{"id":351911,"date":"2024-03-22T15:48:52","date_gmt":"2024-03-22T19:48:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yfile.news.yorku.ca\/?p=351911"},"modified":"2025-04-02T12:43:55","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T16:43:55","slug":"teaching-commons-explores-novel-professional-development-approach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/yfile\/2024\/03\/22\/teaching-commons-explores-novel-professional-development-approach\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Commons explores novel professional development approach"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

In its ongoing effort to remain at the forefront of pedagogy, ¿ì²¥ÊÓƵ's Teaching Commons (TC) is testing a novel approach to in-person professional development workshops that allows for a more relaxing, enjoyable and informative experience.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On March 27, TC will host Teaching & Learning Day, which will offer a series of workshops exploring some of the leading subjects in pedagogy \u2013 including artificial intelligence (AI) and experiential education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sessions share no common theme and will look at \u2013 among other things \u2013 how educators can create teaching strategies to support students in becoming informed about generative AI, how to help students benefit from opportunities for critical reflection while engaging in experiential education activities, and how well-being of both students and instructors can be integrated into teaching experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What TC is hoping to achieve with the initiative is a morning of in-person professional development experiences that are more informal than might be the norm. In particular, the aim is to have Teaching & Learning Day not only advance understanding and discussions about pedagogy but to also facilitate conversations and connections among its attendees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe workshops are being facilitated by our educational developers, but the wisdom sharing among participants is where a lot of the deeper learning can happen,\u201d said Mandy Frake-Mistak<\/strong>, interim director of the Teaching Commons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Promoting those opportunities for inter-colleague conversation and learning is a major reason TC wanted to host its professional workshops all at once as a series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s often tough for people to find time and space in their day for workshops, and if they\u2019re working off campus, they may not want to commute for a 1.5-hour workshop,\u201d said Frake-Mistak. \u201cIf we hold a series at once, it allows people to stay for one or stay for all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew Dunleavy<\/strong>, the educational developer who first proposed the event, says York has always been a commuter campus where people come and go. By bringing people together in person, he hopes they\u2019ll have the opportunity to connect with colleagues and have unexpected conversations with unfamiliar people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m a big proponent of all the things that happen in liminal spaces around formal offerings,\u201d Dunleavy said. \u201cHere, conversations can bleed into the hallways, just because people are together for a longer event. In spaces for transition, conversations happen and new ideas might emerge or cross-pollination might result.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The workshops will take place in the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Building, and their titles and details are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n