Dal Events

Deadline: CLT's FOCUS Blog call for pitches

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 12:00:00 GMT

Do you have a teaching insight or learning story that you’d like to share with a wider community? Have you ever thought about putting your reflections into words for a blog article? Here’s your opportunity!

Dalhousie’s Centre for Learning and Teaching (CLT) publishes the FOCUS Blog, which is currently welcoming submissions from graduate students, faculty, and staff.

If you’re unsure whether your idea fits, don’t worry—just send a short pitch (maximum 100 words) describing what you’d like to write about in relation to your teaching practice or classroom experience.

Please send your pitch to ezgi.ozyonum@dal.ca by October 21 at 9 a.m.
You’ll hear back from us the next day. If your idea is selected, the full blog submission will be due by November 11 at midnight.

This special issue will feature the TA Edition 2026—we look forward to reading your ideas!

P.s. To get inspired, you can check the previous TA Edition issue.

(AI Pedagogy) Assessment Re-design, Part II: Nothing in Isolation—Mapping Assessment Ecologies for More Responsive Design

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 13:00:00 GMT

Tuesday, October 21
10–11:20 a.m.
Killam Library, Room B400 and Online
Link to register for the event (opens in new window)

Assessment doesn’t happen in isolation—it unfolds within a complex web of tasks, tools, spaces, and relationships. This session helps participants step back and view their assessment practices and tasks as an “ecological” system. How do different assessments relate to each other? What roles do digital platforms, classroom/campus spaces, and student practices play? Participants will map their own assessment ecologies and identify opportunities to create more coherent, inclusive, and responsive designs, considering GenA.I.’s influence on how students engage with tasks. The goal is to move from isolated assignments to intentional ecosystems that support learning across time and context.

Facilitator

Kate Crane, MA (she/her)
Coordinator for the Faculty Certificate in Teaching and Learning
(acting) Senior Educational Developer (Digital Learning)

Capacity

In-person: 16
Online: 16

Intended Audience

Dalhousie and King's instructors

Mental Health 101 - Recognizing and Responding to Students in Distress

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 13:00:00 GMT

Thursday, October 23, 2025
10 a.m.–12 p.m.
Online via Microsoft Teams
Link to register for the event (opens in new window)

The MH101 session is limited to faculty, instructors, and staff at pilipili�� and King's.

In any given year 1 in 5 Canadians will experience a mental illness, and according to Statistics Canada youth aged 15-24 are the most likely group to suffer the effects of a mental illness, substance dependency and suicide. Considering most university students are within this age group it is essential that those working with University students are provided the necessary knowledge and resources to recognize and respond to students in distress.

MH101 is a short yet informative presentation developed for university faculty and staff to increase awareness and understanding of mental illness and mental health problems, thus increase your confidence in supporting students.

Facilitators

Joanne Mills, Psychologist, Student Health & Wellness
Eshaa Amer, Stay Connected Peer Support worker and 4th year neuroscience honours student

CLT virtual drop-in for Micro-Teaching inquiries

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 17:00:00 GMT

Wednesday, October 29
2–3 p.m.

Link to join the drop-in (opens in Microsoft Teams)

(AI Pedagogy) "The Opposite of Cheating" Book Club [Session II]

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:00:00 GMT

Wednesday, October 29
3–4:20 p.m.
Mona Campbell, Room 1407 or Online
Link to register for session II of the Book Club (opens in new tab)

Join us for the second of a four-session book club to discuss The Opposite of Cheating: Teaching for Integrity in the Age of AI, by Tricia Bertram Gallant and David A. Rettinger (2025). This book “…presents a positive, forward-looking, research-backed vision for what classroom integrity can look like in the GenAI era…” (from back cover). It is chock-full of tips and useful, practical advice. Each hour-and-twenty-minute club session will focus on two chapters, with activities and prompts to guide discussion. You are welcome to join no matter how much (or how little) of the reading you manage to get through in advance. Having attended the previous session is not required.

Sections covered in this session: Chapters 3 & 4 (“Designing Courses for Integrity” & “Designing Assessments for Integrity”)

Facilitators

Georgia Klein, Senior Instructor and Associate Director of College of Sustainability
Kate Crane, Educational Developer, Centre for Learning and Teaching=

Teaching Tuesday Virtual Drop-in: Preventing Deadwood – Instructor Self-Care

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 14:30:00 GMT

Tuesday, November 4
10:30–11:30 a.m.
Online via Microsoft Teams
Link to join the chat (opens in new window)

Come to our autumn-themed Teaching Tuesday Virtual Drop-ins this semester to create a personalized support experience. Your needs and interests guide the direction of the drop-ins! Ask our CLT Senior Educational Developer questions, bounce ideas off a sounding board, or debrief about your teaching. Join us online and stay for as little or as much time as you would like! Registration is NOT required. Each month has a broad theme:

November

Come to our Preventing Deadwood – Instructor Self-Care virtual drop-in to create a personalized support experience. Your needs and interests guide the direction of the drop-in! Ask our CLT Senior Educational Developer questions, bounce ideas off a sounding board, or debrief about topics such as: emotional labour of teaching, preventing burnout, maintaining momentum through to the end of the semester, and teaching stressors. Join us online and stay for as little or as much time as you would like!

