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Professional Development for CECLs

The Chang School is committed to supporting our continuing education contract lecturers (CECLs) in the development and enhancement of their teaching skills, particularly as they relate to continuous and online learning. Under the leadership of our Teaching and Learning Lead and with the input from our CECL Advisory Group and The Chang School Teaching and Learning Committee, The Chang School offers workshops and events on topics that address the needs of our teaching and learning community in addition to events offered by Ryerson’s Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching.

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

EVENTS FOR 2022-2023

How to Engage Students in Online Discussions

This interactive session will focus on strategies to engage students in online discussions and will be facilitated by long-standing Chang School instructor, Andrea Moraes.

During this session, you will engage by talking about the impact of online discussions in facilitating learning and building a community, as well as some of the current challenges for students and instructors, such as online fatigue.

Through online hands-on activities, we will identify a list of pedagogical approaches that promote engagement in online discussions and “try out” some of them first-hand.

The goal is that you leave this session with extra pedagogical tools and motivation to encourage meaningful online discussions in your courses.

Presenter Bio:

Andrea Moraes has been teaching at the Toronto Metropolitan University since the Fall of 2007. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and a M.A. in Social Psychology from the University of the State of Rio Janeiro in Brazil, and a Ph.D. in Rural Sociology from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Andrea teaches Food Studies courses at the School of Nutrition and at The Chang School's Certificate in Food Security. She is passionate about learning and teaching and is looking forward to meeting you in this virtual session.

DATE: Wednesday, June 1st, 4:00 p.m.- 5:30 p.m. EST

LOCATION: via Zoom

Please RSVP by May 30, 2022.
Register for workshop

TALO - Teaching Adult Learners Online

As part of our commitment to offering high-quality learning and teaching experiences, we continuously strive to support our CECLs in their teaching. As such, The Chang School offers Teaching Adult Learners Online – a professional development course that is anchored in research and expertise gained through many years of experience designing and providing digital education at Ryerson University. TALO provides participants with the opportunity to advance their skills in online pedagogy, effective use of technology and course management practices. TALO’s highly interactive online modules are designed to create opportunities for 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.

Dates: TBD

Duration: 4 weeks

Register for TALO Spring 2022

If you have any questions, please contact talo@ryerson.ca.

Modules

There are four interactive and highly engaging learning modules:
• Module 1: Online Teaching and Learning Experience
• Module 2: Assessment in Online Environments
• Module 3: Designing and Developing Online Learning Content for Engagment
• Module 4: Facilitating an Effective Online Learning Experience

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.