The Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning

Workshops and events

Explore the workshops and events available at The Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning.

April

Experiential Learning Community of Practice Brown Bag Lunch Conversations: Experiential or Active Learning, What's the Difference?

Bring your lunch and connect with other members of our community of practice! There is no formal agenda for these casual meetings just good people and conversation! Everyone is welcome to share their thoughts and experiences as we explore different topics in experiential learning.

Topic: Experiential or Active Learning what's the difference? Are they different approaches, or different names for the same approach? Come tell us what you think!

Date and time: Tuesday, April 15, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Location: Hybrid. Join us in-person at Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road) or via Remote - UM Zoom
Facilitators: Gerardo Villagran and Meaghan Ewharekuko

Universal Design for Learning in Practice: Represent a Diversity of Perspectives and Identities in Authentic Ways

Join us for the last Thursday of each month in an ongoing series, where participants will review discreet elements of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Participants will work together to develop pedagogical practices that align with the UDL principle being discussed that month.

Topic: The session will focus on CAST's UDL principle of representing a diversity of perspectives and identities in authentic ways and how it can be directly applied to pedagogical practice. There will be a brief presentation of the core elements of this principle followed by a question-and-answer session where participants can collaborate with the facilitator to develop their practice.

Date and time: Thursday, April 24, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Location: Remote - UM Zoom
Facilitator: Johnathan Bevan

Teaching Café: Humanizing Education – Bringing Your Whole Self to the Classroom

Education is a deeply human process. This year’s Teaching Café invites faculty to reflect on identity, authenticity, and trust in the classroom while exploring ways to create more humanized learning environments.

The event features a hands-on session with Dr. Bruno de Oliveira Jayme, a visual artist, award-winning art educator, and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba. We’re also excited to welcome Dr. Juliana Marini Marson, Assistant Professor in the Department of Environment and Geography, whose innovative teaching approaches center on human connection and inclusivity.

Through art-based activities, collaborative discussions, and interactive dialogues, we’ll consider how to build trust with students while maintaining healthy boundaries. Come share ideas, gain practical strategies, and connect with fellow educators.

Date and time: Wednesday, April 30, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Doors open at 9:30 a.m.
Location: Room 200 - Education Building (71 Curry Place)
Facilitator: Cintia Costa

May

Experiential Learning Community of Practice Monthly Meeting: End of Year Reflection

The Experiential Learning Community of Practice is a growing network of UM faculty, instructors, and staff passionate about experiential education.

Monthly meetings
Join our monthly meetings to build relationships with other Community of Practice members, explore best practices and innovations, and participate in engaging conversations.

End of Year Reflection
This is our last meeting for the 2024-2025 academic year. Join us to reflect on what we learned together this year and share your thoughts on what you'd like to see at the Experiential Learning Community of Practice next year!

Date and time: Tuesday, May 6, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Location: Remote - UM Zoom
Facilitators: Gerardo Villagran Becerra and Meaghan Ewharekuko

TLC Mini-Institute - Designing and Evaluating Assessment Strategies (TLCTS2, Day 1)

The Centre offers the one-and-a-half day TLC Mini-Institute every May and August. The workshops in the Mini-Institute are:

Designing and Evaluating Assessment Strategies
Strategies for Maintaining a Respectful Classroom Environment

The Mini-Institute is for Pre- and Tenured Faculty Members, Instructors, Sessional Instructors, Librarians, and Post-Doctoral Fellows. Participants can choose to sign up for each workshop separately or attend both.

This session:

This workshop (over two sessions) will provide instructors with opportunities to design assessment strategies to support student learning. You will design formative and summative assessments and learn strategies for providing constructive feedback on students’ work. You will also have opportunities to evaluate the effectiveness of different assessment tools. Please bring a current course syllabus with learning objectives.

Date and time: Monday, May 12, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Lunch is not provided.
Location: Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road)
Facilitator: TBA

Please note: Teaching and Learning Certificate (TLC) program participants are required to sign up for both workshops (May 12 & May 13) in the TLC Mini-Institute to fulfill the program requirements.

TLC Mini-Institute - Strategies for Maintaining a Respectful Classroom Environment (TLCTS2, Day 2)

The Centre offers the one-and-a-half day TLC Mini-Institute every May and August. The workshops in the Mini-Institute are:

Designing and Evaluating Assessment Strategies
Strategies for Maintaining a Respectful Classroom Environment

This session:

As instructors, you may have experienced behaviour by your students that you felt was disrespectful, rude, or disruptive. These can be challenging situations to deal with. This interactive workshop will focus on teaching strategies that foster and maintain respectful classroom behaviour.

Date and time: Tuesday, May 13, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m
Location: Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road)
Facilitator: TBA

TLCN06 Teaching Dossier

Increasingly, university promotion and tenure committees are requiring a teaching dossier to document your development and achievements as an educator. This workshop looks at the requirements at the University of Manitoba for teaching dossiers and covers the basics of writing a Teaching Philosophy statement and creating a teaching dossier.

Date and time: Wednesday, May 14, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location: Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road)
Facilitator: TBA

Small Shifts, Significant Gains: May Session

Looking for ways to revitalize your teaching but don't have time for a big redesign? In Small Teaching, author James Lang argues that small changes in classroom techniques and activities can have big impacts on student learning. Join our sessions to hear practical teaching strategies from faculty guest speakers. Bring your questions and your lunch. Leave with ideas that you can implement right away in your courses!

Lightning Presentation Speakers:

Jason Peeler from the Dept. of Human Anatomy and Cell Science presents: Creating a Safe & Engaging Learning Environment - Practical Tips for Bringing the Best out in Students
Sari Hannila from the Dept. of Human Anatomy and Cell Science presents: Break it Up - A Strategy to Improve Focus and Learning in Lectures

Date and time: Wednesday, May 14, 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Location: Room D017 - Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry (780 Bannatyne Ave, Bannatyne Campus)
Facilitator: Anna Nekola

TLCN09 Reflective Practice

John Dewey observed that, “We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.” In order to become a better teacher, it is necessary to reflect on what we do and why we do it – to ask ourselves, is what we do effective? In this workshop we will explore several models of self-reflection, including the Gibbs’ Model, as methods for engaging in a reflective practice. Participants will also have the opportunity to share their own successes and struggles as they strive to become a better teacher.

Date and time: Wednesday, May 14, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road)
Facilitator: Meaghan Ewharekuko

TLCN05 Developing Intercultural Teaching Competence

Every student and instructor brings their own culture into the teaching and learning contexts in which they inhabit. Similarly, every teaching and learning context is informed by and situated in institutional, regional, and national cultures. In this workshop, you’ll explore your own cultural attitudes, knowledge, and skills, and those of your learners and the environments you all find yourselves in. Then, you’ll apply this to your own teaching practices through elements of course design.

Date and time: Thursday, May 15, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location: Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road)
Facilitator: Cintia Costa

TLCN03 Navigating Challenging Student Situations

As instructors, you may have experienced behaviour by your students that you felt was disrespectful, rude, or disruptive. These can be challenging situations to deal with. Staff from Student Advocacy and Case Management and the Office of Human Rights and Conflict Management will provide an overview of pertinent University policies and procedures to help you understand your rights and responsibilities as an instructor. This interactive workshop will provide you with strategies and tips for preventing and responding to these behaviours.

Date and time: Thursday, May 15, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road)
Facilitator: Heather Morris & Megan Bowman

TLCN01 Universal Design for Learning

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an orientation to teaching and learning that promotes greater student choice and agency in learning experiences, with the aim of reducing barriers to learning by providing multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression. In this workshop, participants will explore how UDL values intersect with their own teaching philosophies, identify barriers to learning for students with a range of needs, and (re)design course elements to adopt UDL guidelines in a way that is practical for instructors yet beneficial to learners.

Date and time: Tuesday, May 20, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location: Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road)
Facilitator: Johnathan Bevan

TLCN10 Self-Evaluation of Teaching Practice

Feedback and evaluation of teaching are part of every teacher’s life. How do you make sense of the evaluative feedback you receive from SRI scores, daily classroom experiences and student grades? This workshop examines the theory and practice of evaluation and suggests practical strategies for integrating effective evaluative practices into your teaching. Please note that this workshop does not cover the design and creation of student assessments.

Date and time: Tuesday, May 20, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road)
Facilitator: Gerardo Villagran Becerra

TLCN07 Mental Health in the Classroom: Responding to Students Demonstrating Mental Health Distress

Young adults are highly susceptible to mental health problems. We know that most instructors encounter many students who are struggling with mental health issues that affect their academic performance, behaviour in the classroom, and interactions with teaching staff. Research also indicates that the incident rate and intensity of mental health problems experienced by students is increasing. These situations can be stressful, time-consuming, and potentially can involve risks to personal safety for the students and others. David Ness, the Director of the Student Counselling Centre at the University of Manitoba, will provide you with information about how to identify and respond effectively to student mental health issues, how to understand the factors that contribute to student distress, and how to access resources. This interactive workshop will involve case study material to apply your knowledge of risk assessment, response alternatives, and on- and off-campus resources.