Decolonizing Classroom Participation

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 18:00:00 GMT

This session is part of the Decolonization Workshop Series.

This four-part series invites faculty members, instructors, and teaching assistants to reflect on what it means to take a decolonial approach to teaching and learning. Drawing on Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang’s reminder that “decolonization is not a metaphor,” the series distinguishes decolonization from Indigenization and inclusion, and explores how colonial legacies continue to shape higher education. Together, we will consider how to reimagine virtual and in-person classroom participation, assessment practices, and our broader academic contexts in ways that are more just, relational, and responsive.

Tuesday, November 4
2–3 p.m.
Online or in-person (Killam Library, Room B400*)
Link to register for the series sessions (opens in new window)

Classroom participation is often narrowly defined: speaking quickly, confidently, and frequently. These norms privilege certain voices — often male, extroverted, or Euro-Western — while silencing or penalizing others, particularly women, gender-diverse students, and those from non-dominant cultural backgrounds. In this workshop, faculty members, instructors, and teaching assistants will examine how gendered, cultural, and colonial expectations shape our perceptions of “good participation” and how these assumptions influence teaching, feedback, and grading practices.

Drawing on Indigenous pedagogical principles that value listening, relationality, storytelling, and collective knowledge-building, participants will:

Reflect on their own biases in assessing participation.
Explore alternative ways of recognizing and valuing student engagement.
Co-create strategies for designing more inclusive, equitable, and relational learning environments.

This session invites instructors to critically reimagine participation, ensuring that all students have opportunities to contribute meaningfully and authentically, while also honouring diverse ways of knowing, being, and learning.

Facilitator

Rachelle McKay, Educational Developer, Indigenous Knowledges & Ways of Knowing

*Please note that the B400 classroom is in the basement of the Killam Library. We are aware of, and apologize for, the accessibility barriers associated with this room. If you require the use of an elevator to reach this room, one of the CLT staff will have to access the elevator with you, using their key card. Please let us know in advance so that we can facilitate a smooth and timely transition to the basement.

We also ask that participants be respectful of those with significant allergies and avoid wearing perfume, aftershave, cologne, and highly scented hairspray, soaps, lotions, and shampoos.

Microteaching Short Course

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 13:00:00 GMT

The Micro-teaching Short Course is offered annually in the fall term, and is designed to give students the opportunity to plan, develop, and deliver a lesson in a mock classroom setting.

Registration Deadline: October 30.
Training Session: November 5, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
Micro-teaching Sessions: Sessions will be held throughout November and early December. You can sign up for Microteaching sessions on the training session. Each session accommodates four instructors and up to four students.

Learn more about this event and register. [log-in required]

Building Student's Critical Engagement with GenAI

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 13:30:00 GMT

Monday, November 10
9:30–10:50 a.m.
Killam Library, Room B400 and Online
Link to register for the event (opens in new window)

To preserve the integrity of the classroom—which includes, but goes beyond, academic integrity—students should be supported in evaluating the impact of A.I. on their learning; on their disciplines and disciplinary communities; and on their future work as disciplinary practitioners or civic participants. This workshop will explore relevant critical competencies we might incorporate into our courses, with the aim to build up a repertoire of ideas and techniques to draw on for the design of formative assignments, assessments, classroom activities, etc.

Prepare

This workshop will require interactive engagement amongst participants. Come prepared to brainstorm with colleagues.

Facilitator

Kate Crane, MA (she/her)
Coordinator for the Faculty Certificate in Teaching and Learning
(acting) Senior Educational Developer (Digital Learning)

Capacity

In-person: 16
Online: 16

Intended Audience

Dalhousie and King's instructors

(AI Pedagogy) Understanding and Building AI Literacies

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 14:00:00 GMT

Wednesday, November 12
10–11:20 am
Online via Microsoft Teams
Link to register for the event (opens in new window)

As artificial intelligence continues to shape education, work, and society, understanding how to critically engage with AI tools is becoming essential. This 90-minute online workshop introduces the concept of AI literacies—the skills and understandings needed to navigate, question, and co-create with AI technologies.

