Sparking Student Engagement
August 26 - 29, 2024
The Teaching Development Conference (TDC) at Queen’s is a signature event hosted each Fall by the Centre for Teaching and Learning. It is an opportunity for all educators to start the academic year with networking and professional development on innovations in teaching. This event is for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, faculty, and teaching staff from across disciplines to come together to learn and share ideas. The conference will explore strategies for creating flexible, inclusive and student-centred learning environments, whether we are teaching undergraduate, graduate, online, or on-campus courses. Sessions throughout the conference will share ideas for educators across all levels of experience.
TDC 2024 at-a-Glance
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Monday, August 26 |
In-Person Classroom Orientations Morning: Auditorium |
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Tuesday, August 27 |
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Wednesday, August 28 |
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Thursday, August 29 |
Grad and Postdoc Summer PD Group – Celebration Event |
| Icon | Session is Designed for |
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Everyone |
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New Graduate Students and Teaching Assistants |
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Teaching Fellows and Post-Doctoral Fellows |
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Early Career Faculty |
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Faculty |
Monday, August 28 (In-Person)
Classroom Orientations
Please note: These Drop-Ins do not require registration.
Monday, August 26, 2023; 10:30 – 11:30am; Ellis Hall Auditorium
We invite instructors teaching in large lecture halls or auditorium classrooms to drop-in for an in-person orientation session to become familiar with classroom technology. This is an opportunity to test the technology and ask questions about how you might use it in your teaching. The session will be co-hosted by ITS and the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL). Please note that we will only be offering training in one of the auditoriums, however we will be able to describe and demonstrate the standard classroom features present in the other classrooms at Queen’s.
Monday, August 26, 2023; 1:00 – 2:00pm; Ellis Hall 333
We invite instructors teaching in high-tech active learning classrooms to drop-in for an in-person orientation session. During this time, participants will be invited to become familiar with the classroom technology and to discuss strategies for integrating active learning in course design. The session will be co-hosted by ITS and the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL). Please note that we will only be offering training in one of the high-tech active learning classrooms, however we will be able to describe and demonstrate standard classroom features present in the other active learning classrooms at Queen’s.
Tuesday, August 27 (In-Person)
Registration for In Person Day
| Time | Session | Room |
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8:30 - 9:00am |
Welcome and Sign In Coffee will be available at this time. |
Biosciences Complex, Atrium |
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9:00 - 10:30am
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Panelists: Encouraging students to speak up and be active participants in class is a common challenge across disciplines, as well as in online and in-person environments. Learning to engage in challenging conversations can help students connect course content with broader local and global societal challenges. As educators, developing strategies on facilitating difficult conversations can help promote student participation, as well as support the development of skills in critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, inclusion, and mutual respect. This panel discussion will feature educators from across disciplines who will come together and share their strategies on how they promote student engagement in their own teaching. They will share what has worked, what hasn’t worked, and strategies you might try in the year ahead! |
Biosciences Complex, Room 1102
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10:30 - 11:00am |
Nutrition Break |
Biosciences Complex, Atrium |
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Concurrent Sessions A |
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11:00 - 12:00pm |
What kinds of responsibilities will I have as a TA and what things do I need to know? What can I do as a TA to be inclusive and equitable? How can get the most out of my TA experience? Join Kim and a panel of experienced TAs from a variety of disciplines to discuss the joys and challenges of TAing at Queen’s. Our panelists will speak on their past experiences, resources they’ve found useful, and discuss strategies for the upcoming semester. This session is open to new and experienced teaching assistants. Got questions about TAing? Come join the discussion and ask a TA! |
Biosciences Complex, Room 1102
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In this session, we will hear from junior, mid-career, and senior faculty members, and learn first-hand about their experiences, things they wish they had known when they first started, and advice they have for new(er) colleagues. We also highly encourage participants to make use of this time and space to build community and network with peers from across campus and across disciplines! |
Biosciences Complex, Room 1120 |
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Have you already taught at Queen's? Are you considering how to lesson plan more effectively? This session is for you! Whether you are teaching a 3-hour lecture, group tutorial, or laboratory, planning your lesson effectively can help provide guidance for both you and your students. Lesson plans can help ensure that your learning activities align to the course learning outcomes and assessments, as well as build in opportunities for student-centered discussion and activities. A well-designed lesson plan can increase your confidence when leading lectures and tutorials for the first time, as well as help you prepare you for unexpected situations as they arise. This interactive session will focus on practical strategies for lesson planning; through small groups, participants will practice designing lesson plans and collaborate with colleagues from other disciplines. |
