News Stories

One of the main challenges with switching to alternative forms of teaching at a distance is getting students to participate, to get them engaged, and to maintain their motivation. Selma Hamdani and Cory Legassic from Dawson College shared the strategies they are using to break the ice with their students and a couple of the tools they used to help…

Please reply, your opinion matters to us! The School of Graduate Studies at Concordia University is exploring changes to our Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning? Among the changes are opening it up to instructors in CEGEPs and Continuing Education programs. To help us gauge interest in the proposed changes, as well as solicit ideas from potential students so the…

SALTISE collaboration adds to the Network Profweb and SALTISE invited Jason Lapointe from John Abbott College to talk about his experience using Google Quiz (a special functionality available in Google Forms) to create on-line assessments for the nursing students in his biology class. This podcast is the third in the series and is a wonderful example of the power of our…

Join us for Day 3 hosted by Michael Dugdale (John Abbott College) – June 11th @ 3:30-5:00 pm We have had a wonderful turn out for the virtual Town Hall meetings, hosted by SALTISE and the DALC (Dawson Active Learning Community). These are not the regular webinar, they are structured to strengthen community building as we discuss how to better…

SALTISE is proud to announce the 2020 recipient of our Lifetime Achievement award is Dr. Laura Winer, Director of Teaching and Learning Services (TLS), McGill University, Montreal. This award is given to individuals who have played a significant role in supporting the growth and well-being of our community. Laura is indeed such an individual! Congratulations to Dr. Laura Winer Director,…

Chers collègues, chers membres, chers partenaires, Nous vous écrivons ce message afin de vous rassurer sur le maintien des activités de l’OPIEVA. Bien que la COVID-19 nous ait plongés dans la situation particulière où les activités sont suspendues à l’UQAM, nos équipes restent bien actives en télétravail. Apéro-causerie Vous êtes invité à un apéro-causerie sur le thème de l’évaluation en…

SALTISE collaboration adds to the Network More good news about the continuing collaboration between SALTISE and ProfWeb.  This podcast features faculty from Vanier (Rhys Adams) and John Abbott (Phoebe Jackson) in conversation with Ryan Moon (ProfWeb) and Kevin Lenton (Vanier & ProfWeb). Rhys and Phoebe present how to use CourseFlow an an interactive and dynamic app that allows for interactive instructional design at three…

Are you interested in developing new resources or adapting our existing resources to support online learning in your school or district? Message from Usha James, our Executive Director Publisher: The Critical Thinking Consortium Here is how we can help: Create new resources for online learning: TC² would embrace the opportunity to partner with you to create new resources that you identify…

SALTISE collaboration adds to the Network Hope you are all keeping well and staying healthy as we continue into the eighth week of isolating. I thought we’d share a little good news about a collaboration between SALTISE and ProfWeb.  This podcast features faculty from Dawson (Carmen Leung and Yann Brouillette) in conversation with Ryan Moon (ProfWeb) and Kevin Lenton (Vanier & ProfWeb). Carmen and…

Part 1- Traditional Evaluations Author: Susan MacNeil, Editor Publisher: Profweb: Learning Objects and Inspiring Learning “Are you looking at your course plan wondering how you are going to adapt the assessments that remain to your new ‘suddenly-online course’? Or maybe you would like to know what you can do to make sure students are not plagiarizing or cheating on quizzes…

Perusall Publisher Offering Free Textbooks We designed Perusall to support learning no matter the mode of delivery: if you’re moving your class online due to the Coronavirus epidemic, Perusall will create an engaging virtual learning experience for your students. If your students previously purchased books outside of Perusall, and you’d like to move to Perusall now, we may be able…

Advice to those about to teach online because of the corona-virus Author: Dr. Tony Bates Posted on: Online Learning and Distance Education Resources March 9th, 2020 With the reports of more and more institutions closing campuses because of the corona-virus, and even those not closing advising their instructors to move their classes online, I am wondering what advice or help…

Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA) L’Association canadienne de l’éducation en génie (ACEG) Montreal, June 18-21, 2020 Concordia University & McGill University The 2020 Canadian Engineering Education Association/Association canadienne de l’éducation en génie’s Annual Conference will be held jointly at Concordia and McGill University, in Montreal, Qc., from June 18-21, 2020, with the theme of “Fostering students’ ownership of their learning.”We…