We’ll begin with a brief overview of some existing AI literacy frameworks and explore why developing these literacies matters for both educators and students. Participants will be invited to complete suggested pre-readings ahead of time to help ground our discussion.

The core of the session will centre around A People's Guide to AI, a practical and accessible workbook designed to foster AI literacy. Together, we’ll alternate between hands-on activities from the guide and group discussions that reflect on the learning process. The workshop will conclude with a collaborative reflection on how to continue developing AI literacy in your own teaching practice.

Presenters

Kate Crane, MA (she/her)
Coordinator for the Faculty Certificate in Teaching and Learning
(acting) Senior Educational Developer (Digital Learning)

Kate Thompson, PhD (she/her)
Educational Developer (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning)

Pre-readings

Dimensions of AI Literacies

The Four Cs of AI Literacy

Walter, Y. (2024). Embracing the future of Artificial Intelligence in the classroom: The relevance of AI literacy, prompt engineering, and critical thinking in modern education. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 21(1), 15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-024-00448-3 [https://dal.novanet.ca/permalink/01NOVA_DAL/ev10a8/cdi_doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_04d2d52c9a9b4c83b15aa0956888caea]

Considering Course Projects

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 17:00:00 GMT

Wednesday, November 19
1–2:30 p.m.
Killam Library, room B400*
Link to register for the event (opens in new window)

Course projects can be a memorable learning experience for students, giving them the opportunity to produce a unique piece of work that integrates and applies what they’re learning in the course while developing their individual expertise on a chosen topic. If you’re developing or considering a project for one of your courses, or if you already have a course project that you’re looking to improve upon or share with colleagues, join us for a conversation about some principles and examples of pilipili��ful course projects. We’ll consider how to structure the work of a project, how to support students’ motivation to work independently on a challenging topic, and how we might evaluate the products of that work.

Presenter

Gillian Gass, University Teaching Fellow, Department of Biology

We also ask that participants be respectful of those with significant allergies and avoid wearing perfume, aftershave, cologne, and highly scented hairspray, soaps, lotions, and shampoos.

(AI Pedagogy) "Opposite of Cheating" Book Club [Session III]

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 19:00:00 GMT

Wednesday, November 19
3–4:20 p.m.
Mona Campbell, Room 1407 or Online
Link to register for Session III of the Book Club (opens in new window)

Join us for the third of a four-session book club to discuss The Opposite of Cheating: Teaching for Integrity in the Age of AI, by Tricia Bertram Gallant and David A. Rettinger (2025). This book “…presents a positive, forward-looking, research-backed vision for what classroom integrity can look like in the GenAI era…” (from back cover). It is chock-full of tips and useful, practical advice. Each hour-and-twenty-minute club session will focus on two chapters, with activities and prompts to guide discussion.

You are welcome to join no matter how much (or how little) of the reading you manage to get through in advance. Having attended the previous sessions is not required.

Sections covered in this session: Chapters 5 & 6 (“Strategies that Promote Success with Integrity” & “Protecting Assessment Integrity”)

Facilitators

Georgia Klein, Senior Instructor and Associate Director of College of Sustainability
Kate Crane, Educational Developer, Centre for Learning and Teaching

Resilient Classroom Series: The A’s to Z’s of Teaching Gen Z

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 18:00:00 GMT

Thursday, November 20
2–3 p.m.
Killam Library, Room B400*
Link to register for the event (opens in new window)

“If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” – John Dewey, American education reformer

Back by popular demand: Gen Z in the Classroom! Have you recently found yourself saying “Back in my day, students used to be like…” or “I just don’t understand students anymore!”? Generation Z is the largest cohort demographic on university campuses today. More than any other generation, this group of students has faced lightning-speed changes in society and technology, and have been heavily “shaped by the advancement of technology, issues of violence, a volatile economy, and social justice movements” (Seemiller & Grace, 2017). As a part of the Resilient Classroom Series, this session will help you adapt your teaching to better align with Gen Z’s unique motivations, goals, skillsets, and social concerns. In this in-person session, you will learn:

Common characteristics and learning preferences of Gen Z students.
Strategies to adapt your course design and assessments to better support and teach Gen Z students.

To help you take what you learn from this session to your classroom, we will collectively brainstorm strategies to use in the Gen Z classroom. In addition, you will develop a preliminary plan for how you can adapt one student assessment or course design aspect to better suit your Gen Z students.

Presenter

Daniella Sieukaran, MA (she/her)
Senior Educational Developer (Program Development)

Intended Audience

Graduate Students
Instructors (all)
TAs/Markers/Demonstrators