Centre for Teaching and Learning
The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) facilitates academic professional development (PD) with emphasis on the quality of the student learning experience and support for those experiences both in and outside the classroom. Our focus is on internal and external PD that leads to improved student learning through improved teaching and learning practices, systems and support.
Workshop schedule
Scroll through the calendar to see the professional learning opportunities we are offering in CTL. To see other dates use the blue arrows in the upper left corner. If you prefer a different view, you can use the tabs in the upper right corner to view monthly or in agenda list format.
Teaching and learning definitions
An instructional delivery format that gives students the ultimate freedom and flexibility to learn in a way that suits their lifestyle. They can choose their preferred way of learning each week:
- in person (physically on campus)
- virtually during the same class time (synchronously), or
- fully on their own time (asynchronously) through online modules
They can also change their way of learning at any time, which resolves many scheduling conflicts and means they’ll never miss a lesson, activity or course material.
An instructional delivery format which blends online and face-to-face teaching and learning strategies, where learning occurs in a combination of online and face to-face environments. Learning facilitation in online and hybrid environments requires appropriate and specific knowledge and skills to design, develop and facilitate high quality learning that mirrors or runs parallel with learning experienced in face-to-face teaching environments.
This is used as a short- to medium-term solution when interruption of face-to-face class delivery occurs and the only option to continue delivery is through remote means. It is an alternate delivery mode that uses synchronous and asynchronous technologies to best meet the learning outcomes. Facilitating a course remotely in this manner helps provide continuity in the curriculum. However, it is not intended to replace the level of robust online course delivery that occurs when courses have been developed using a comprehensive online course development process.
The goal is to complete teaching and learning of the course learning outcomes through a variety of remote techniques leveraging Blackboard and other technologies (e.g. WebEx, Screencast, etc.) as much as possible. The understanding is that courses taught in this manner will eventually return to the delivery model for which the courses were designed.
An instructional delivery format where all material, interactions and learning occur in a virtual (not face-to-face, with the use of technology) format. Effective online teaching and learning requires careful instructional design and planning, using a systematic model for design and development. At Georgian, participation in the intense Online Course Development Program (OCDP) supports faculty in the effective execution and delivery for online learning following the Quality Matters requirements.
Online learning development occurs when a course is planned for this delivery well in advance and the intent is for the course to be consistently delivered in this manner.
Remote teaching and learning supports
Blackboard is Georgian College’s online Learning Management System (LMS). It can be used to communicate with students, post links to important information, post course content such as lecture materials, and facilitate student collaboration by means of blogs, and discussion boards.
Humanized teaching and learning in the remote environment celebrates the humans behind the devices and stresses the importance of connections and relationships in order to facilitate teaching and learning. A humanizing lens contributes to the rigour of a course, the academic performance of students, and the joy of teaching. Check out the first link to learn more about humanizing your remote course.
We have all survived the emergency experience of moving our teaching and learning to a remote delivery. We recommend you keep things simple and manage what you can. It is key that you find what works for you and balance quality, engagement and simplicity for both you and your students. Check out the link below for more resources and tips.
*Remote teaching: a practical guide with tools, tips, and techniques is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
A screencast is a digital recording of computer screen output, also known as a video screen capture, often containing audio narration. A screencast is essentially a movie of the changes over time that a user sees on a computer screen, enhanced with audio narration.
The remote and hybrid learning toolkit has been assembled to help students be successful in a remote learning environment. It contains links to resources for remote learning and other Georgian College supports and services. Please feel free to visit this page and post a link to it within your Blackboard courses.
Teams meetings is the web conferencing app within Teams. You can create, join and manage meetings including the ability to share content, use breakout rooms (host only) and participate virtually. Meetings can be created within Outlook as a calendar event or within the Teams app calendar.
A WebEx meeting is an online meeting that allows you to virtually meet with other people, without leaving your home or office. WebEx meetings require a computer with internet access and a separate phone line. By logging into the meeting via the internet, you will be able to see the presenter’s computer screen.
Ongoing series workshops (registration required)
Teaching@Georgian – Kick off
In this face-to-face, three-hour session, we will set the stage for teaching at Georgian. You’ll also have the chance to meet other new faculty to build your community.