Let’s Talk Science The McGill chapter of Let’s Talk Science, a Canadian non for profit that promotes STEM in young students, is looking to invite students from high school (sec V  students) and CEGEPs for their symposium on sustainability. Please circulate this message in your class. In addition to that, if you happen to know a student or a group…

Posted on: Teaching for Learning @ McGill University Blog Author: Jennie Ferris Date: February 17, 2020 A number of instructors at McGill have been implementing peer assessment (PA) in their courses and have generously shared some of their reflections on the experience. Amanda Cervantes is an instructor at the Ingram School of Nursing in the Faculty of Medicine. In a…

How Learning Happens Seminal Works in Educational Psychology and What They Mean in Practice, 1st Edition By Paul A. Kirschner, Carl Hendrick Publisher: Routledge How Learning Happens introduces 28 giants of educational research and their findings on how we learn and what we need to learn effectively, efficiently, and enjoyably. Many of these works have inspired researchers and teachers all around the…

Higher Education: Risks and opportunities in the New Decade – Feb 6 We live in times of unprecedented change to our education practices and learning technologies. To discuss the risks, opportunities and changes that lie ahead, this event will bring together a panel of professionals in higher education, education technology, research, and education policy. This event will be held in…

CÉGEP Andre Laurendeau’s Light Board 5 à 7 SALTISE member Caroline Cormier demonstrated the new LightBoard studio at CÉGEP André-Laurendeau last night (January 28th). This exciting project was created with support from their administration and SALTISE. SALTISE (Supporting Active Learning & Technological Innovation in Studies of Education) is a learning community service that brings together instructors and professional development staff…

Due Friday, January 31: Proposals for the 2020 CNIE Conference The Call for Proposals for the 2020 Canadian Network for Innovation in Education (CNIE) Conference is open through January 31. The Conference Program Committee specifically seeks research presentations, innovations, case studies, and pre-conference workshops that address the conference theme—Innovating Every Day—through these streams (topic areas): Learning architecture Learning experience design…

Teaching and Learning Winter Festival 2020 @ Concordia January 24th & 31st, February 7th & 14th Location: Centre for Teaching and Learning, SGW campus Faubourg Tower
, 1250 guy st.
fb 620 (6th floor) Now in its 8th year the CTL’s popular Teaching and Learning Winterfest is back. The theme of Winterfest 2020 goes right to the heart of innovation and academic…

Congratulations to SALTISE associate Dr. Claire Trottier winner of the Maude Abbott Prize Author: Matthew Brett Posted on: McGill Faculty of Medicine Electronic Newsletter (Med e-News) Dr. Claire Trottier, long time associate of SALTISE, was presented with the Maude Abbott Prize for her outstanding contribution to the Department of Microbiology and Immunology (MIMM), Faculty of Medicine at McGill University (November 25, 2019)….

The Periodic Table of the Elements Coloring Book Author: Yann Brouillette Date: 03 December 2019 Publisher: ChemViews Magazine Copyright: Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA To promote active learning in the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), the Chemistry Department and the Illustration & Design Department at Dawson College, Westmount, QC, Canada, initiated a collaborative project to create a palpable introduction to the…

Conférenciers pour les journées pédagogiques de janvier 2020 Bonjour, Dans le cadre de nos journées pédagogiques qui se tiendront en janvier 2020, nous sommes à la recherche de personnes ressources pour la tenue de différents ateliers. Nous désirons faire venir des personnes de l’externe pour l’animation de ces ateliers. Je sollicite donc mon réseau afin savoir si vous connaissez ou…

Active Learning in College Science The Case for Evidence-Based Practice Editors: Joel. J. Mintzes and Emily M. Walter Presents strong, evidence-based work on active learning practices Provides models of innovation by experts from a wide range of scientific disciplines Brings together the best advice by the most authoritative voices in this rapidly emerging enterprise This book explores evidence-based practice in…

Online teaching: A rich pedagogical approach Contributors: Catherine Braithwaite – History, Chantale Giguère – French, Daniel Goldsmith – Humanities, Selma Hamdani – Psychology, Reisa Levine – Cinema-Communications Posted on: Academic Matters: Communicate – Connect – Collaborate (Dawson College Publication) Date: Sept 2019 The E-learning Fellows group met regularly during the winter 2019 semester to reflect on online pedagogy and explore…

Scaling Active Learning The old ideas of “teaching by pouring in” or “learning by passive absorption” (John Dewey – “Democracy and Education”) are being replaced with a learn by doing approach, or active learning. But what changes do we need to make to scale active learning to hundreds of classrooms around the world? In this video, we meet with Dr….

