Professional Development for CECLs

The Chang School is committed to supporting our current continuing education contract lecturers (CECLs) in the development and enhancement of their teaching skills, particularly as they relate to the adult learner and to online learning. Under the leadership of our Teaching Chair, the Chang School Teaching and Learning Committee works collaboratively with Ryerson’s Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching to offer workshops and events on topics related to best practices in learning and teaching.

Reminders about professional development opportunities will be sent via email to CECLs throughout each term. 

EVENTS FOR 2019–2020

Let's Connect! Summer 2020 workshop for CECLs: Thriving online through resilience 

You are invited to participate in Let's Connect, a workshop for all Continuing Education Contract Lecturers (CECLs). 

The global COVID pandemic has caused an abrupt change to our educational practices. Is this the new normal? And what role could resilience play in this new normal? Resilience is about building self-awareness and having the ability to bounce back or adapt in challenging times. 

This is a two-part workshop series. Please register for the series, as the workshops build on each other. 

Part one will focus on the Five-Factor Model of Resilience (mindfulness, gratitude, optimism, self-compassion and grit), created by Dr. Diana Brecher. By the end of part one of the workshop series, you will begin to craft your personal model of resilience. 

Part two will build on resilience strategies to use in your teaching to support you and your students. 

Part one: Wednesday, August 5, 2020, 3:30-5:00 PM

Part two: Wednesday, November 4, 2020, 3:30-5:00 PM

These workshops will be facilitated by Dr. Diana Brecher.

Dr. Brecher is a clinical psychologist who has been working at the Ryerson counselling centre since 1991. She was the clinical director from 1994 - 2011. She is also adjunct faculty in the Ryerson Psychology Department, teaching graduate-level courses in CBT and clinical supervision.

Four years ago, Diana started the ThriveRU program, which is deeply rooted in positive psychology and is dedicated to teaching resilience. Diana's long term goal is to infuse Ryerson's programs, services and curriculum with principles of resilience and flourishing and to help facilitate a cultural change within the university. 

Please confirm your attendance by registering through the RSVP form. 

The deadline for registration is Monday, July 20, 2020.
 

FORT & TALO 

**Note: All FORT and TALO sessions are currently full. Please add your name to the waitlist with the link provided to be notified once there is availability.**  For inquiries, please email: talo@ryerson.ca.
Waitlist

FORT - Foundations of Remote Training 

This online training is designed to support faculty and CECLs in effectively configuring course materials and assessments for an online environment using Ryerson University’s learning management system (D2L) and other teaching tools. Participants get hands-on practise adapting content and communication for the online learning environment while receiving one-on-one guidance and recommendations from training facilitators. Sharing experiences with peers, receiving feedback on activities and creating communication help to enhance the experience. Two activities are recommended for the successful completion of the training - drafting a remote teaching communication plan and outlining the redesign of a summative assessment.

Duration:  Online 6 hours

TALO – Teaching Adult Learners Online

Online learning is becoming increasingly popular among students and CECLs here at The Chang School. As part of our commitment to offering high-quality courses and programs, we continuously strive to ensure that our CECLs have the information and support needed to create an environment that maximizes the student learning experience.

The Chang School offers Teaching Adult Learners Online – a professional development course for our faculty and CECLs that is anchored in research and expertise gained through over 15 years of experience designing and providing digital education at Ryerson University. TALO provides participants with the opportunity to advance their skills in online pedagogy, technology, and effective course management. TALO’s highly interactive, media-rich online modules are designed to create opportunities for faculty and CECLs to immerse themselves in learning experiences as both student and instructor, and to experiment with tools and learning strategies while being supported by seasoned online facilitators, technical staff, and peers.

Upon successful completion of the required work, participants will receive a Recognition of Completion Award from The Chang School.

Duration: Five (5) weeks

Modules

There are five interactive, media-rich online modules:

• Module 1: Online Teaching and Learning Experience
• Module 2: Online Teaching and Learning Principles
• Module 3: Challenges and Opportunities in Online Assessment
• Module 4: Online Course Design and Development
• Module 5: Open Education Resources and Open Pedagogy in Online Learning

Participant Testimonials

• “The instructors have always been outstanding, and the content is always very interesting. There is also usually a great use of different learning tools such as readings, videos, audio, etc.”
• “This course not only satisfied my expectations for an instructional course with respect to online learning, it thoroughly exceeded these expectations in every way. I would not only recommend the TALO program to instructors or contract lecturers who are new to online learning, but I would also recommend the program to individuals who may have experience teaching online but would like the opportunity to refresh their knowledge, or take advantage of its extensive resources in order to expand their skill set in this particular area.”
• “Upon completion of TALO, I gained two perspectives, one as the instructor and one as the student. As an instructor, I was able to observe varied instructional practices of the TALO facilitator. As a participant, I took on the role of a student, thus gaining insight into a student’s online experience. I strongly recommend TALO for new and seasoned online instructors to further enhance their online instructional skills.”
• “Even though I taught for close to ten years and have facilitated countless online courses I was surprised how much I gained from the course. I found the four week-long modules to be very well-designed and thorough. The lecture material that was facilitated by experienced instructors provided a very good mix of theory and hands-on practice. Each module contained several activities that not only tested your knowledge of the material but challenged you in a fun and interactive manner. The TALO course would provide a great set of teaching skills and knowledge to beginners, as well as experienced instructors, regardless of how many years of experience someone has teaching online.”

Do you have a professional development topic that you would like us to feature? Email us at changteach@ryerson.ca.