Registration is through Saba TalentSpace. If you require assistance with the registration process, please contact Debora Moore.
Community of Practice *new*
Over the semester, we will host four communities of practice (CoP) sessions to talk about different topics relevant to teaching at Georgian. In this community of practice (CoP), we will share best practices, experiences and ideas related to teaching and learning as well as a chance to get to know others at Georgian. You are welcome to join any and all of the sessions.
Coaching *new*
The importance of coaching and mentoring has long been established as critical to the success of new teachers (Brown et.al.,2021; Maready et. at., 2021). As you embark on your new teaching journey at Georgian, we are here to support you. Our coaches are here to help navigate the teaching and learning environment at Georgian. Sometimes you just need to ask where to find a resource, or who you should ask about, well, just about anything related to teaching and learning. We may not have all the answers but we are willing to help. You can reach out to a CTL coach and we will happily help. Our goal is to ensure you are successful and thrive in the challenging and complex profession of teaching.
Self-directed asynchronous resources
There are a series of online modules and resources available through CTL online modules course in Blackboard.
About this workshop
Join CTL’s team of faculty developers on a journey that unlocks the doors of teaching and learning. Through this six-part series, faculty will venture into the exciting worlds of lesson planning, active learning, assessment and evaluation, and personal development.
The Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is proud to present a NEW drop-in webinar series, inspired by Dr. Michelle Pacansky-Brock, leader in higher education, shedding light on the value of humanizing in our remote learning environments.
Many representatives from the Georgian community pride themselves on their ability to connect with students, to help students connect with one another, and to help students connect in meaningful ways to content, resources, concepts and information. But what happens when the ability to choose online learning is removed, and both students and faculty are shifted from environments we’ve grown so comfortable with, and into remote teaching and learning? We adapt, we pivot, we shift!
The CTL team have felt so very inspired by the work that has gone into this monumental shift. We have witnessed faculty adapting, growing, shifting and persevering through what may be the most challenging season of our teaching careers.
As we prepare to jump into the fall term together, we invite you to join us for a series of drop-in webinars (no registration required) promoting, encouraging, discussing and engaging with the idea of humanizing learning. We hope that you’ll find some tools and strategies that will complement the work you’ve completed, and may help to create even more mindfully and carefully crafted spaces and opportunities to translate the connections that we (and our students) value so highly into our remote teaching and learning environments. If you would like to join us, please find more detailed information below.
Please note, you are welcome to attend the series as a whole, or any of the four sessions that align with your interests and schedule.
Session topics
Making connections early (pre/early-course contact strategies)
In this session, we focus on the importance of being present for our students, and inviting them into our shared teaching and learning space early, and with sincerity and kindness. Two strategies for early connection are shared and demonstrated, as well as the value and logistics of implementing strategies like these.
Syllabus and academic integrity
In this session, we consider the traditional approach (e.g. style and tone) to two important aspects of a course that often send messages perceived as negative, administrative or punitive. We will have fun considering ways to rework your syllabus design and academic integrity conversations that engage rather than disengage students.
Creating inclusive spaces
In this session, we focus on choices we can make to establish a tone and climate for inclusion and equity that creates space for all students to feel included, supported, motivated, engaged, important and heard. A focus on communication in remote learning courses helps to provide methods of enacting, following through on, and modeling inclusion and inclusive policies and strategies for learning. Humanizing Remote Teaching and Learning: Connecting students early in the semester
Connecting students early in the semester
In this session, we focus on the importance of creating connection not only between faculty and students but also between students in order to facilitate a sense of community in our online environment. We explore two activities to help students introduce themselves to one another in the first week of class in order to develop relationships and create camaraderie.
Questions?
Please email any member of the Humanizing team (Kelly, Kim or Tracy) with questions.
Contact us
Blackboard Ultra
For any questions about the move to Blackboard Ultra:
Blackboard Original
For any questions about Blackboard Original in general:
Learning technologies
For any questions about learning technologies outside of Blackboard:
All other inquiries
For all other questions related to teaching and learning: