice about balancing their professional
and personal lives, Filene continually
w
12
emphasizes the dialogic and relational
nature of teaching and being a teacher.
His book’s first two chapters prompt
the reader to ask, “What kind of teacher
do I want to be?” (7), “Who are my
students?” (13), and, by implication, “What
is the relationship between the teacher
and the student?” The answers to these
questions become a central consideration
throughout the rest of the book, which
then delves into the “nuts and bolts” of
teaching.
Never before have I encountered a
handbook for novice faculty that so
succinctly explains the rationale behind
defining one’s teaching identity/philosophy
and understanding one’s students, and
then interweaves these more theoretical
understandings throughout a treatment
of, for example, aims and outcomes,
constructing a syllabus, lecturing, and
evaluating and grading. Through Filene’s
writing, what is seemingly “theoretical”
becomes highly pragmatic. Each of
the aforementioned activities becomes
a shared experience (a dialogue, a
relationship) between teacher and student.
Filene does not gloss over the actual
issues that concern beginning teachers;
rather, he acknowledges these issues
and confronts them, conceding that at
times there are no easy solutions to
the challenges faced by new (or any)
instructors. For example, Filene wrestles
with the quintessential fear faced by
all new faculty: whether to “publish or
perish.” Many instructors have come
to understand that to “perish” is to
concentrate on one’s teaching, rather than
on one’s research. Filene promises to
. . . sketch some of
the sobering realities that
subordinate teaching [while] at
Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1
the same time . . . discover
reasons that good teaching
counts a lot. To a surprising extent, in fact, the appropriate
adage is “teach or perish.”
(122)
Filene’s response to the “publish or
perish” dilemma is an example of his
ability to address difficult issues in a
realistic, yet optimistic manner.
Clearly, Filene understands the stress and
challenges faced by new instructors, and
so he emphasizes that new teachers have
realistic expectations for themselves, and
that they treat themselves gently. As new
instructors find themselves getting caught
up in the tornado of course planning,
committee meetings, administrative duties
and other demands, they will be calmed by
Filene’s reminders that they need not be
perfect. As long as teachers consistently
place “pedagogy before practicality,” their
teaching (and their students’ learning)
will continue to improve (92). Filene
encourages new instructors to care
for themselves in the midst of their
professional tornadoes, reminding them
. . . to sustain a semblance of
private life. [They should] eat lunch
with colleagues, see a movie, work
out at the gym . . . [their] sense of
well-being is nourished by gratifications beyond the classroom.
Or, as one of my senior colleagues
remarked, “No matter how hard you
work, your chairman will never say ‘I
love you.’” (125)
Whether talking about developing
one’s teaching identity, syllabus, lecture,
or professional roles, Filene offers
the perspective that each of these are
processes—works in progress. Once
relieved of the pressure to have each
of these activities mastered before
the second week of September, new
instructors are freed to immerse
themselves in the “joy of teaching.”
I highly recommend this book to all novice
instructors for its balance, perspective,
practicality, humour, and sense of humanity.
A copy of this book will be available for
loan through The Gwenna Moss Centre
for Teaching Effectiveness and it will be
featured in the Centre’s Brown Bag Lunch
Book Club. For information on the Book
Club see page 7 of this issue.
Reference
Filene, Peter. (2005). The Joy of Teaching: A
Practical Guide for New College
Instructors. Chapel Hill, N.C.: U of NC P.
(ISBN- 0-8078-5603-7)
1.
While a teacher from any discipline will
identify nuggets of wisdom in these two
chapters, these particular chapters are more
relevant to those teaching in the humanities
and social sciences (look to our next issue of
Bridges for innovative strategies targeted at the
sciences and related disciplines).
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ULC Series for
Curricular
Community Service-Learning
By Phaedra Hitchings, University Learning Centre
Are you interested in giving your students real-life examples and experiences? Would you like to learn more about,
or share your experiences with, community service-learning (CSL)?