Scaling up Learning Communities 2020-2022 Over the Winter 2019 semester, the LC Task Force and its three Working Groups (in Science, Social Science and Certificates) were busy with consultations and brainstorming sessions leading to the development of four planning frameworks that will guide new developments in the Learning Communities project through 2022.

Pint of Science: Event for the Science Curious Pint of Science is an international science festival that brings together scientists, students, and the general public for three nights of inspiring talks about the latest research, no previous science knowledge required! The event runs from May 20-22nd and there are six themes for people to choose from – Our Beautiful Mind,…

ECQ-supported event on inclusion and accessibility – accessXchange The conference organizers have gathered an array of great speakers from Team Xbox at Microsoft, the University of Toronto (Inclusive Design Research Centre) and the Canadian Institute for the Blind. When is it? April 24th & 25th, 2019 Where will this happen? Concordia University MB 9th floor What time does it start…

Assemblée générale annuelle / Annual General Meeting French follows Lundi 29 Avril 2019 / Monday, April 29th, 2019 8:30 AM – 2 PM Centre des conférences MB9, Université Concordia / MB9 Conference Center, Concordia University Dear members of the Montreal Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology community, The Montreal CIC Local Section cordially invites you to join us at the…

The Dawson Hackathon is a collaborative, interdisciplinary event where students work in teams to find creative solutions to a themed challenge. It’s a fun and social learning experience with mentorship for all levels. No experience in programming or robotics necessary!  Registration of individuals and teams until Thursday April 11th at 18:00.  https://bit.ly/dawsonhack The challenge involves the construction of a micro-robot designed to navigate…

Announcing the Winter 2019 SALTISE Mini-Grant Winners SALTISE/S4 – Acknowledgements  – Entente Canada Quebec (ECQ) grant – Supporting Active Learning & Technological Innovation in Studies of Education/S4 Executive Committee SATLISE Co-Directors – Elizabeth S. Charles and Nathaniel Lasry Selection Committee Carol Hawthorne, Concordia University; Pascale Blanc, Vitrine technologie éducation (VTÉ); Maria Orjuela-Laverde, McGill University; Jennifer Mitchell, Vanier College; Azra Khan, Dawson College And the Winter 2019 Winners are…  

Editorial on the Research Topic Active Learning: Theoretical Perspectives, Empirical Studies, and Design Profiles Posted on: Frontiers, March 2019 Written by: Robert Cassidy1, Elizabeth S. Charles2 & James Davis Slotta3 Scholars recognize our transition into a “Knowledge Society,” where citizens are increasingly engaged in critical thinking, collaborative problem solving and evidence-based reasoning, and the workplace is defined by its complexity and rapid evolution…

Jeffrey Gandell will take over facilitation of the Faculty Writing Fellows from Ian MacKenzie for Fall 2019.  Jeff is a WID Writing Fellow (2012), has co-directed a WID English department project (2016), and has facilitated at WID Spring Institutes and workshops on various occasions over the years. Read more about Jeff and how to apply for the Faculty Writing Fellows….

So you want to improve teaching & learning in your classrooms through innovation Posted on: eCampus News, Oct, 2018 Written by: Chris Whittaker (Physics, Dawson College) Well, it may be harder than you think, but there is a way. Change is hard.  Effective, targeted, measurable, and sustainable change within education can seem almost impossible—especially when institutions are large, resources are stretched thin, teachers…

CIRCE STEAM Magazine Now Available  We are pleased to announce the publication of the first edition of CIRCE Magazine! Science is highly conceptual, and learning it effectively requires interconnecting fuzzyconcepts such as atoms, forces, molecules, DNA, electric fields, ions, electromagnetic radiation, radicals, electrons, and photons. Although brilliant minds have undoubtedly used their artistic talents and been inspired by art over the…

A Special Issue of The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning / Un numéro spécial de la revue canadienne sur l’avancement des connaissances en enseignement et en apprentissage Dear Colleagues: We are delighted to announce the publication of  “ePortfolios in Higher Education: A Special Issue of The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning”. This…

