Threshold / Troublesome Concepts: What MUST We Teach?

Kathy Becker — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 15:05:42 +0000

Threshold / Troublesome Concepts: What MUST We Teach? Kathy Becker Tue, 10/06/2015 - 11:05

Our disciplines abound with fascinating, rich, and important concepts to teach. Yet how do we decide on which concepts to focus when designing courses and programs?

Research from the past decade suggests that focusing our attention on identifying “bottlenecks” and “threshold concepts” – troublesome and sometimes transformational ideas – can help us to design courses and programs around concepts that have great potential to impact deep and lasting change in student learning.

This session will investigate the impact of instructor approaches and practices on student conceptions of expectancy and value.

Co-facilitated by Julie Timmermans, Centre for Teaching Excellence, and Gordon Stubley, Associate Dean, Teaching, this session will help participants to

recognize that certain concepts within a course/program are more important than others and worthy of greater attention and
identify a troublesome or transformational concept in their own course or program.

All engineering faculty are encouraged to attend — registration is not required. Refreshments will be provided. Please contact Kathy Becker if you have any questions about this event.

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Student Motivation for Learning

Kathy Becker — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 14:17:55 +0000

Student Motivation for Learning Kathy Becker Wed, 10/08/2014 - 10:17

What motivates student learning? Can instructors influence the motivation levels of their students?

Some theorists believe that motivation for learning is impacted by two factors:

1. Student beliefs about their ability to succeed in the learning task (expectancy)

2. The perceived importance of the learning (value).

This session will investigate the impact of instructor approaches and practices on student conceptions of expectancy and value.

Co-facilitated by Donna Ellis, Director of the Centre for Teaching Excellence, and Gordon Stubley, Associate Dean, Engineering Teaching, this workshop-style event will help participants investigate how their own experiences have informed their thinking about student motivation.

Participants will leave with specific strategies that can be applied to facilitate and foster motivation for learning in their students. All ��ݮ��Ƶ Engineering faculty members, sessional instructors, and teaching assistants are welcome to participate in this session.

All engineering faculty are encouraged to attend — registration is not required. Refreshments will be provided. Please contact Kathy Becker if you have any questions about this event.

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