Starting this fall, the ULC presents a CSL series for faculty like you:
On October 31, TEA will focus on a basic introduction to CSL and discussion of its applicability to our University
context. In November, we will host a panel of U of S CSL practitioners, both faculty and staff, for presentations and
discussion focusing on curricular CSL. Along with gaining a broader introduction to CSL, panelists will share their
experiences and an open dialogue with attendees. In the new year and through to Spring, there will special topics
meetings, and design and assessment workshops. Please check our website for details as they become available.
CSL is a model of experiential learning that “integrates service in the community with intentional learning activities.” Any area of study could link with CSL. If you would like to brainstorm ideas, just let me know. To help get you
started, some broad examples for community engagement are as follows, using the fine arts to reach and empower
youth, improving literacy levels, building computer skills, creating marketing plans, designing healthy options for food
security programs, and assessing the applicability of sustainable practices in the non-for-profit workplace.
If you would like more information, please contact Phaedra Hitchings, CSL Coordinator with the ULC, at 966-7164
or service-learning@usask.ca.
1. Canadian Association for Community Service-Learning. “Definitions” http://www.communityservicelearning.ca/en/welcome_definitions.cfm
Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1
13
www.usask.ca/gmcte
Teaching Award News
from The GMC
by Corinne Fasthuber
Assistant, GMCTE
The Gwenna
Moss Centre
for Teaching
Effectiveness
is proud to
announce
Dr. Vipen
Sawheny as
this year’s
spring Master
Teacher Award Winner. Our University is
fortunate to have had Biology Professor
Sawhney teaching here for over 30 years.
He has the gift of being able to strike
a balance between being an excellent
teacher while still maintaining a first-rate
research program.
The Master Teacher Award is presented
at convocation twice yearly, in spring and
fall. The recipient’s name is mounted on
an oak plaque situated at the Centre, and
he or she receives a monetary prize along
with a Master Teacher ring or pin.
to a sessional lecturer in recognition of
the important and essential contributions
he or she makes to the University of
Saskatchewan teaching community. The
deadline for submission for the Sylvia
Wallace Sessional Lecturer Teaching Excellence Award is mid-November each year.
More information regarding this award can
be found at http://www.usask.ca/gmcte/
awards/sylviawallace.php.
The 3M Fellowship Award recognizes
teaching excellence as well as educational
leadership. Our university is fortunate
to have six faculty members receive this
prestigious award, with the newest winner
being Dr. Ernie Walker. The Gwenna Moss
Centre promotes this national award, but
is not directly involved in it.
The nomination deadline is also mid-November. Details for this award are on the
STLHE website: http://www.mcmaster.
ca/3Mteachingfellowships/index2.htm.
The selection committee for this award
is comprised of past recipients willing to
participate. After nomination packages
are distributed with ample time allotted for reviewing, a face-to-face meeting
is arranged for the selection committee
to choose a winner. Watch for the announcement of this year’s fall Master
Teacher Award winner at convocation in
October.
As we continue to celebrate the University of Saskatchewan’s 100th year of existence, please commit to recognizing and
rewarding our teaching community. They
have made and continue to make our institution a wonderful place to learn. Honour them by nominating them for these
awards, for teaching is a most honourable
profession. I assure you it will be time
well spent.
The deadline for submission for this
award is the middle of February each year.
Our website, http://www.usask.ca/gmcte/
awards/masterteacher.php, provides the
details for this award.
If you have any questions regarding these
awards, fell free to call me at 966-2231,
or e-mail me at corinne.fasthuber@usask.
ca. Arrangements can be made for you to
look at past recipients’ winning dossiers.
Please don’t forget that the GMC also
awards a yearly teaching excellence award
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14
Technology
Enhanced
Learning –
Limitless
Possibilities
by Frank Bulk, TEL Project
Manager
When you think
of “educational
technology,”
a range of applications likely
come to mind:
e-mail, the
world wide
web, specialized
discipline-specific software,
learning object
repositories, and podcasting. These and
many other forms of digital media and online technologies are now commonplace
in support of teaching and learning and
provide alternative ways of communicating
and collaborating, as well as options for
complete distance delivery of courses and
programs. At the same time, new opportunities for innovation continue to emerge.
