Teaching and learning support

Throughout your teaching career, you may find yourself teaching undergraduate or graduate courses, both of which could include leading seminars, supervising labs, teaching in a large lecture hall or online, or leading students through educational experiences outside the classroom. In all these different situations, you will be involved in designing courses; leading, supporting, and facilitating learning experiences; developing assessment materials; mentoring students and grading their work; and, in some circumstances, working with lab instructors, teaching assistants or colleagues who are teaching the same course.

Whether you are new to teaching, are inheriting someone else’s course, or are teaching a topic that is on the edge of your area of expertise, the prospect of embarking on teaching a new course can be daunting. You are joining a community that is committed to supporting and assisting you on this journey. Some of the educational resources available to you are listed below. As you continue developing your teaching practice, these same resources will be available to help with professional development in the direction you would like to grow as a teacher.

Academic Instructional Skills Program

All faculty, regardless of the type of appointment (tenure stream, limited term contract, or sessional), are invited to participate in UPEI’s Academic Instructional Skills Program (AISP). This program is a blend of synchronous (in-person or online as circumstances and schedules allow) and asynchronous learning opportunities and content that introduces instructors to information that will help them design effective and meaningful courses for our students. For more details and to self-enroll in the AISP. 

Teaching and Learning Centre

The Teaching and Learning Centre coordinates a broad variety of activities, programs, and resources geared to the needs of faculty and instructional staff at all stages of their careers. Our Instructional Resources Hub has a wide range of curated resources on topics that instructors frequently need. Mentorship opportunities, communities of practice, reading groups, discussion sessions and one-on-one consultations for the development of new and existing courses in any delivery format can be accessed through the Centre.

Instructional designers in the TLC support instructors with course design, teaching practice, and other pedagogical initiatives.  If you have questions around best practices related to teaching online check out the Teaching Online portal or connect with one of the instructional designers through our easy to use booking system.  You can also talk to them to learn how best to leverage Moodle, the learning management system used at UPEI, They can also help you with immediate needs through their Moodle support portal.

The multimedia specialist can help if you have ideas for incorporating media (audio, video, graphics, etc.) into your teaching but need some support to implement them. The multimedia specialist can help you to conceptualize your project and can provide training so that you have the skills to undertake the project with confidence. Reach out to staff in the TLC to discuss ideas or challenges that you may experience with your classroom practice whether in-person or online. In addition, if you are looking for support for scholarship of teaching and learning research projects, the TLC can help. You can reach out via email tlc@upei.ca or drop in to the Centre located in the Robertson Library Annex, Room 230.

The Teaching and Learning Centre Team

Jason Hogan, Instructional Designer, Book an appointment with Jason Hogan

Joel MacDonald, Instructional Designer, Book an appointment with Joel MacDonald

Kristy McKinney, Multimedia Specialist

Charlene VanLeeuwen, Coordinator

ITSS Help Desk for tech support

If your question is more technical (for example, issues with your laptop or desktop, network problems, or software application questions), the staff at the ITSS ( Information Technology Systems and Services) Help Desk are ready to provide support. You can reach them at helpdesk@upei.ca or by calling 902-566-0465 during regular business hours.

Library

Liaison librarians are subject specialists connected with your faculty or department, who can collaborate with and support you in a variety of ways, including:

• providing you with an overview of library services and resources available to you and your students.
• locating and suggesting resources that support your course and curriculum, such as books, ebooks, journal articles, streaming media, web resources, and more.
• preparing guides and resources for your discipline or course.
• providing introductory library sessions for your classes to ensure your students know about the resources in their discipline.
• developing a workshop(s) on doing research tailored to your class or an assignment.
• partnering with your liaison librarian by embedding them in your course.

Librarians can help you with your research program by suggesting search strategies for databases, recommending journals for publication, introducing you to services like interlibrary loan, and more. Similarly, librarians also provide individual consultations for students with questions about research and resources. Feel free to recommend that your students contact their librarian, should the need arise.

Librarians can often partner on developing assignments or other course activities. They’ve successfully partnered with courses that have a service-learning component, and they have been clients for capstone and other projects. Reach out to your liaison librarian to arrange a consultation or introduce yourself.

Library services and resources for faculty can be found on the Services for Faculty webpage.