What Does Meaningful Decolonizing and Indigenizing the Academy Look Like and What are its Implications for Teaching and Learning? For those of you who may be interested in the Concordia Centre for Teaching and Learning winter-fest activities. The aim of this workshop is to increase participants’ knowledge, critical analysis and understanding about the complexities of what ‘decolonizing and Indigenizing’ the academy means…

SALTISE (Supporting Active Learning and Technological Innovations in the Studies of Education) is once again offering the popular Mini-Grant program for Winter 2019. Up to six (6) mini-grants to candidates from the post-secondary sectors in Quebec will be awarded. Eligible individuals include faculty, instructional designers and professionals; and, post-doctoral and graduate students working with eligible faculty. The aim of the SALTISE…

Minister’s Award for “Problem-Based Learning for College Physics” The CCDMD is proud to announce that it has received an Award from the Minister of Higher Education for a project developed in collaboration with Cégep François-Xavier Garneau. The ceremony was held on September 20, 2018 at the National Assembly in Quebec City. The authors of 10 new PBL activities for Problem-Based Learning…

How to be an award-winning teacher Our colleague, Vanier teacher Jailson Lima, is the winner of this year’s Beaumier Award for High School and CEGEP chemistry teachers. Congratulations! Watch his CTV Montreal News interview with Mutsumi Takahashi by clicking here.

Three Tips to Help Your Tests Create Better Student Learning Posted on:  Joe Hoyle’s Blog: Teaching – Getting the Most from Your Students Written by: Joe Hoyle Thoughts on Testing: I am currently writing tests for my students so testing is on my mind. Our first examination of the semester is tomorrow. As I enter my 48th year in the classroom,…

A professor at Dawson College is a whiz at chemistry, but he also happens to be a lifelong comic fan. As Global’s Billy Shields reports, Yann Brouillette uses Marvel movies and comic books to help his students learn about science.

What is a smart classroom? Q & A with Dawson College’s Chris Whittaker Posted in: eCampus News, August 31, 2018 Written by:  Ellen Ullman eCampus News spoke with Chris Whittaker, physics professor and coordinator of Dawson’s smart classrooms, about what goes on in a high-tech classroom. Dawson College in Montreal, Canada has three high-tech “smart classrooms.” These rooms are designed with group…

EducART Project – Montreal Museum of Fine Arts – Continues Posted on: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts website The EducART Project (educart.ca) is sponsored by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the city of Montreal, and the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec.  This project is designed to help high-school teachers create learning activities based on visual arts. …

Research Topic – Active Learning: Theoretical Perspectives, Empirical Studies and Design Profiles This Research Topic was launched to engage a broad audience of educational researchers and practitioners as an online knowledge community whose goal is to understand active learning designs. In doing so, it allows for an ongoing discussion of active learning, with the aim of supporting a growing community…

Top undergraduate academic advisors celebrated Posted in: McGill Reporter, May 1, 2018 Written by: Ashley Karekaho Alice Cherestes, interim Director of the Freshman Program in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; and Teresa Zatylny, Administrative Student Affairs Coordinator in the Faculty of Engineering, were recently presented with the Dean of Students Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Academic Advising.

F2018 SALTISE Mini-Grant Awards SALTISE/S4 – Acknowledgements  – Entente Canada Quebec (ECQ) grant – Year 1 of grant – Supporting Active Learning & Technological Innovation in Studies of Education/S4 Executive Committee SATLISE Co-Directors – Elizabeth S. Charles, Nathaniel Lasry Selection Committee –  Michael Dugdale (John Abbott College), Uzma Jamil (Dawson College), Monica Lopez (Marianopolis College), Carol Hawthorne (Concordia University), Diana Rice (Dawson College), Azra Khan (Dawson College) And the Fall…

The 2018 winner of the Beaumier Award for High School/CÉGEP Chemistry Teachers is… Congratulations to Jailson Lima (Vanier College) recipient of the 2018 Beaumier Award from the Chemical Institute of Canada Posted on: Chemical Institute of Canada website Sponsored by the Beaumier Churcott Foundation, the Beaumier Award for High School/CÉGEP Chemistry Teachers is presented in recognition of excellence in teaching chemistry…

