Teaching & Learning Day Fall 2019 | Academic Newsletter | Seneca Polytechnic

by Karen Spiers, the Teaching & Learning Centre

in the December 2019 issue

Teaching & Learning Day Fall 2019 was held on October 21. The morning kicked off with keynote speaker Dr. Megan Sumeracki, Assistant Professor at Rhode Island College and co-founder of the Learning Scientists. More than 100 attendees watched, listened, and participated as Dr. Sumeracki shared practical strategies faculty can use to help students learn better during her presentation, “Applying the Science of Learning from the Laboratory to the Classroom.” She focused on retrieval-based learning and provided examples and takeaways that faculty can start using in the classes right away.

After the keynote, Dr. Sumeracki led the entire group in a hands-on workshop. She focused on two other learning strategies (elaboration and dual coding) and how they can be used with retrieval-based learning to improve students’ learning. Attendees worked in small groups to discuss ideas and how they could be implemented within their teaching practice.

In case you missed it, you can watch Dr. Sumeracki’s keynote presentation online. And make sure you check out the Learning Scientists website; it contains many ready-to-use resources (posters, videos, blog posts, prompts, etc.) that explain the principles of learning and provide guiding principles for faculty and students on how to use effective learning strategies, both in and outside of the classroom.

All recorded keynote presentations from past Teaching & Learning Centre Events are available on the Teaching & Learning Centre's website.

After lunch, attendees had the opportunity to visit services area tables to learn more about the supports and services available to faculty. Thank you to Adobe, Applied Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (HELIX), Counselling and Accessibility Services, Information Technology Services, Leadership and Employee Development, and Seneca Libraries for joining us and sharing their supports with faculty.

Teaching & Learning Day Fall 2019 included a ‘Badge Savvy’ presentation by Amy Lin, Director of the Teaching & Learning Centre, where attendees learned about Micro-credentials at Seneca system for faculty. Those who attended Teaching & Learning Day Fall 2019, spoke with representatives from the service areas, and completed reflections on their learning for the day could apply for the Teaching & Learning Day – Fall 2019 micro-credential.

The afternoon consisted of a variety of break-out sessions where Seneca employees shared strategies, research, upcoming opportunities, and helpful tools:

Strategies:

• Andragogy in hybrid and online courses – facilitated by Nick De Jong, School of Information Technology Administration & Security
• Effective exam review guides – facilitated by Alex Venis, Faculty of Continuing Education and Training
• The science of learning and Universal Design for Learning – facilitated by Sherri Parkins and Arushi Manners, the Teaching & Learning Centre
• Teaching international students – facilitated by Holly Cybulski, the Teaching & Learning Centre

Research:

• Applied research – facilitated by Ben Rogers, Applied Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• Mastery learning – facilitated by Kerry Kwan, School of Fire Protection Engineering Technology

Opportunities:

• International opportunities – facilitated by Ashley Laracy and Ronan Wilson, Seneca International
• Professional development leaves – facilitated by Joseph Crangle, Leadership and Employee Development

Tools:

• Adobe Premiere Rush – facilitated by Jason Katsoff, Adobe
• Adobe Spark Video – facilitated by Kosta Dimeropoulos, English Language Institute
• MyApps – facilitated by representatives from ITS
• Pressbooks – facilitated by Jennifer Peters, Seneca Libraries

During the wrap-up, Adobe presented Seneca with a certificate to recognize Seneca as an Adobe Creative Campus.

View the December 2019 issue of the Academic Newsletter.