Biosciences Complex, Room 2109 |
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12:00 - 1:00pm |
Lunch Break |
Biosciences Complex, Atrium |
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Concurrent Sessions B |
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1:00 - 2:00pm
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Teaching Assistants are instrumental to delivering course content and cultivating academic communities, especially in courses with tutorials. This session will provide you with frameworks and suggestions for running small-group sessions, from developing community agreements to fostering student engagement and managing challenging conversations. This session will be beneficial for TAs from across all disciplines and academic levels. We invite you to bring your most pressing tutorial queries, as there will be time for a Question and Answer period. |
Biosciences Complex, Room 2109
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Difficult conversations come in many forms in the classroom. For example, some are rooted in course content, while others are related to current events that intersect with course content. Join me in this session as we explore approaches to creating responsible and accountable learning spaces. |
Biosciences Complex, Room 1120
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This session will introduce the structure and main components of a teaching dossier. More and more, universities require that candidates submit teaching dossiers when they apply for academic positions, awards, or as part of their package for renewal, promotion, or tenure. Your teaching dossier is a curated document that showcases your accomplishments, strengths, and directions as a teacher. In this session we will discuss ways that you can develop your dossier by crafting a story of who you are as an educator, from your values to what you do in the classroom! |
Biosciences Complex, Room 1102
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2:00 - 2:20pm
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Join us in a final wrap-up session to reflect on the learning from today as well as an overview of what can be next in your professional development – from next week, next month, to next year! |
Biosciences Complex, Room 1102 |
Wednesday, August 28 (Online)
Webinars
| Time | Session | Registration Form |
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| 9:00 - 10:00am |
This is a session for TAs and TFs on understanding how the Collective Agreement operates at Queen's, what it offers TA/TAs in terms of benefits, standardized hiring practices, grievance procedures and more. TAs and TFs are encouraged to attend to learn how the Collective Agreement benefits them and what changed during the last round of bargaining. |
Registration Form |
| 10:30 - 11:30am |
This session is for designed for new users to onQ. In this introduction, we will be giving you a brief tour of the essential tools to get you started in onQ. These include Announcements, Content, Assignments, Grade Book, Classlist and Classlist Email. |
Registration Form |
Thursday, August 29 (Online/In-Person)
Webinars
| Time | Session | Registration Form |
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| 9:30 - 10:30am |
In this interactive session, we will explore academic communication in learning spaces and consider what successful communication strategies look like, and how we as educators can support our students in developing the communication skills they need to thrive at Queen's and beyond. We will share with you how we at SASS can complement the teaching you do in the classroom and engage in a participatory demonstration of one of our core programs, Speak Up, to model a session that can be embedded in any tutorial, seminar, lab, or online class. |
Registration Form |
| 1:00 - 2:00pm |
Teaching happens in many different places and spaces, and for some of us, it means preparing to teach in our laboratory and clinical learning environments. Teaching in science, engineering and health science disciplines are all enhanced through the hands-on experimentation that happens in laboratory sessions. As a TA, how can you best prepare for in-lab teaching sessions? What are some of the common challenges of teaching in a lab space? This session will focus on introducing some essential strategies and practices that you can use as either a TA or new course instructor in a lab setting. |
Registration Form |
In-Person
Grad and Postdoc Summer Professional Development Group – Celebration Event
3:00 - 4:00pm, Mackintosh-Corry Hall, Room F200, Large Collaboration Space
Karalyn McRae, Centre for Teaching and Learning
The event is open to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who have participated in the Summer Grad & Postdoc Professional Development Group! This event is to celebrate your progress and plan for your continued journey as an educator!
This event does not require registration.
Accessibility Statement
The Centre for Teaching and Learning strives to make its events accessible to all members of the Queen’s community by offering some online and others in-person, as well as recording wherever possible. There are many factors that influence and constrain how online offerings are designed, delivered, and facilitated. We recognize however that this design and approach does not result in identical experiences for all. If possible, contact ctl@queensu.ca in advance for any access needs or accommodation. Facilitators will be available throughout the Course Design Institute should accessibility needs arise, and you can always reach out to ctl@queensu.ca.
For more information about:
- Queen's classrooms, visit the Teaching and Learning Spaces Website.
- Queen's buildings, visit the Building Accessibility Guide.
- Accessibility at Queen's, visit the Queen's Accessibility Hub.