With the new academic year nearly upon us, this seems to be an opportune time to explore the excellent resources available from The University of Western Ontario’s Teaching Support Centre. 

The following helpful tips are available from the Centre’s website. 

Tips for the New Academic Year

• Learn your students’ names quickly.  Research among undergraduates has revealed that this is a high priority for them.  It also assists in creating an effective learning environment. 
• Vary your presentation techniques.  Wherever possible use photos, graphs or diagrams on overheads, flipcharts or handouts to generate discussion and interpretation.  The discussion method maintains attention more than the lecture method alone.  Note taking efficiency also drops off dramatically from the beginning to the end of a session – from 70-80% to 8-10%.
• Return graded assignments as soon as possible.  Students resent waiting a long time for feedback on their work.  Make specific comments about what a student has done well, what needs to be improved and how to go about it.  Positive comments should precede negative statements in your summary.
• Demonstrate enthusiasm for your discipline, for your area of that discipline and for the topic/theme of the day.  Your genuine enthusiasm will be infectious among your students.
• Provide an outline of your lecture and the key terms on the whiteboard or on an overhead, and refer to these from time to time throughout your presentation.  This will help students to ‘stay tuned in’, and will aid you in the pacing of your lecture, with the aim to go slower so that students can follow at a slower pace. “Fifty percent of the variances between good and poor instructor-ratings is determined by four factors – enthusiasm, pacing, clarity and participation” – Harry Murray, Department of Psychology

From the article ‘Five Suggestions to Make the Academic Year Go Well’ by Don Cartwright, Geography, Taken from Reflections Newsletter (Sep 2003) available online.

Death by Paper: Ten Secrets for Survival By Frances S. Johnson Rowan University, N.J.

Numerous researchers have identified the correlation between writing and thinking. Others have explored the complexities involved in the writing process. Despite the volumes of research that document the multiple benefits that accrue from writing, many faculty are reluctant to assign much, because if assigned it must be graded. Getting out from under the piles of research papers, reflective essays, reaction papers, and journals can be daunting. Electronic media expedites student writing, but what appears in blogs, wikis, and Web discussions needs a response. In the past 20 years as a writing teacher, I have found several techniques that can help faculty in any discipline use writing to achieve its many benefits and still manage the paper load.

1. Grade with a timer.
   Set it for 10–15 minutes. When the bell goes off, write final comments and then move on. This activity can help train you to be more mindful of your time and keep you focused. In most instances, after spending 15 minutes with an essay, you already have a grade in mind.
2. Read the whole paper, but correct and line edit only a few paragraphs. Leave the rest unmarked—read, but unmarked. Add a final comment.
   Correcting every grammar, content, and punctuation error is you doing the student’s work for him or her. Correct a short section of the paper. Ask the student to do the rest and come to your office with the revisions.

Click here to read the complete article in html or pdf or audio mp3

From the article 'Death by Paper: Ten Secrets for Survival' by Frances S. Johnson
Rowan University, N.J. , Taken from The Teaching Professor Newsletter- June/July, 2006

THE TEACHING PROFESSOR - Edited by respected scholar and expert Dr. Maryellen Weimer of Penn State Berks Lehigh, The Teaching Professor is a forum for discussion of the best strategies supported by the latest research for effective teaching in the college classroom.

New this Year, Co-Active Coaching!

Coaching is quickly becoming a must-have skill for leaders, managers, business owners and even parents and spouses. Drawing on a number of disciplines including sociology, psychology and career counselling, coaching applies techniques such as mentoring, values assessment, behaviour modification, behaviour modelling and goal-setting ... more

Find out more about this exciting new program at our Coaching information session, Monday August 14, 5.30pm Downtown Campus, Citi Plaza.

July & August
8:00 am - 4:30 pm, Monday - Friday

Do your Diploma and Certificate students contact you regarding Western's administrative processes, tuition fees, academic policies, graduation, etc. and you're not sure where to direct students?

Please direct all Diploma and Certificate students to Shari Nemirovsky, Program Assistant and first point of contact for all Diploma and Certificate students.

Shari assists students with the following:

• course registration
• graduation
  
• progression requirements
• student services
• grades
• MyUWO
• Registrar's web site questions
• academic policies
• special exams
• special permissions
• course equivalencies
• WebCT Vista access issues

There is a new feature enabled in our new database that may be quite helpful to you.

View what courses you are teaching, location, schedule, class lists and marks.

It is simple and easy to use.

Simply go to our Continuing Studies website at www.uwo.ca/cstudies and click on 'login'.

When logging in, make sure you put a small ' i ' in front of your username (UWO account) so that it recognizes you as an instructor.

username: (e.g: i afroud)
password: Use your UWO password. (e.g: CUd+H*s8)

Once you have successfully logged in to the website, use the navigation buttons to select a course, or update your personal information.

Best of all, you can also mark the students and add them to the database yourself .

For more information or if you have any difficulty logging in, contact Aimee or call 519 661 2111 x 85203 Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm