ESG 5300 Theory & Practice of Undergraduate Teaching Module 1: Establishing a Foundation Week 1 Welcome! Agenda 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Welcome Icebreaker Activity: Finding Three Commonalities Course expectations & orientation Students : 21st century student activity Professors : Good qualities group chat University Environment Next steps Learning Outcomes Our main goals for class 1 are to: • Learn about this course and wider certificate program • Begin building our community and meet one another • Explore key elements of the university context (professors, students, environment) • Identify trends in higher education and their impact on the university experience Ice-breaker Activity Find Three Commonalities Indigenous Land I like… I’m studying… Image: Macrovector Activity: Find Three Commonalities Once you are in your groups 1. Introduce yourselves, your pronouns, and your program 2. Your task: find 3 unique things you all have in common. These may be habits, interests, favorites, research...anything! 3. Consider the land that you have traveled this summer using Native-Land. 4. Be ready to present your partner. Who are your professors? Find Three Commonalities Adrienne Annan & Maryse Sullivan Image: Macrovector Course Background and Structure • Purpose of the course • Pedagogical approach - Exchange and Dialogue - Reflect and Question (metacognitive process) Course Background and Structure • Purpose of the course • Pedagogical approach - Exchange and Dialogue - Reflect and Question (metacognitive process) • Success - Attendance & Assessments (4) - Feedback first - Certificate Program progression • Course format and logistics - Virtual Campus & Vanier Hall - Alternating professors - UOttawa email Expectations • Active learning & inclusive exchanges • Time commitment outside class - Assignments (4) - Course Calendar (weekly progress) - Discussion and meetings • Develop your future teaching goals • uOttawa policies, regulations and resources • Brightspace Quiz: What do you want out of this course? The University Context Let’s begin with students… Duke University Archives CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 What sociologists have to say… Generation Birth Range* Current Age* Silent Generation/Maturist 1928 – 1945 76 to 94 Baby Boomer 1946 – 1964 58 to 76 Generation X 1965 – 1980 41 to 57 Millennials 1981 – 1996 26 to 41 Generation Z 1996 + 25 and under *exact date ranges vary Activity: Students in the 21st Century In groups, • Outline 5 - 10 characteristics of a typical 21st century student (based on your understanding, observations, and experiences). • Distinguish these students from those of previous generations? Duration: 15 minutes Presentation References Bialik, K & Fry, R., (2019). Millennial life: How young adulthood today compares with prior generations, PEW research center. Parker, David WB (2019). Millennials vs Boomers. Parker Associates of Jacksonville, Florida, PTC computer solutions. Statistics Canada (2022). A generational portrait of Canada’s aging population from the 2021 Census. Census of Population 2021. Catalogue no. 98-200-X, issue 2021003. What sociologists have to say… Millennials & Gen Z (eventually alpha) • Our "Digital Natives": - Harder to generalize - Shift in the workplace - Social Justice oriented - Globalization, technology, access to information Parker, DWB, Millennials vs. Boomers (2019) Millennials (Generation Y) trends Born 1981 to 1996 | Now 26 to 41 years old • Youngest in late 20s & entered workforce (in US Recession, 2009) • More educated, economic divide (post-secondary education) • Women more educated (by age 25-37 held Bachelor's, 43%) • Population shift towards immigration, increased diversity • Slower to form own households, less and later to marry, kids • Taught “nothing is impossible” (Bialik & Fry, 2019) Generation Z trends Born 1996 to 2012 | Now 9 to 26 years old • Significance of 1995: Internet was commercialized • Part-time jobs, and entering university • Likely most diverse & best educated • More activism oriented and mobilized than Millennials • Very connected through technology (Bialik & Fry, 2019) Gen Z in Higher Education • Professor Megan Gerhardt Transcript Break time • Take 10 mins to stretch, grab a refreshment, and walk around. Coffee vector created by catalyststuff What do you think: To Adapt? Or Not to Adapt? • Q1: In what ways should higher education instructors adapt to this Generation Z? • Q2: Or should we not change our ways? Teaching in the 21st Century: Shift in Role Information provider Guide and facilitator to learning OCDE (2010) Professors: Then and now • Primarily to provide instruction • Shift towards the need to produce learning • Unique workload… - Research & Funding, Publications Community Services Technologies & Tools Supervision of Undergraduate Projects & Graduate Students • Preparing professors for teaching? Professors at uOttawa • Our definitions of good teachers shift - time, discipline, institution, etc. • Over 1,225 Regular professors (Full time, associate and assistant professors included) • Adding Part-time professors (941), Adjuncts, Clinical professors and scientists (medicine and psychology), and research and librarian roles adds almost 5,000 professors • Serving 37,449 Undergraduate students, 7,244 Graduate https://www.uottawa.ca/institutional-research-planning/resources/facts-figures/quick-facts Professors back then… • Consider one or some of the professors who taught you during your undergraduate degree - Can you think of learning experiences that were meaningful to you? - Can you recall a good professor (in terms of teaching)? • Question for reflection: - What are the characteristics of a good teacher? University Environment • University culture and its characteristics - management, organization, academic freedom • Distinct levels of undergraduate and graduate studies - objectives, methods, structure • Role of universities in society - creating knowledge and through teaching disseminate • Directions for UO (Jacques Fremont, 2019 Acfas conference): - Structuring for ‘designer degrees’ to follow passions - Redirecting roles towards interdisciplinary positions Current Global Context • Some in-person, some distance education • Fluctuating regulations • Workers displaced & modified working conditions • Unsteady health and economic conditions • Global political, environmental and cultural shifts • International and immigration factors for students & families • Mental health and physical health • Family situations and youth education impacts Notions of Quality in Higher Education • Exceptional: - selective, excellence by surpassing standards • Fitness for purpose: - meaning defined by product/service by institution or client • Value for money: - efficient use for funders (government, grants) & clients (students) • Transformation: - process adding value to students Adapted from Groen (2017); Harvey and Stensaker (2016) University Rankings In closing…. • Continue to explore these topics over coming weeks • Explorations of students, professors and university environment will inform your philosophy, teaching practice For our next class… Make sure to complete these follow-up activities online in Brightspace before our next class: • Quiz on course expectations and learning preferences • Assigned reading on the learning theories - Read the selected chapter - Use question prompts to reflect on the reading (will help you in our class activity next week) Ticket out of class Quality of a good professor