The Technology Enhanced Learning Program (TEL) provides an opportunity for
colleges and departments to engage in
new and effective ways of integrating
technology into their courses or program
offerings.
Saskatchewan Learning established the
TEL program in 2000 with the underlying
purpose to promote post-secondary educational choices for learners throughout
the province, and particularly to learners in rural areas and northern regions.
In part, this is accomplished by providing
funding to Saskatchewan post-secondary
institutions, regional colleges, and Aboriginal institutions, which in turn deploy these
resources in support of their technologybased initiatives for teaching and learning.
Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1
Responsibility for this program at the University of Saskatchewan rests in the Office
of the Provost and Vice-President Academic and is administered from the University
Learning Centre under the direction of
Jim Greer. An e-learning priorities committee provides additional oversight to the
program while I am responsible for carrying out the day-to-day management of the
program.
E-Mapping Your Way to New
Solutions: Educational Media
Access and Production
The financial support received from TEL
provides the University of Saskatchewan
with the means to fund innovative
online projects that extend learning
opportunities to students. While funding
priority is given to content development
initiatives that lead to delivery of complete
programs or collections of courses,
support may also be available for course
modules, components, or innovative
learning resources.
The 1910 floor plan of the College Building, proposed by Brown and Vallance, was
a study in cutting-edge teaching and learning environments: space for milk testing,
butter making, cheese making, and grain work; a gymnasium, classrooms, laboratories,
and the library; administrative offices, the earliest incarnation of the Faculty Club,
and quarters for the janitor. Teaching and learning was firmly anchored by lectures
and labs, texts and essays. Audio-visual aids likely included black boards, large scale
diagrams, maps on rollers and magic lanterns. The builders of our institution were
visionaries, thinking of the next generation. Present-day faculty and administrators
have the opportunity to be counted as visionaries as well. It is axiomatic to say collaboration enriches teaching, learning, and research activities in the contemporary
university. Collaboration supporting mature and emerging technologies, the co-creation of knowledge, and the intimate relationship between content development and
media production make collaboration even more rewarding.
Over the last seven years, the TEL
program has approved and funded well
over 100 U of S online courses or coursebased resource projects. Examples of
completed projects range from online
courses developed and delivered through
WebCT, to specialized databases of
discipline-specific imaging and additional
learning resources, to interactive CDROM applications. This year we approved
fifteen new projects for content
development with representation from
fifteen departments in five colleges.
As we approach term I for the 07/08
academic year, we will be announcing a
new call for proposals for the following
08/09 academic year. The application
process is relatively straightforward,
starting with an initial indication of
interest and followed by a full proposal.
Proposals are reviewed and vetted by
an internal selection committee before
submission to a provincial review
committee. If you are interested in more
information on the TEL program, please
contact me at 966-6702 or via e-mail at
frank.bulk@usask.ca. I will be happy to
answer any questions you may have and to
assist you in developing an application to
the TEL program.
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Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1
by Colleen Fitzgerald, Director, EMAP Unit
Planning for collaboration was a primary goal in establishing Educational Media and
Access Production (EMAP), which came into being on July 1, 2007. With the support
of the AVP ICT, the Integrated Planning Office, and the Academic Support Committee of Council, this unit was re-created to be an even more effective resource. By
refining the activity of the Division of Media and Technology, incorporating instructional development and design, and working closely with the University Learning
Centre (ULC), ITS, and the Centre for Continuing and Distance Education (CCDE),
EMAP’s activity will enrich campus activity in a variety of ways.
Just what’s changed? EMAP will continue to serve as a campus media production
unit and to install and support media equipment across campus, but now with a
renewed focus on teaching and learning. Media developers and instructional designers, along with animators, videographers, sound technicians, editors, and interactive
multi-media developers, will continue to support production of on-line and televised
courses and learning resources, and will begin to offer training opportunities for
media users. The Equipment Services unit will continue to provide, with FMD and
colleges, an effective infrastructure for teaching and learning.
