NOVEMBER FACULTY SPOTLIGHT

OCTOBER FACULTY PD DAY

Durham College’s PD Day

Durham College’s fall PD day was held during reading week on October 24, 2019.  A total of 120 faculty and staff participated during the day of learning.  There were four faculty-led sessions, including Bernie Leroux who explored how we can all support the resurgence of Indigenous cultures in our teaching practices. Rogier ten Kate demonstrated how action learning could be used as a way to solve business programs. Joanne Spicer discussed how intercultural content could be added into your courses, and members from Durham College’s Creativity Community of Practice led a group of faculty through a problem-solving process that could be implemented in the classroom.  Brett Clayton and Visal Chea introduced Teams and Sway - two new Microsoft 365 tools that all faculty and students can use. Dr. Steve Joordens, professor of psychology at the University of Toronto – Scarborough, kicked off the day with a presentation on peerScholar, an educational technology tool that supports students’ critical, creative and communication skills.

We welcome your feedback and your input to inform future PD opportunities so feel free to write to us at cafePD@durhamcollege.ca.  We look forward to hearing from you!

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Student Assessments

Student assessments are traditionally used to measure the extent to which students can demonstrate key information and/or skills related to the course learning outcomes at a given point in time. The model of constructive alignment assumes that assessments in outcomes-based education are aligned with course learning outcomes, and that teaching and learning activities are designed to support students to achieve the outcomes (Biggs, 2003). This assessment of student learning is usually summative in nature at the end of a unit, module or course. Although summative assessments serve a function, frequent formative assessments may be used in conjunction with summatives throughout the course to support student learning as well as provide valuable information for faculty.

Formative assessments are more informal than summatives and typically weighed at a low percentage – or not graded at all. This assessment for student learning is considered low stakes and used by students to identify gaps in their knowledge and/or skills. Faculty can use formative assessments to change instructional approaches, if required. An example of formatives include self-quizzes in which students practice retrieving new information and/or applying the skills; this has been demonstrated to support learning of new material and/or skills (Brown, Roediger, & McDaniel, 2014).

Another example of formative assessments are low-stakes peer reviews that encourage students to assess and comment on their peers’ work. This can support the development of objectivity of the assessment criteria in students that can be transferred to their own work (Liu & Carless, 2006). We are currently piloting an educational technology tool, peerScholar, that supports students in peer reviews with their classmates. The tool may be used as a low-stakes formative approach that supports student learning; Steve Joordens has published a number of research papers on the pedagogical benefits of the tool, including a recent paper published by Higher Educational Quality Council of Ontario. Dr. Joordens introduced the empirical and theoretical basis of peerScholar at the CAFE’s PD day. peerScholar supports the development of students’ creative and critical thinking skills, as well as communication skills – all transferrable skills that our students need in their professional and personal lives. Information about peerScholar in the Durham College context can be found on the CAFE website. Reach out to us if you’d like further information.

COOL TOOLS

With the launch of Office 365 for faculty at Durham College in August, you can use FlipGrid with your institutional email! This means no additional login information to remember! FlipGrid is a tool used to have video discussions with your class (think DC Connect Discussions, but with interactive videos). Kim Carter, a professor at Conestoga College, hosted an Educational Technology Committee Lunch and Learn webinar on how to use FlipGrid as a tool for assessment. To watch the webinar, click here. In this webinar you will "hear about using FlipGrid to collect peer feedback, practice communication skills, and to mark a group assignment. Learn about the beneficial and unexpected results of trying out this video blog tool in a teaching and assessment context." Kim also wrote an article with her lessons learned. Looking for suggestions on using FlipGrid? Here are 15 different suggestions and some benefits of using the tool. 

INDIGENIZING YOUR COURSE

RELEASE OF THIRD INDIGENOUS HISTORIES AND RECONCILIATION MODULE. HONESTY

To support Durham College's (DC) Indigenization Statement, the First Peoples Indigenous Centre (FPIC), in collaboration with CAFE, has developed a seven-part training module titled: Indigenous Histories and Reconciliation. These seven modules will be rolled out over the next few months and will be available under the self-registration tab on DC Connect.

The third module, Honesty, is available now. This module will focus on the changing power dynamic and understanding that treaty relationship is dynamic and contemporary and requires ongoing work to meet the needs of all that share this territory. This training module is available for the DC community to support an understanding of Indigenous histories in Canada, and to engage with reconciliation and decolonization, personally and professionally.

If you register on DC Connect now, you will receive updates when new content is released. FPIC is also hosting bi-weekly Learning Circles to discuss best practices and to create a community of practice around Indigenization. All are welcome.

Please register using the training calendar. The next Indigenous Learning Circle is scheduled for November 26, from 4 to 5 p.m.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

Are you interested in offering an experiential learning opportunity in one of your courses this winter, or finding new off-campus partners for an existing course or capstone?

In December 2018, Durham College (DC) implemented Riipen, a software platform that connects educators, industry partners and students for course-based micro-experiences. Riipen gives instructors the opportunity to search for or submit desired real-world work-integrated experiences with industry partners that they can embed into curriculum as in-class assignments, competitions or longer duration projects.

Riipen would like to offer their immediate support to connect your students with curriculum-embedded projects from companies and nonprofits through Riipen, their online marketplace of more than 5,000 companies looking to provide project-based experiential learning opportunities for students.

Riipen can help you easily design an experiential component in your course and will then find companies to offer real-world projects as part of that component.

There is still time to design an experience for the upcoming Winter term. You can get started by joining Durham's experiential learning portal through this sign-up link.

You can also book a call with Adam Rossi, our Riipen representative here, or email adam.rossi@riipen.com with any questions. Adam is also available to speak with you about project-based experiences for the 2020 Summer and Fall terms.

We encourage you to publish your courses on the platform as early as possible to ensure you find the right off-campus partners for your students. The longer the course is up, the more likely you’ll match with companies.

ONE MINUTE DC CONNECT TIP

Did you know?

You can use OneDrive to save time updating PowerPoints across multiple sections in DC Connect!

Start by storing all your course PowerPoint files on your OneDrive instead of your desktop. When organizing the Content of your course in DC Connect, instead of using the New and Upload Files process to upload your PowerPoints to the module, access the Add Existing Activities menu and select the OneDrive option. Log in to your Office.com account, if prompted, and navigate your OneDrive for the desired PPT file. A topic link will appear in the active module of your course that directs students to your PowerPoint. Repeat these DC Connect steps for each of your courses.

Updates made to the source file stored on OneDrive now cascade to all sections of the course that link to it. Be sure to edit the Share properties of your PPT file so that it can be downloaded, but not edited by your students.

LIBRARY SPOTLIGHT

The Library is Open!

Librarians are available to help you find Open Educational Resources to adopt and adapt in your teaching. OERs can include textbooks, course materials, video, images, lesson plans, games and software tools. We can also answer your licensing and copyright questions and help you choose the right open license for your own learning objects and open educational content.

Contact your Subject Specialist Librarian for more information or visit the Open Education page on the Library website.

#MeetTheCAFE

MONTHLY PD OPPORTUNITIES

What is the Value of Subject-Specialist Pedagogy in College Teaching?

Thursday, November 7^th 3:30pm–4:30pm: The Centre for Academic Excellence at Niagara College is excited to share a free upcoming opportunity for professional development with all of you.

Dr. Kevin Orr, Professor of Work and Learning and Associate Dean in the School of Education at the University of Huddersfield in England will be offering a talk entitled “What is the Value of Subject-Specialist Pedagogy in College Teaching”. Download the session flyer here for more information.

Intercultural Learning: A Workshop for Faculty and Staff

** Part of DC's International Education Week **

Thursday, November 14^th 2:30pm - 4:30pm: This highly interactive face-to-face learning simulation is intended to improve participants' cultural compentency by helping them understand the impact of culture on the behaviour of people, groups, and organizations.

Come join us for this engaging and experiential learning experience and explore cultural diversity!

Sign up today - this session will fill up quickly!

Launching a Domain of One’s Own Project

Friday, November 15^th 12:00 - 1:00pm: Fleming College is launching a Domain of One’s Own (DoOO) project in fall of 2019 where students can take more ownership of their learning. In this webinar, we will give an overview of the DoOO infrastructure, discuss the progress made in launching the project, and discuss the benefits and difficulties that may be faced in taking this approach to student learning.

To register for this webinar, please visit: http://www.edtechontario.ca/event/launching-a-domain-of-ones-own-project/