Teaching Mistakes – Nadine Le Gros

Teaching Mistakes – Nadine Le Gros We don’t become good teachers overnight: we learn to be good teachers. And, like everything learned, first mistakes must be made. I’ve always wished for a forum in which instructors could put their learning from students to good use. It would appear that there is one! Faculty Focus: Special [...]

Communicating with International Students – Nadine Le Gros

I work with international graduate students to help them understand the norms of communication in Canadian academia.  International students need to be familiar with Canadian expectations about communication in order to be successful when they teach, communicate with their supervisors, participate in class, and apply for jobs, as cultural differences in communication exist in all [...]

Life-long Learning as Sensitivity Training

Some years ago, I decided to learn to kayak. I had rowed during my university years, and I’ve always been something of a water rat, so I had no fear about learning a new water sport. But within five minutes of being on the water, I mistakenly transferred what I knew about taking a stroke [...]

Western Research on Teaching Grant

Have you ever tried something new in your classroom and wondered what effect it really had on student learning? Have you ever thought of doing research on a teaching technique, a teaching technology, or some other aspect of your teaching or your students’ learning? Research Western, in cooperation with the Teaching Support Centre, has established [...]

Inoculations in Classes – by Nadine Le Gros

No!  Don’t turn away!  This isn’t about H1N1!  Using an inoculation in your teaching is about placing well chosen words early in a class (or even a conference) to anticipate criticism,  reduce resistance, and encourage learning.  I’ll give you an example.  I do a lot of work on campus with different groups to help people [...]

Two Metaphors to Reflect Upon Our Teaching – Nadine Le Gros

I love metaphors. I love metaphors both as a former literature major and as an occasional drama queen, as their use allows me to be expressive and interpretive. I also love metaphors for what they give us license to explore. Lakoff & Johnson (1980) maintain that metaphors aren’t just accidental turns of phrases: metaphors reflect [...]

REDISCOVERING THE MASTERS: Richard Felder, Engineer & Educator – Natasha Patrito Hannon

This is the first of what I hope will become a monthly feature highlighting the work of scholars who have made significant contributions to teaching & learning in higher education. I begin with Richard M. Felder, emeritus professor of chemical engineering at North Carolina State University and, perhaps, the most prolific scholar of engineering education [...]

Books About the Brain for Educators – Nadine Le Gros

If I were 30 years younger, I would enter the field of psychoneuroimmunology … but, I’m not 30 years younger, so I must content myself with reading books for lay people on the role of the brain in learning and behaviour. In the last year, I have read three books that I think all educators [...]

Dance your PhD? Implications in the science classroom… – Natasha Patrito Hannon

What do you get when you mix graduate student researchers, music and Youtube?  A global competition so compelling it rivals the appeal of popular reality television contests like ‘So You Think You Can Dance’.  The Dance Your Ph.D. contest, created by molecular biologist, John Bohannon, and sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of [...]

The Supervisory Balancing Act – Nanda Dimitrov

The relationship between graduate student and supervisor rests on a foundation of trust. After speaking to a few dozen graduate students over the past few months, I was impressed by how easily trust can be lost in the supervisory relationship.
What do you do to establish trust with your new students? If you are a student – what do you wish your supervisor would say or do to build trust in your relationship? What do they do to clarify their expectations to you? How does this help you grow as a scholar?