SALTISE Well Represented at the ICLS Conference in London The 2018 London Festival of Learning brought together the following three communities, ICLS, L@S, and AIED. SALTISE was well represented by several of our colleagues, who presented papers and posters at the 13th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) which took place in London from June 23-27, 2018. Check out their…

Vous êtes enseignants, chargés de cours, conseillers pédagogiques, formateurs en milieu de travail, doctorants ou autres acteurs en enseignement supérieur et en formation continue? Vous souhaitez enrichir vos connaissances en pédagogie et concevoir des formations en ligne? Vous avez le projet de transformer vos cours en les offrant complètement à distance ou en format hybride? Le programme court de 3e cycle…

The other day, Sophie Poudrier from APOP was helping me record a little webinar about our college’s new low-tech active learning classroom (ALC). I organised the talk around a series of questions Aurélie Finck, a Pedagogical Engineer in charge of designing physical learning spaces at the Université Bordeaux Montaigne in France, had asked me a few weeks before. Here is…

What do low-tech active learning classrooms (ALCs) look like? What are the advantages and disadvantages of low-tech ALCs as opposed to high-tech ALCs? Discover the process the Cegep de Sept-Îles went through from the original idea to the physical space, including the importance of consulting with teachers to evaluate current practices and needs, bringing all concerned parties together during the…

Recently, I read an article from the Profweb website where one of my colleagues, Luc Tremblay of Mérici College, presented the course notes he wrote in recent years. The tremendous work he did and the comments he made in his article made me think of a few things I would like to share with you. Universal design for Learning (UDL)…

During the next four months, Dawson will be a partner of Vitrine technologie-éducation (VTÉ) for a feasibility study in the context of the 2017-18 Entente Canada Québec grant awarded by the MEES to the VTÉ for the Open textbook project.

The road to becoming a better writer is long. Students often stall or stumble on that journey. Using a peer-assessment process in class can help them move toward the goal of becoming effective writers.

Join us for WinterFest 2018, where we’ll take on the problematic of introductory/foundational courses. Foundational courses are intended to initiate the uninitiated into our discipline.

We are pleased to present the 9 projects receiving funding from the SALTISE mini-grant competition. Funding for the mini-grants is courtesy of the ALPIC-ECQ grant, held by Dawson College, and with support from our dear friends at Vitrine technologie-éducation (VTÉ) – both are funded by the Entente Canada-Quebec (ECQ), a program of the Federal and Provincial governments and managed by…

Manu Kapur developed the concept of “Productive Failure.” In the second part of BOLD’s  interview, he talks about tacit and explicit knowledge and points out that technology will eventually be the primary means of conveying the latter, but not the former. He explains why standardized tests don’t prepare learners for real life and he presents a positive example of an education policy…

Using a SALTISE mini-grant as their starting point four of our colleagues from three local colleges have taken their projects to new heights by combining their efforts. Caroline Cormier and Véronique Turcotte from Cégep André-Laurendeau, Edward Awad from Vanier College, and Yann Brouillette from Dawson College were awarded mini-grants in 2016-17 for their respective projects that developed video-based instructional units that supported a flipped classroom approach. Their story is a perfect example…

Bring research and practice together, supporting the flipped classroom approach!

To better manage active learning group work, a team of college-teachers developed an app called GoGRASP (Group Response and Ambient Student Participation System).

Congratulations to this year’s award winners for the 2017 The SALTISE Best Practices & Pedagogical Innovators Award! It gives us great pleasure to announce the names of the following instructors who will be presented with the SALTISE Teaching Award for 2017. These individuals were selected from an impressive list of instructors who were nominated by their peers and students. We are…

The transition to an active learning curriculum is done in the hopes that not only the testable variables of a learners progress – the test scores and the averages – will rise, but that the antecedents of improvement will come from a genuine spike in interest and understanding of the subject matter. A new way of teaching can be problematic…

Turning your teaching into an active learning approach: Lessons learned from someone who made the change successfully.   Featured Innovator: Chris Whittaker Most educators want to be better teachers, it’s in their nature. An active learning approach is being recognized as one of the best ways to do so. The evidence tells us so, but also it just makes intuitive…

Distributing the task of problem solving is an active learning strategy related to theories of distributed learning wherein student groups (or individuals) assigned distinct but related assignments switch exercises and complete the work of their classroom peers. The essential skills required and strengthened are the conceptual understandings of the task and a proficiency in adaptable problem solving. A user of…