Focus on Teaching - July 2021

As educators, we have a responsibility to continue to learn and to decolonize our work, recognizing the impact our actions have on students and the wider community. BCcampus has compiled a curated list of resources and actions for non-Indigenous post-secondary educators to support further learning and action. We strongly recommend this resource - it can be accessed here.

We are also pleased to announce that we are seeking a faculty member to join CELT as an Educational Developer: Indigenous Teaching and Learning Focus. Please apply through the TRU careers page and contact celt@tru.ca with any questions.

Lastly, before you close your calendar for the summer, please hold the day of August 26 for our inaugural Welcome Back Faculty day! In the morning we will learn from a well-known keynote speaker and after lunch we will host a series of engaging teaching-focussed workshops. The whole day will be accessible to faculty online as well as face-to-face on campus following all TRU safety guidelines. Registration will open in mid-July.

COVID-19 Safety on Campus

Our top priority is your safety and that of our TRU community.  Visit TRU's COVID-19 Response website to keep yourself up to date.

Upcoming Events - SAVE THE DATE

New Faculty Orientation - August 24-25

Chair Orientation - August 23-27

Welcome Back Faculty Day - August 26

Professional Development

Indigenization Actions for Reconciliation as Citizens and Educators

The goal as citizens and educators is to decolonize our thinking and our actions. Educators have a great deal of power and agency to make choices that affect thousands of students over a career – choices about course curriculum, policies, assessment, technologies, and their own behaviours and approaches to facilitating learning. 

The first and ongoing action to take as an educator is to engage in your own deep listening and  pursuit of learning about Indigenous Peoples and histories. If you are non-Indigenous, don’t rely on your Indigenous colleagues, friends, and acquaintances to help you navigate your own learning and feelings.

See the full list of resources and actions here.

Learning Technology & Innovation

Moodle Support

Every Tuesday-Thursday, 10 a.m.- Noon & 2-4 p.m. 
Drop-in and meet with a Moodle expert.

To see the programming available and to register, visit the Learning Technology and Innovations Calendar.

Connect by accessing Support for Virtual Delivery or email moodlesupport@tru.ca.

Learning Technology Podcast

You Got This is produced by the Learning Technology and Innovation (LTI) team at Thompson Rivers University to provide just-in-time teaching and learning encouragement and support to our campus community. It's designed to support you when you need it with weekly episodes offering tips, advice, insights, and conversations with folks from across our campus community.

Your Host:
Brenna Clarke Gray, Coordinator, Learning Technology, LTI @ TRU

Conferences

Visit our External Conferences page to get up to date information on upcoming conferences, including links and submission deadlines.

Here's a sneak peek at what's on there right now: [See More]

July 7-10, 2021 Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia (Brisbane, Australia) Conference website

Sep 27-Oct 1, 2021 Open Education Global 2021 Conference (Online) Conference website

Oct 5-7, 2021 Open Education Global 2021 Conference (Nantes, France) Conference website

Nov 8-17, 2021 #POD21: Evolving Beyond Crisis-Connecting to the Future (Online) Conference website

Nov 11-12, 2021 2021 (Virtual) Forum for SoTL - Mokakiiks Centre for SOTL @ Mount Royal University (Online) Conference website

Opportunities

Did you know that CELT has a blog?

It's called In Progress. Click to view our latest posts.

Using Canoe Paddling as an Analogy to Reflect on the past 16 months of Teaching in the ESTR Program at TRU

By Christina Cederlof

In outrigger canoeing, when your boat flips, it is called a huli. Hulis happen suddenly. There you were, giving it your all, paddling towards the finish line, and bam, all of a sudden you are in the water. .... {more}.

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Holding on to What We've Learned

By Matthew Stranach

I would like to thank the CELT team for the opportunity to contribute to this blog, as well as for all the work they’ve put in to support our community over the past year and a half. While we are not out of the woods yet, the landscape in front of us does appear to be changing— .... {more}.

Do you have a tip or strategy to share with colleagues? An idea for an article? Would you like to be a featured author on our blog? Contact Carolyn Ives at cives@tru.ca with your idea!

Cascade Journal of Knowledge

The Cascade Journal of Knowledge disseminates knowledge (open-access) from scholars and enhances the scholarship of teaching and learning. The journal achieves this through a unique and innovative journal format: scholars submit a screen-cast/video/podcast (3-8 minutes) of an academic topic that is double-blind peer-reviewed. This year you may be interested in creating a screen-cast, podcast, or video assignment with your students!

Visit the website to learn more or contact Russell Currie in SoBE.

Recommended Readings

Healy, M. (2021) Socially-just pedagogic case studies of practices. Retrieved from https://mickhealey.co.uk/resources

Mamers, D. T. (2021, June 24) How to be a good host for guest speakers in your class. University Affairs. Link.

 Have you written, performed, or created something you'd like to share? Email us at CELT@tru.ca to put it in our next newsletter!

P.S. Don't forget you can rewatch your favourite or discover a new CELTalk anytime!

Focus on Teaching is the monthly newsletter of the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT). We showcase instructional development opportunities and resources for TRU faculty and staff, and up-to-date information on current projects, initiatives and professional development opportunities. To read past issues of Focus on Teaching or to subscribe to our mailing list, visit our Newsletters page.

We respectfully acknowledge that TRU is located ne Secwepemcúl’ecw, in unceded Secwepemc territory.

To contact CELT, email celt@tru.ca and we will do our best to respond within 24 hours. Please note that our team is working remotely for the time being.
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