Category: Effective Teaching

Content-Based Bridge-Ins

Reading Time: 9 minutesMany of you are likely already familiar with the BOPPPS framework for lesson planning. While BOPPPS is not the only way to plan a lesson in a post-secondary classroom, it has been around for more than 50 years and has proved itself to be a “fruitful, efficient, and effective instructional model that promotes students’ active participation in the classroom” (Zheng,...

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL): Public Relations

Reading Time: 3 minutesConestoga College has embarked on its pilot launch Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) as an international virtual exchange program for students. In this kind of virtual exchange, students and faculty participate in joint coursework and knowledge sharing with students at institutions in other countries. In the first year of its pilot program the college had nine professors and over 300 students across...

What Does it Mean to be an Intercultural Educator?

Reading Time: 3 minutesDiversity is a fact of life in any Canadian postsecondary setting.  In addition to diversity in such areas as age, gender, and educational background, Conestoga students embody rich cultural and linguistic diversity, whether they are domestic or international. Supporting a diverse student population at Conestoga across various disciplines is a continuous learning opportunity for both new and seasoned faculty. Being...

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL): Intercultural Prototypical Attributes for Effective Leadership

Reading Time: 3 minutesConestoga College has embarked on its pilot launch Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) as an international virtual exchange program for students. In this kind of virtual exchange, students and faculty participate in joint coursework and knowledge sharing with students at institutions in other countries. In the first year of its pilot program the college had nine professors and over 300...

Unpacking the Rainbow: Celebrating Pride Month

Reading Time: 2 minutesMany people associate Pride month with celebrating openly and with family as society in Canada has generally become more inclusive. For many newer immigrants Pride is something new, and coming out and celebrating can be very challenging. This year, Teaching & Learning invites you to consider how Pride intersects with other identities. For example, for many South Asian parents in...

Reach Them All with Universal Design for Learning

Reading Time: 4 minutesUniversal Design for Learning (UDL) is about making course instruction, materials, and content accessible to everyone right from the start.  By doing this you will reduce the need for later adjustments or special accommodations which can be time consuming. By using the ideas and tools from UDL to build flexibility and options into your courses, UDL ensures that everyone can...

What Did I Do Wrong? What Academic Integrity Means to the International Students

Reading Time: 3 minutesBy Dr. Nasreen Sultana, Teaching & Learning Consultant While no study indicates that international students plagiarize more frequently, there are worries that these students might be at a greater risk of committing plagiarism (Valentine, 2006). International students may often need to realize what makes a work plagiarized. For example, Sanni-Anibire et al.’s (2021) research in the Canadian post-secondary context noted...

Teaching with Sign Language Interpreters (SLIs) or Interpreters in the Classroom

Reading Time: 4 minutesIntroduction As of 2021, there are approximately 382,700 deaf and 3,827,000 hard of hearing people in Canada (Canadian Association of the Deaf, n.d.; Malkowski, 2021). Deaf, hard of hearing, and deafened individuals (D/HH) are a valued part of our Conestoga community (for more information, see this resource for terms and this resource for deaf community and culture). As faculty continue...

Pre-Assessments in Lesson Planning

Reading Time: 2 minutesWondering what students already know about a topic and how this informs our lesson planning? This post will provide a short explanation as to why pre-assessments are important in lesson planning and examples you can try with your students. Pre-Assessments are included in lesson planning for several reasons, these include guiding your lesson in finding out what students know about...