Welcome back!
The first class of the Winter semester has come and gone, and establishing rules and expectations is just part of that inaugural class. The first week is a great time to rethink our kick-off strategies and think of what more, or less, we can do on the first day. Simply moving tables into islands from the first day can have a positive influence on our teaching by changing the dynamics and atmosphere of a class. Wheel your mouse down to peruse some ideas you can use in the early weeks of a semester.
Featured Articles by Faculty Focus
Strategies for Creating a Safe and Supportive Classroom
Love the One You’re With: Creating Classroom Community
Featured Videos by Magna Mentor Commons
How Can I Spark Conversation in the Classroom?
Teaching and Learning has subscribed to the Magna Mentor Commons, 20 minute videos designed to answer a specific question related to teaching and learning. They deliver actionable insights in highly focused and short presentations designed to fit busy schedules. Sign up today by emailing asktlc@ufv.ca.
150 Acts of Reconciliation for Canada’s 150
On August 4th, there are 150 days left in 2017 – the year of Canada’s 150th birthday. There have been robust discussions this year around reconciliation and we would like to contribute to the conversation. Together, we have written 150 Acts of Reconciliation for the last 150 days of 2017. Many of these are small, everyday acts that average Canadians can undertake, but others are more provocative that encourage people to think about Indigenous-settler relationships in new ways. We encourage you to use #150Acts to share your engagement with each item on the list.
7. Read an autobiography written by an Indigenous person. A couple of ideas include Augie Merasty’s The Education of Augie Merasty, Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton’s Fatty Legs: A True Story, and Mini Adola Freeman’s Life Among the Qallunaat.
Read more of the 150 Acts…and review UFV Indigenization
Call for Proposals
We invite all UFV faculty and staff to submit proposals for workshops for UFV’s fifth annual Professional Development Day (PDDAY2020) on April 30, 2020.
Be well. Learn well. Teach well…the connection between good health and academic performance is the theme for this year’s PD Day sub-themes:
- Technology
- Diversity/Inclusion
- Wellness
- Pedagogy
- Research
Submit your proposal
Deadline: January 31, 2020.
Proposals will be reviewed based on topic, potential audience, link to themes, and proposed outcomes. Confirmation will be provided to workshop facilitators by the end of February.
#UFVPDDAY
Detail(s): Abbotsford Campus, Rm G124, Wed. Jan. 29 (10 – 11am)
Facilitator: Ken Harmel, TLC Learning Designer
Bring: 3 of your favorite activities.
- Review activities
- Energizers
- Specific skill, such as an active listening activity
- Formative assessment
- And anything in-between
Register/Info: tlcevents@ufv.ca
Register / Info: tlcevents@ufv.ca
turnitin.com
It is UFV’s mandate that this tool be used as a learning tool for students. Faculty members can set up a Turnitin assignment where students can submit papers several times up to the assignment deadline. Once the deadline arrives, the assignment currently submitted is the final version. By allowing students to see the originality report prior to final submission, students can ensure their papers are not plagiarized. (Proper set up of the assignment is required as paper titles, bibliographies, and common phrases can be highlighted as plagiarized text. Visit the Teaching and Learning Centre for assistance.)
To sign up with Turnitin.com, contact asktlc@ufv.ca. They will sign you up, provide you with a login and any necessary training if you require.
asktlc@ufv.ca
online@ufv.ca is no longer – so use askufv@ufv.ca
You may have already heard that Teaching & Learning has a new email address for support, it’s asktlc@ufv.ca. Catchy, right? Please use this new email address for questions or support related to pedagogy and itservicedesk@ufv.ca for support related to technology. Here is an example: If instructors want to know how to add a discussion forum in Blackboard (a simple how-to) then contact itservicedesk@ufv.ca. If instructors want ideas on how to get better engagement in discussion forums (how-to use a tool more effectively), then contact asktlc@ufv.ca. Don’t worry, ITS and Teaching & Learning work together closely so we’ll make sure the appropriate department responds to your request quickly.
A reminder that Teaching & Learning offers assistance and recommends teaching tools and techniques to apply not only in online courses, but in traditional and hybrid ones, too.
Working with Multilingual Learners – Providing resources and practical classroom strategies
We hope that our resource website will provide resources and practical classroom strategies to help faculty members who are teaching the increasing numbers of multilingual learners in their classrooms. We have tried to organize the site so that you can find information you need as quickly as possible as well as links to other helpful resources.
Overview of the site
- Classroom Practices
- Background
- Reading
- Interaction, Discussion, and Group Work
- Asking for Help
- What’s Working at UFV
- Empowering Multilingual Learners
- Assessment and Feedback
- Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
- Intercultural Communication
- Resources
If you have any questions, or would like more information, please contact: Kerry Johnson
Reserve Technology Equipment Online
Online Request Form
Faculty and staff can order technology resources such as digital cameras, laptops, data projectors, swivl cameras, microphones, etc. from the listing available on the above link.
For more information, please contact: asktlc@ufv.ca
Festival of Learning
2020 Festival of Learning: Disruption & Transformation in Higher Education
May 11 – 13, 2020
The Festival of Learning is B.C.’s largest celebration of teaching and learning in higher education. Held every two years and welcoming about 500 attendees from all over B.C. and beyond, the Festival is a great opportunity for faculty, students, leaders, librarians, learning designers, educational technologists and accessibility/ disability educators and professionals to network and learn together.
For more information, proposal and registration details: festival.bccampus.ca/
