Let’s Talk about Teaching 2023

Jane Butterfield and Josh Manzer

More than a thousand students take Calculus 1 at UVic every year, and the Math & Stats Assistance Centre is one of many supports in place to help them succeed. Our tutors respond to thousands of student questions about Calculus 1 every year, but how significant an impact are we making to the students we support? In this study, we examined data from 2016 to 2022, comparing Calculus 1 course outcomes for students who make use of the MSAC with those of students who did not. Our results indicate that MSAC users are likely to have better course outcomes, and to show more improvement in their testing results over the course of the term, than their peers. We have many more questions as yet unanswered, and follow up studies planned!

EdTEch stories from real educators

Rebecca Edwards & Thiago Hinkel

In each episode of this podcast, we speak to an instructor about their use of educational technology in their courses. We will ask the instructor to tell us the story of their course (storytelling), including the steps they took to prepare, how things played out in the classroom (virtual/f2f), and whether they would adapt their approach in the future. We are interested in learning how they have selected and used educational technologies, and how educational technology has intersected with their pedagogy.

Jessica Rourke and Jill Robinson
Dr.’s Rourke and Robinson created a short podcast to discuss the podcast assignments they assign in their undergraduate psychology courses. The podcast provides and example of their assignment and discusses the pros and cons of this novel assignment. We share successes and challenges and ways to implement this assignment to foster inclusivity, creativity, and accessibility.

John Churchley

This blog post, “Decolonize This!” is an acknowledgment that the expectations of “traditional” academic writing have been a form of linguistic imperialism. It briefly describes the author’s journey in assessing and evaluating written graduate work – moving from a focus on English language usage to a focus on course learning outcomes.  It emphasizes the onus for shared understanding of written student work on both the author (student) and the audience (instructor).  This approach to academic writing is strength-based and is inclusive for all students, regardless of their access to privileged Englishes. It honours students’ intellectual abilities and supports their agency in their work. While the intent of the approach is equity and inclusion, a side benefit may be a reduced temptation for students to submit academically dishonest work.

Also listen to an accompanying song/video “A Letter to my Students”.