Intersections
Beyond the work within our teams, this section highlights collaborations within CTSI and with offices, departments and individuals across U of T and beyond and how that work aligns with CTSI strategic priorities. This is the final year we will be reporting on the below five themes that have guided CTSI’s planning and outreach this past decade.
1. Instructional Practices and Course Design
The Course Design for Online (CDO) program was developed for Summer 2020 (two iterations) and was offered again in Fall 2020. Presented over six weeks and incorporating synchronous and asynchronous content, the CDO modeled the process for teaching online content to best engage students while developing a course that is both rigorous and accessible. The CDO was a collaborative effort by several CTSI teams—Programming & Communications, TLT/ACT, and TATP, as well as Online Learning Strategies (now Digital Learning Innovation) and the Office of the Vice-Provost, Innovations in Undergraduate Education—who developed and delivered the content. The Teaching, Learning and Technology (ACT Support) team and Digital Learning Innovation (DLI) teams redeveloped the CDO modules as an asynchronous offering for summer 2021.
CTSI has long been a leader at U of T in providing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) resources and programming and many looked to our staff and website for guidance and support. A collaboration between TATP and TLT/ACT teams saw the UDL + Quercus webinar series (providing strategies for accessible learning) updated and offered with new online resources (from CTSI and across the University), including a 30-minute asynchronous module on the foundations of UDL.
The Certificate in Effective University Instruction, a unique professional development opportunity for faculty, offered in partnership with the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), saw 32 faculty members from all campuses and a range of Divisions complete the online modules. The offering of this course continues to evolve to meet the needs of participants. This offering was co-facilitated by a CTSI staff member and a faculty member from Computer Science, with input from the ACUE team. For more detailed information about this course and certificate, please see above section 2D.
The Teaching, Learning and Technology (ACT Support) team worked with educational technology professionals across the University using a collaborative support model to provide overviews and training to colleagues on new tools available in the Academic Toolbox, to participate in vendor workshops and training, and to contribute to sessions developed by colleagues.
2. Assessment and Evaluation
Teaching, Learning and Technology and SoTL teams developed and delivered Assessing Student Work and Providing Feedback, a two-part webinar series, and Assessing Student Work and Providing Feedback using Office 365 Tools on assessment and evaluation in online learning environments.
CTSI asked some U of T faculty members to reflect on their experiences teaching online and share what has worked best for their students’ – and their own – academic success and mental health. Faculty members across the University provided their stories to help colleagues for the Rethinking Assessment series.
The Course Evaluations team worked with ITS to integrate course evaluation pop-up reminders on Quercus.
3. SoTL
The Teaching, Learning & Technology (ACT Support) team developed the Quercus Course Review and Synchronous Online Teaching Observation services in collaboration with the SoTL team.
This past year, the TATP offered its first Introduction to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning webinar (in collaboration with the SoTL team) for graduate students. They also presented a series of roundtables on Critical Pedagogies.
4. Educational Technology
CTSI focused some of its programming on integrated tools available to instructors through Quercus, some of which were developed at U of T. CTSI offered webinars on online assessment and evaluation tools, like peerScholar, Team Up! and Quizzical. Instructors and staff involved in the development of the tools led the sessions (e.g., Steve Joordens, Melody Neumann, Dan Riggs). CTSI also led a series of webinars on Office 365 tools available in Quercus and more general online assessment and engagement techniques.
CTSI and Online Learning Strategies (now Digital Learning Innovation) teamed up with the Faculty of Arts & Science’s Online Learning Academy to facilitate roundtables on topics of concern in online teaching and addressing issues like running a lab remotely and teaching language classes online.
The Knowledge Base Renewal project brought together the TLT/ACT team, educational technology professionals (including three advisory groups with membership from Divisional education technology leads, UTM and UTSC) and CTSI’s Programming and Communications team to reassess, redesign and develop resources to ensure faculty, students and staff have access to supports and tools that better serve the community. This Knowledge Base will be available through CTSI’s redesigned website, launching in Winter 2022.
The TATP developed a Teaching with Technology & Teaching Online section for their online Toolkit. This section includes topics such as Supporting Students Success in Online Learning, Active Learning in the Online Environment, Quercus: Essential Info for TAs on U of T’s Academic Toolbox, and Captions and Transcripts.
An evaluation team comprising CTSI senior staff and staff from Academic & Collaborative Technologies (ACT) in ITS worked with Procurement Services and the University’s administration to launch an RFP process for an online course evaluation system software. A vendor was selected in Spring 2021 with plans to finalize the process in Summer/Fall 2021.
In partnership with Universities across Ontario (Ryerson/X, Windsor, Western, and Waterloo), the TATP was awarded a $40,000 grant from eCampusOntario’s Virtual Learning Strategy (VLS). The project will is focused on creating an asynchronous open access resource (OER) on how to prepare a teaching dossier, a crucial component of a graduate student’s academic job application. The new series of modules will encourage reflective practice and emphasize transferrable skills-building as part of the process of assembling a dossier.
5. Culture of Teaching
The new Teaching and Learning Symposium (TLS) site served as the online platform for the three-day Symposium in May 2021 and continues to exist as a hub for TLS and U of T developed resources (videos and posters) for the community. The TLS is co-presented by CTSI and Rotman School of Management with guidance from the Offices of the President, the Vice-President and Provost, and the Vice-Provost, Innovations in Undergraduate Education.
The SoTL team participated in 25 consultations on SoTL-specific topics (including research ethics, initial research discussion, survey design, and focus groups) with instructors from across the University and all three campuses.
CTSI posted a number of stories about online teaching on our Re:Think site. We asked graduate student coordinators in the TATP to share stories about moving the TATP programming online and their experiences being Course Instructors and teaching online. Several participants in the Spring 2020 Certificate in Effective University Instruction described their experiences as both student and instructor as we all moved online.
The Programming & Communications team connected with University administration to ensure the most relevant and up-to-date information on U of T’s response during the COVID-19 pandemic was available on CTSI’s website and various channels of communication. CTSI’s Continuity Planning section was U of T’s hub during the early months of the crisis and continues to serve as a central teaching and learning resource for the University.
CTSI programmed a number of webinars with offices and partners across the University. The on-going Equity Roundtables are presented with Student Success (Student Life) and a faculty member from the Urban Studies Program in the Faculty of Arts & Science. The AODA and Accessibility Services offices and ITS contributed various sessions on accessible online content and closed captioning and transcriptions.
The TATP works with Divisions and departments across the University to support the training of TAs and Course Instructors, and offer professional development to graduate students. They regularly collaborate with offices and groups, including the AODA Office, the Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office (ARCDO), and Accessibility Services, when designing programming and new resources. For example, the TATP worked with the SGS Academy to facilitate a three-webinar series on Best Practice in Graduate Supervision: Setting Your Students Up for Success. Members of the TATP team also sit on the panel for U of T’s 3-Minute Thesis competition.