Date and time: Wednesday, May 21, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location: Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road)
Facilitator: David Ness

Register for the TLCN07 Mental Health in the Classroom: Responding to Students Demonstrating Mental Health Distress workshop

TLCN04 Academic Integrity Teaching and Learning Strategies

Do you want to promote academic integrity in your course but don’t know how? In this workshop, we will discuss the meaning of academic integrity at the University of Manitoba, and how it relates to your teaching and learning environment (whether that be face-to-face, remote/online). We will discuss ways to implement teaching and assessment strategies that promote integrity that will allow you to focus on students’ learning and community building. Resources for academic integrity education (e.g., syllabus statements, learning activities) that you can modify and incorporate into your courses will be shared.

Date and time: Wednesday, May 21, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road)
Facilitator: Renato Bezerra

TLCN02 Teaching and Technology

In this workshop, we will explore a framework for using technology in teaching and learning. Rather than a technology ‘how-to’ session, the focus will be on providing a method for evaluating technology that supports the goals of teaching and learning. We will also discuss the benefits and challenges of using technology in the classroom.

Date and time: Thursday, May 22, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location: Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road)
Facilitators: Renato Bezerra and Farhana Akhter

TLCN08 Indigenous Knowledges for Teaching Higher Education

This workshop introduces participants to Indigenous pedagogies by contextualizing Indigenous knowledges, discussing the importance of making space for Indigenous content and knowledge transmission in the academy, and providing participants with resources about the pedagogical significance of Indigenous knowledges.

Date and time: Thursday, May 22, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road)
Facilitator: Micheline Hughes

Effective Strategies to Captivate Students from Day One

Have you ever wondered if there’s a better way to engage students on the first day of class instead of diving straight into the course material? In this workshop, you'll explore how to capture students' interest from day one with short, fun activities. Get ready to actively participate and find out which activities work best for you!

Date and time: Monday, May 26, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Location: Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road)
Facilitator: Meaghan Ewharekuko

Revitalize Your Teaching: Creating Transparent Course Materials

This series of four 60-minute sessions aimed at faculty and instructors at all experience levels in Rady Health Sciences. Each session offers practical strategies on a range of topics relevant to teaching, including strategies for assignment design that offer students greater levels of clarity, developing your teaching-centered Personal Reconciliation Action Plan, checking in with accessible learning design, and staying motivated and creative when it comes including active learning in your lesson planning.

In Revitalize Your Teaching: Creating Transparent Course Materials we will explore the basics of the Transparency in Higher Education (TILT) framework. This research-backed framework can help facilitate greater student success by helping them understand the how and why of what they are learning, and it is adaptable to large and small class sizes. You'll learn the process for reframing existing materials so you can get started making the changes best for your context. Come find out more about a process that many are calling "transformative!"

Date and time: Tuesday, May 27, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Location: Remote - UM Zoom
Facilitators: Anna Nekola and Farhana Akhter

Universal Design for Learning in Practice: The Accessibility for Manitobans Act, The Information and Communication Standard

In an ongoing monthly series, participants will review discreet elements of Universal Design (UDL) for Learning and work together to develop pedagogical practices that align with the UDL principle being discussed that month.

Date and time: Wednesday, May 28, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location: Remote - UM Zoom
Facilitator: Johnathan Bevan

Addressing Challenging Student Behaviors & Situations

Challenging student behavior and situations can emerge in any discipline and teaching context; however, such situations are bound to happen in health sciences due to the sensitive nature of the discipline. Classroom and clinical instructors might need to thoughtfully plan teaching strategies to navigate the situation during classroom, lab, or clinical teaching to prevent and manage challenging student behaviors. This workshop will provide learners opportunity to explore ways & tools to effectively predict, prevent, and manage such challenging behaviors and situations.

Date and time: Wednesday, May 28, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Location: Remote - UM Zoom
Facilitators: Nausheen Peerwani and Anna Nekola

June

Revitalize Your Teaching: Accessible Learning

This session will outline the Accessibility for Manitobans Act - Information and Communication Standard. We will review strategies and tools available to align with this legislation.

Date and time: Tuesday, June 3, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Location: Remote - UM Zoom
Facilitators: Johnathan Bevan and Anna Nekola

Experiential Learning Community of Practice Brown Bag Lunch Conversations: Learning from Experiential Learning Challenges

Topic: Have you ever introduced an experiential activity in your class that didn’t unfold as expected? Anyone who has engaged in experiential learning knows that setbacks are inevitable. Let’s take this opportunity to reflect on our "flops," not as failures, but as valuable learning moments—reminding ourselves that not every activity is a triumph, and that’s part of the process.