The adoption of digital technology has had a profound effect on our activity, from
contacting students through My Courses and providing course materials on online
course management systems for self-directed and distance learning, to discussing research projects with students in a virtual meeting room. The speed of change has allowed for productive experimentation in teaching strategies that incorporate media
effectively but often on an individual basis. EMAP’s role is to support these explorations and assist in sharing those successes with other instructors. Making the most
effective use of media resources and supporting faculty in choosing new directions
for development is a prime issue for the U of S and a prime responsibility of EMAP.
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15
www.usask.ca/gmcte
Greetings from the Student Support team in the ULC! We are excited to help grow
academic and learning support initiatives on campus and look forward to a busy fall
when students return to campus. Student support will see continued assistance in
writing and math/stats through the well-established help centres, now located on the
1st floor in the Murray Library, as well as several new programs in peer-to-peer support. In addition, we are making plans to expand Community Service-Learning opportunities for students with the coordination of central support and programming moving from SESD to the ULC.
Please encourage your students to visit us and to take advantage of free support programs. Our goal is to encourage and support active, engaged learning. If you have any questions about our
programs, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Gina Koehn, Program Director
The PAL (Peer Assisted Learning) Program at the
University Learning Centre
Website: www.usask.ca/ulc/pal
Learning is as learning does. A key ingredient to success in adult education is providing students with opportunities to engage
directly in their learning and offering a welcoming, safe environment for students to ask questions and share knowledge. This fall,
the PAL program will be piloted in the ULC with a small number of academically strong undergraduate students trained to work
as Peer Mentors. These Peer Mentors will support their fellow students in a variety of ways:
• Study Skills Support will be provided by Peer Mentors through small-group workshops and peer consultations on a variety of
topics in Study Skills, such as Time Management, Preparing for and Writing Exams, Learning Styles, Motivation and Goal-Setting,
Note-Taking and Reading.
• Structured Study Sessions will see Peer Mentors working as Study Session Coaches who coordinate weekly study sessions in
some of our challenging, large-section first-year courses. Study Sessions start running at the beginning of the term and provide
structure in reviewing material covered during lectures, coordinating discussion about concepts and problem-solving sessions,
and undertaking a mock mid-term exam. These optional Study Sessions, open to all students in the course, take a collaborative
approach to learning. Students have an opportunity to share their understanding of course material, learn from peers, and work
together to solve problems.
• Conversation Café, an initiative launched with the International Students Office, will invite students to practice their communication skills in a fun, safe atmosphere with weekly sessions featuring games and informal discussion topics.
Peer Mentors will receive training in teaching and learning, leadership, team development, and student support services at the
University of Saskatchewan. There will be regular meetings for the Peer Mentor group to share experiences in providing support, reflect on the opportunity to help fellow students, and discover potential for individual growth and development.
If you have any questions about the PAL program or any of these initiatives, please contact Gina Koehn (966-2738, gina.koehn)
or Donna van de Velde (966-2886, ulc@usask.ca)
16
Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1
Writing Help at the University Learning Centre
Location: Room 142 Murray Building (Murray Library)
Website: www.usask.ca/writing
Email: writinghelp@usask.ca
Coordinator: Liv Marken (liv.marken@usask.ca; 966-2771)
ULC Writing Help offers one-to-one tutoring and workshops in academic writing. Our services are free
to all students – graduate or undergraduate – registered at the U of S.
Students can receive drop-in or online tutoring at any stage of the writing process; they do not need to
bring or send a draft. Our tutors help students practice the conventions of writing in their discipline; clarify writing goals; improve
organization and style; learn how to outline, draft, and revise their work; and understand the rules of grammar, sentence structure,
and punctuation. Tutors do not edit, proofread, or ghost-write essays.
This fall and winter, ULC Writing Help is continuing to offer its popular writing workshops and online resources:
• Short “Grammar-to-Go” workshops on specific topics, such as understanding punctuation, getting started on an essay, and
writing succinctly.
