Teaching & Learning Summer Conference and New Faculty Orientation | The Teaching & Learning Centre

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by Lara McInnis and Naomi Go from the Teaching & Learning Centre

Seneca’s Teaching & Learning Summer Conference 2024 attendees successfully completed two micro-teaching lessons and received digital badges for their efforts. Micro-teaching is an innovative approach to faculty development where teachers prepare and deliver a lesson in front of peers in a “scaled-back” environment (Cavanaugh, 2022). Micro-teaching is not only an opportunity to innovate and take risks, but it also plays a crucial role in helping educators become reflective practitioners. At this year’s conference, attendees delivered 15-minute lessons on authentic topics such as “how to study effectively” and “how to prepare for a job interview.” These simplistic topics allowed faculty members to focus less on what is taught and more on how it is taught. This way, faculty could focus on specific teaching skills, receive feedback from facilitators and peers, and set goals for their teaching practice in the upcoming term. Seneca faculty members embraced this opportunity to refine teaching techniques and focus on how they assess learning (this year’s Teaching & Learning Summer Conference theme was Assessment and Feedback), demonstrating the integral role of micro-teaching in supporting their continuous professional development.

The following Monday, new Seneca faculty had the opportunity to attend an in-person New Faculty Orientation (NFO) event. The first half of the day focused on getting to know Seneca vision, values, strategic goals and academic policies. After a fantastic lunch, the agenda continued with a busy and interactive Service Fair. Faculty were able to speak to reps from fourteen departments across Seneca, receiving information about services that they and their students can access during the academic year. After the Service Fair, faculty members were then able to attend hands-on sessions on Learn@Seneca Blackboard Ultra. Please visit the New Faculty Orientation site for all of the resources shared on the day.

As a complement to the in-person NFO, the Teaching & Learning Centre also hosted two additional online orientation sessions for non-full-time faculty. The online sessions highlighted the services and supports available to faculty. Please visit the event website for more information about the non-full-time faculty orientation sessions.

We wish all faculty, students, and staff a great start to the Fall 2024 term!

Reference

^{Photo by Cathal Mac an Bheatha on Unsplash}

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