Upcoming Event

Resilience & College Educators: Science-backed ways to increase your inner strength to handle the daily grind

Presented by: Dr. Jeff Thompson

Working in a college environment can be stressful regardless of your role. Added to that are the stressors in our personal lives which can make all of it hard to manage at times. Research has shown (plus common sense!) when not properly handled, it can have a detrimental impact on one’s health.

Fortunately, research has also shown that certain practices can increase one’s focus, calm, inner strength, resilience, and create overall better mental health coping strategies. The keynote portion of this talk will provide an overview on the neuroscience of resilience while the second portion is a workshop because the only way to enhance the resilience you already have in you is by practicing. Don't worry either, the exercises are designed to be fun and informal while also being evidence-based.

No matter your role, your work involves looking after the students and their development to ensure they are thriving. It is vital for you to look after yourself too - that's not selfish, it is smart. Everyone deserves to have positive mental health and that certainly includes you.

About the presenter:

Jeff Thompson, PhD, recently retired from the NYPD as a detective serving in a variety of roles including a hostage negotiator, peer support co-coordinator, and their first-ever mental health and wellness coordinator. Dr. Thompson is currently a research scientist at Columbia University Medical Center and teaches police, first responders, and others on resilience, mental health, leadership, suicide pre/postvention, and crisis communication.

Makatew / Medicine Bag Workshop

Presented by: Marc Forgette

Join us for an hour of learning more about Canada’s Indigenous Culture in a positive and safe environment. Participants will each receive a Medicine Bag Kit made of locally sourced deer leather and each hand beaded with beautiful and vibrant colour beads.

In this workshop, our guest and facilitator, Marc, who is a member of Apitipi Ashinabek Nation (formerly Wahgoshig First Nation Band) will share the teachings on the Medicine Wheel as well as on topics including cultural appropriation versus appreciation, Truth and Reconciliation’s 94 Calls to Action, Orange Shirt Day (September 30) and a brief history of Residential Schools and the Indian Act.

Breakout Session  /  Block A  •  Brian Stephens (MAD); Keri-Ellen Walcer (Business); Rachael Authors (Business); Emiliy Jenkinson (Business)

For the past few years the Business Entrepreneurship + Small Business, Cosmetic Techniques and Photography programs have been working together on a collaborative project. This past fall with all programs back on campus we were able to run our most successful venture to date.

The “Headshot” project in brief is as follows: The business students, (the “client”), initiate contact with cosmetics and photography programs in order to obtain a professional level headshot. Students from each program make up small teams to collaborate on the project. Cosmetic students consult with the group on make-up application and discuss hair while the photography students explain the photographic process and suggest clothing.

Headshot Event day

On the day of the event business students first go to the cosmetic lab for makeup application. Once completed they go to the photography studio to have their portraits taken on two different backgrounds. The cosmetic students follow along to the studio to do any last minute touch ups. The images are captured for an assignment in the photo students portrait photography class. In turn, the photography students provide final images to the both the business students and cosmetics students as part of their assignments for their courses.

It was exciting to get feedback from the students across the board that the overall experience was very professional and they enjoyed participating in the collaborative project. “It felt like real world experience” was a common thread throughout the day.

Breakout Session  /  Block A  •  Dr. Lynne Kennette (LS); Morgan Chapman (LS)

Providing students with positive feedback is so important, but it can also be time-consuming. However, there are a number of tools available to us to save us time when we provide students with positive feedback. In this workshop, participants will explore the following tools: text expanders, rubrics, intelligent agents, and badging. Attendees are strongly encouraged to attend the session with their laptops as the session will include time to explore and use these technologies.

Breakout Session  /  Block A  •  Ella Bates (Business)

Look through the window with faculty member, Ella Bates - Faculty of Business. From introverts, creative thinkers and access plans, we will learn simple techniques to engage ALL learners to succeed in the classroom. Know that without knowledge of our students' unique needs, there IS a large door between you and your student, how would you be able to communicate? How well could you build a connection? How would your student grasp concepts, be interactive and engaged, enjoy your sessions and be able to apply the learning? There are so many barriers to learning making it the beautiful mosaic of education, throw in discovery techniques and access plans and the door becomes a window, an opportunity to circumnavigate the "one size fits all" approach with ease strengthening the opportunities for us to create an equitable learning environment with strengthened communication, relationships and higher impact learning experiences. Let's take a look through the window together.

In this session, we will:

• Understand simple discovery techniques to uncover the unique needs in your classroom
• Discover the gift that an access plan gives to the student and faculty to succeed in academia
• Alongside UDL techniques, build flexibility into your learning building in flexibility in the ways your students can access information and demonstrate knowledge.

Breakout Session  /  Block B  •  Jenny Cortez-Cordova (SEIT and Global Learning Facilitator)

This session aims to help participants identify and manage cultural unconscious biases that could interfere with international students’ engagement and learning progress. We will start with a self-reflection and ways to identify these biases, followed by suggestions on how to confront them to promote a more multicultural, inclusive environment. The session will also touch on microaggressions, our teaching responsibility, and the privilege of educating the world. At the end of this session, each instructor should be able to recognize their personal unintentional cultural biases and be on their way to creating a more Zen learning environment in their classrooms.

Breakout Session  /  Block B  •  Dr. Lynne Kennette (LS); Amanda Cappon (SCS) 

We all used technology in the classroom before the pandemic, but it became a necessity with the shift to online delivery. Now, returning to the in-person classroom, educators who choose to continue to use certain technologies they might have discovered during the pandemic need to be particularly aware of their reason(s) for doing so. The focus must remain on the pedagogical purpose the technology serves so that it benefits learners. In this session, we will briefly explain one model that instructors can use to evaluate a new (potential) technological tool to ensure they meet their (pedagogical) needs. We will then share some techniques and best practices which support successful student learning and provide examples of tech tools that can be used to support those techniques. 

Breakout Session  /  Block B  •  Kyle Chapman (SEIT); Heather Dunlop (SEIT)

For several years, prior to the availability of the PASS system, a set of intervention strategies were used in computer programming courses. This made use of tools faculty already have to compile data on grades, attendance, LMS access and plagiarism to identify at-risk students well in advance of mid-term, when intervention might be too late, and involving the Student Advisor when it seemed necessary. Key questions explored in this session will be: how can we access and compile this data, and use it to make decisions? What outcomes have been observed? What pros and cons can this offer compared to other tools like Intelligent Agents and PASS?

During the lunch hour, we invite you to visit the stations setup at each of the pods in the Rotary Global Classroom of the CFCE. Learn more about the following edTech and academic initiatives and tools available to compliment your existing teaching and learning practices:

• BodySwap
  Tanya Wakelin and Erin Banit (CTL)
• Prep1000
  Lucy Romao Vandepol and Tyler Creces (Student Development)
• New DC Connect Interactive Components
  Visal Chea (CTL)
• PASS program
  Brandon Carson (CTL)
• Academic Integrity
  Amanda Maknyik (CTL)