• A number of graduate-level writing workshops in the 2007-2008 regular session.
• Links, video clips, and podcasts of various U of S professors discussing writing in their disciplines.
On our website (see URL above), students can find information about and register for workshops, submit writing questions or a
paper for tutoring, find our drop-in hours, and take advantage of excellent writing resources. For more details, or to book a brief
informational classroom visit, please call me.
Math/Stats Help at the University Learning Centre
Location: Room 144 Murray Building (Main Library)
Website: www.usask.ca/ulc/math
E-mail: ulc_math@usask.ca
Coordinator: Holly Fraser (holly.fraser@usask.ca; 966-2742)
ULC-Math/Stats Help assists University of Saskatchewan students who have mathematics or statistics
questions. Our services focus on first- and second-year courses, but our staff tutors, most of whom
are graduate students, try to help with any question related to mathematics or statistics.*
A student can receive assistance by dropping by Room 144 Murray Building and working as he or she waits to be helped, or by
making an appointment (available during regular session only). Our hours of operation and more information about our services
are available on our web page: www.usask.ca/ulc/math .
Staff members also conduct “special sessions” or workshops on specific topics such as trigonometry, curve sketching, techniques
of integration, and more. These are usually associated with specific courses, such as Math 110. Upcoming workshops are announced on our web page and via PAWS.
*Note: Unfortunately, ULC-Math/Stats help does not have the expertise to help with questions related to research-level statistics.
Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1
17
www.usask.ca/gmcte
Community Service-Learning at the University Learning Centre
Location: Room 37 Murray Building (Main Library)
website:
Phone: (306) 966-7164
Phaedra Hitchings, Coordinator E-mail: phaedra.hitchings@usask.ca
Community Service-Learning (CSL) through the ULC is growing! What is CSL? It is a model of experiential learning that “integrates service in the community with intentional learning activities.” * All CSL programs are structured to focus on previous and new knowledge, action, and critical reflection.
Through CSL, students will be able to meaningfully contribute to the community, better understand human and community needs
and issues, build valuable practical experience, better connect their experiences to their learning, and meet great people.
Examples of programming through our office include our pilot September day of service on September 22nd, and Alternative Reading
Week, an intensive experience focused on service during the February break. There are other co-curricular CSL opportunities and
a growing number of CSL courses across campus.
Your students can visit our website or contact me if they are interested in any of our opportunities or would like to know about
other ways to get involved with CSL. If students are looking for a different way to learn and be involved, CSL is a great way to address this. If you would like more information, would like to share ideas or the great work you’ve been doing in CSL, let me know.
I’d love to hear from you!
* Canadian Association for Community Service-Learning. “Definitions” http://www.communityservicelearning.ca/en/
welcome_definitions.cfm
Online Support Initiatives at the University Learning Centre
Location: Room 37 Murray Building (Main Library)
Website: www.usask.ca/ulc/math
Coordinator: Stephanie Frost (steph.frost@usask.ca; 966-1487)
We’re delighted to announce our new website! Please come and visit at www.usask.ca/ulc/home.php.
You’ll find two areas in the website: one for faculty and instructors through the Gwenna Moss Centre for
Teaching Effectiveness, and one for students through the University Learning Centre student success site.
Many thanks to summer student Carrie Demmans for her work on this project.
This summer we made the ULC Online Writing Help available to all U of S students. There, students can
visit our website and submit their writing or questions for online feedback from a graduate student tutor.
This fall, an enhanced Math Readiness Course will be available online for students wanting to prepare for first-year math. This project is a joint venture between the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, the Department of Computer Science ARIES laboratory,
the University Learning Centre, and the Technology Enhanced Learning initiative. Many thanks to summer students Stephen Damm,
Dylan Griffiths, and Aurélien Fontich for much of the software work on this course, and to Tanieth Dale from ITS for her support.
Assistant / Community Service-Learning Program Support
Donna Van de Velde
Phone: (306) 966-2886
E-mail: donna.vandevelde@usask.ca
Location: Room 37 Murray Building (Main Library)
18
Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1
PAWS Course Tools Multi-Faceted Addition
to Teaching “Toolkit”
by Jennifer W. Webber
PAWS Content & Communications Specialist
Think of the My Courses application in
the PAWS portal as a powerful and multifaceted addition to your overall teaching
“toolkit.”
The ability to post supplemental reading
material or links to suggested online resources, to hold online “office hours,” or
to easily communicate electronically with
students are only a few of the extensive
array of PAWS Course Tools currently
available to instructors.
“PAWS Course Tools are
there to support instructors
and students and to
improve the overall teaching
and learning experience
– not to replace or diminish
“There are many tools available – only
use what helps,” advises Daniela Vidovic,
an Information Technology Services (ITS)
trainer who teaches the My Courses application to U of S instructors.
hand-in folders, an online message board,
and even a live “chat room.”
While all the tools are there, the course
home page itself is blank until the instructor begins building the site’s content
– which could encompass posted articles,
links, a few topics of discussion in the
message board or more.
The course homepage – which is basically
a class website – comes equipped with a
full menu of tools and services including
electronic file folder space, an announcements channel, a photo gallery, electronic
As Isinger sees it, PAWS Course Tools are
there to support instructors and students,
and to improve the overall teaching and
learning experience – not to replace or
diminish conventional teaching methods.
“It’s part of the package,” says Isinger,
“just not the whole package.”
He also sees PAWS Course Tools as
being able to offer genuinely helpful
methods of communicating with students.
“I find it very helpful for getting the message out there and for being able to point
to items of discussion,” says Isinger.
In teaching his course, “Democracy in
North America,” Isinger has used PAWS
Course Tools to post pertinent news articles and to highlight recommended – although not required – reading material.
Occasionally, he has also posted some
humorous material – relevant political
Some instructors use PAWS Course Tools But before you decide your course
cartoons, even the odd Rick Mercer link
only occasionally to communicate with
doesn’t need that kind of additional sup– but he never posts his lecture notes
their students, others to supplement their port – or that you’re simply not interested and stresses he uses PAWS Course Tools
classes on a regular basis, while some
in posting course materials online – you
only as a supplement to, not a substitute
make full use of all features, including admight want to hear what Russell Isinger
for, attending class.
vanced functions such as the Consolidated has to say.
Course option which allows instructors to
“It’s not my job to provide absolutely
carry over course material they’ve develIsinger is a sessional lecturer in the deeverything in a wrapped up package,”
oped to other course sections or even to partment of political studies who is also a says Isinger, adding, “I want to help create
subsequent terms or years.
manager and assistant registrar within the problem solvers and critical thinkers.”
Student and Enrolment Services Division.
Vidovic encourages instructors to explore
“It is our job,” he adds, however, “to make
PAWS Course Tools so they are fully
He’s a stalwart supporter of traditional
learning interesting.”
aware of exactly what services are availteaching methods and believes deeply in
able to them – and so they understand
the power of the lecture – but he also
According to ITS trainer Daniela Vidovic
just how the tools may be easily tailored
regularly uses PAWS Course Tools.
that’s exactly where the real potential of
to meet their specific needs.
PAWS Course Tools is truly “amazing.”
“PAWS is a wonderful tool,” says Isinger.
To begin with the basics, every course
“At the start of teach term, and through- Being able to easily post supplementary
taught on the U of S campus is autoout the year, I remind students that I’m
reading material, relevant photographs,
matically set up with its very own Course communicating with them through PAWS.” links to online resources, or allow stuHomepage available to instructors and
dents to engage in ongoing discussion
students through the My Courses channel For Isinger, however, the key word is
threads are all possible with Course
on the Academics tab in PAWS.1
“tool.”
Tools.
Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1
19
Vidovic again notes that these Course
Tools can be used in multiple ways,
depending on the preferences of the instructors and the demands of the specific
course.
www.usask.ca/gmcte
The “Chat” function, for example, which
allows live discussion in real time may not
be suitable for every course – but it is
possible for an instructor to use its private chat function to conduct online “office hours” at designated times.
The very nature of PAWS Course Tools,
she explains, can also help to draw out
introverted students who may be hesitant
to ask questions or offer comments in the
classroom.
“PAWS Course Tools definitely helps accommodate different types of learners,”
says Vidovic. “There are learners who fare
much better in privacy – in a classroom,
you don’t always have time to organize
your thoughts.”
Isinger agrees.
“A lot of students in class can’t get over
that hump – that fear of putting their hand
up to ask a question,” says Isinger, who
plans to start offering some online office
hours this year.
With PAWS Course Tools, he says, “these
students can get around that and still get
one-to-one interaction with a professor.”
Vidovic explains there are other conveniences offered by PAWS Course Tools.
The electronic hand-in folders, for example, can easily be set with start and expiry
dates so that submissions are allowed only
within a particular period of time.
What’s more, when a student submits an
assignment, the tool automatically begins
a folder for that student, titled by NSID
(network services identification), which
helps an instructor keep track of who has
submitted what – especially helpful for
those with students who forget to add
their name to the file they’re submitting.
Again, however, the decision to use PAWS
Course Tools doesn’t mean an instructor
should feel any pressure to use all the
available functions.
Isinger, for example, doesn’t use the
hand-in folders at all, preferring to receive
hard-copy assignments from students
which he can mark by hand.
As for other Course Tool functions, such
as Files or News, Vidovic reminds instructors that they can decide to share or
completely delegate responsibility for
these areas to teaching assistants or particular students. In fact, she suggests that,
if appropriate, graded assignments might
include developing a well-organized collection of articles on a particular topic.
The very nature of
PAWS Course Tools…
can also help to
draw out introverted
students who may
be hesitant to ask
questions or offer
comments in
the classroom.
And, if there are tools that an instructor
does not wish to use at all, they can simply be turned off completely – or enabled
only when the instructor wishes to use
them.
If you’re interested in taking an ITS training course on PAWS Course Tools, please
visit the Course Tools page on the ITS
Training Services website at http://focus.
usask.ca/courses/registrationcourse.
cfm?courseid=556 . Simply click on the
“Notify me!” link in order to receive an email notifying you when class offerings are
scheduled.
Because PAWS services are constantly
evolving, your feedback is important.
Please let the PAWS team know what you
like, what you don’t, and what tools or
services you might like to see in future.
For further information or assistance with
PAWS Course tools, please feel free to
e-mail its.instructional.support@usask.ca
or contact Kevin Lowey (4826) or Tyson
Brown (4758) by telephone.
You can also always pass along comments
and suggestions to the ITS Help Desk by
phone at 306-966-4817 or 1-800-9664817 (Toll Free in Canada) or by e-mail to
help.desk@usask.ca .
With PAWS Course Tools, PAWS aims to
offers highly effective ways to extend your
physical classroom into the virtual world.
We hope you enjoy discovering which
tools may best suit you and the particular
classes you’re teaching. Good luck!
The E-mail tool, for example, which not
only allows instructors to e-mail students,
but students to e-mail each other, can be
1. Distance courses are set up with a
disabled with one click of the mouse if an different application: Blackboard (formerly
instructor so desires. That instructor, how- WebCT).
ever, could decide to briefly re-enable the
tool to send out a notice to students.
Flexibility and adaptability are at the heart
of PAWS Course Tools. In fact, being able
to personalize preferences is a hallmark of
all services offered by PAWS which stands
for Personalized Access to Web Services.
A variety of online support, training
courses, and manuals are available to help
you learn more about PAWS Course Tools
– and all PAWS services.
Training manuals on PAWS Course Tools
and other services are available from the
ITS website at http://www.usask.ca/its/services/paws/training.php . They can also be
accessed from the PAWS login screen under “Help & Information.”
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Bridges ,Vol. 6, No. 1