Date and time: Monday, June 9, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Location: Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road)
Facilitators: Meaghan Ewharekuko and Gerardo Villagran

Revitalize Your Teaching: A Teaching & Learning Reconciliation Action Plan

This session will introduce attendees to strategies required for developing your teaching-centered Personal Reconciliation Action Plan.

Date and time: Tuesday, June 10, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Location: Remote - UM Zoom
Facilitators: Randi Desmarais and Anna Nekola

Revitalize Your Teaching: Keeping Active Learning Fresh and Fun

Whether you are flipping a day or two in your upcoming courses, or just looking for new active learning strategies to add to your toolbox, this session on 'Keeping Active Learning Fresh and Fun' will help you continue to add to your repertoire of activities and options.

Date and time: Tuesday, June 17, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Location: Remote - UM Zoom
Facilitators: Anna Nekola and Farhana Akhter

What's Working, What's Not?: Shake Hands with the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)

All instructors identify problems in their courses. Whether students’ struggles to master a key concept or a teaching practice that may not be meeting its purpose, how do we explore “what’s working and what’s not” in our courses? In this workshop we will explore problems that are ripe for investigation and consider how SoTL (the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning) practices might help us to systematically evaluate the impact of intervention strategies. To participate fully, please bring a smartphone, tablet, or laptop.

Date and time: Wednesday, June 18, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location: Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road)
Facilitator: Janet Cape

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Ethics

Research with human participants requires approval from the UM Research Ethics Board to ensure the safety and well-being of all participants. This is true of all research with human participants, but SoTL projects often have unique characteristics that warrant extra consideration when preparing an ethics application. For example, how do you ensure that students do not feel coerced to give consent when the instructor of their course is also the lead researcher? In this workshop, we will provide possible solutions for this and other research design elements that require careful consideration of ethical practices when designing your SoTL study. We will also review the Research Ethics application process at the University of Manitoba, and attendees will be given the opportunity to begin to draft their ethics application. This workshop will be interactive and collaborative. To get the most of this workshop, please bring a laptop or device to the workshop.

Date and time: Tuesday, June 24, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road)
Facilitator: Lori Doan

Universal Design for Learning in Practice: Integrated Accommodations and Incorporating SAS Accommodations to Design Inclusive Classrooms

Date and time: Wednesday, June 25, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location: Remote - UM Zoom
Facilitator: Johnathan Bevan

July

August

Deficit Thinking and Strength Based Approaches in the Classroom When Working with Indigenous Students

This half-day workshop will define deficit thinking and how harmful it can be to our Indigenous students. The workshop will also cover how historical events, policies and the media have shaped deficit thinking and how Indigenous students are impacted in education spaces. The workshop will focus on strength-based approaches and best practices. There will also be case studies, and time for participants to work together.

Date and time: Thursday, August 7, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.
Location: Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road)
Facilitator: Randi Desmarais

Register for the Deficit Thinking and Strength Based Approaches in the Classroom When Working with Indigenous Students workshop

TLC Mini-Institute - Designing and Evaluating Assessment Strategies (TLCTS2, Day 1)

The Centre offers the one-and-a-half day TLC Mini-Institute every May and August. The workshops in the Mini-Institute are:

Designing and Evaluating Assessment Strategies
Strategies for Maintaining a Respectful Classroom Environment

This session:

Date and time: Monday, August 18 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Lunch is not provided.
Location: Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road)
Facilitator: TBA

Please note: Teaching and Learning Certificate (TLC) program participants are required to sign up for both workshops (August 18 & August 19) in the TLC Mini-Institute to fulfill the program requirements.

TLC Mini-Institute - Strategies for Maintaining a Respectful Classroom Environment (TLCTS2, Day 2)

The Centre offers the one-and-a-half day TLC Mini-Institute every May and August. The workshops in the Mini-Institute are:

Designing and Evaluating Assessment Strategies
Strategies for Maintaining a Respectful Classroom Environment

This session:

Date and time: Tuesday, August 19, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m
Location: Room 223 - The Centre (65 Dafoe Road)
Facilitator: TBA

Universal Design for Learning in Practice: Three Steps You Can Take Today To Build an Inclusive Teaching Practice

Date and time: Wednesday, August 27, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location: Remote - UM Zoom
Facilitator: Johnathan Bevan

Contact us

The Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning
65 Dafoe Road
University of Manitoba, Fort Garry Campus
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 Canada

Room S204B, Medical Services Building, 744 Bannatyne Avenue
University of Manitoba, Bannatyne Campus
Winnipeg, MB R3E 0W2 Canada

thecentrecontactus@umanitoba.ca

204-474-8708

204-474-7514