News

During the Winter 2021 semester, the Office of Teaching and Learning will be hosting a virtual book club to discuss The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom with the Science of Emotion (Cavanagh, S., 2016). Book club discussions are open to all University of Guelph faculty and instructional staff (including sessionals). At each meeting, book club members will take part in a facilitated discussion of one or two chapters of The Spark of Learning and discuss your thoughts, questions or share experiences from their own classes.

Our Alternative Assessment Formats for Teaching Online website has been updated with new resources, including a guide to implementing two-stage exams in the remote environment. This site includes suggestions for implementing two-stage exams in both synchronous and asynchronous formats, and the benefits of implementing two-stage exams.

Our Alternative Assessment Formats for Teaching Online website has been updated with new resources, including our concise guide to Shifting your Assessments to the Remote Environment. This site includes questions to guide your selection of assessments and sample assessment strategies for different learning outcomes.

Want to learn more about how to balance synchronous and asynchronous teaching approaches in your remote course? See our new resource for information about effective synchronous and asynchronous methods for teaching and learning activities, including content delivery, strategies to support student engagement and learning, and strategies to build community.

Interested in using oral assessments or exams as an assessment method in your remote course? See our new resource on implementing oral assessments, including strategies to design and implement these assessments, and examples of their use in various disciplines.

Non-academic misconduct associated with remote instruction includes offensive remarks, disruptive behaviour, and intimidation. For more information about how to prevent academic misconduct challenges in the remote classroom, and how to manage and respond to these behaviours, see our new resource on classroom management in remote courses.

We are hosting Course Redesign Institutes (CRDI) in November to support instructors in their planning for remote course delivery. The CRDI is divided into two separate institutes: the first focuses on adapting assessments and the second on adapting teaching and learning activities. Each institute runs over two days. Instructors participate in a series of modules to explore and develop their course plans, and participate in synchronous Zoom sessions in small and large groups to share ideas, ask questions and discuss challenges. 

The 2020 Graduate Student University Teaching Days (GSUTD) may almost be over, but there's still time to register for the final events! Join us on Friday September 4^th from 9:00-10:30 am for:

Teaching How NOT To Teach and the GSUTD 2020 Closing Ceremony

Since 2006, the University of Guelph’s Learning Enhancement Fund (LEF) has provided funding to support several projects that have enriched the learning experience of our undergraduate students. We invite submissions each year from faculty, instructors, and staff designed to support and engage students in innovative practices and experiential learning, and that contribute to the achievement of related course or program learning outcomes.

Funded LEF projects for 2020/2021 are:

Adapt your Course for Remote Instruction

The Course Redesign Institute is a structured online experience intended to help instructors with planning remote courses. The Course Redesign process has been divided into two separate institutes, with the first focused on adapting your assessments and the second focused on adapting your teaching and learning activities.