Resources to Expand your Teaching and Learning Knowledge
The New Instructor Handbook includes information on the university, your role, and teaching and learning at McMaster. Some sample topics include:
- McMaster’s teaching and learning policies
- Considerations for effective teaching
- Institutionally supported teaching technologies
- Working with a teaching team
The Teaching Development Planning Tool has been designed to assist new faculty members in planning relevant and appropriate teaching development opportunities based on their level of experience.
McMaster Continuing Education has partnered with Ed2Go to provide professional development activities for instructors! Take a look at their course offerings here, which include “Creating the Inclusive Classroom” and “Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities.”
As well, McMaster Continuing Education has a partnership with You Got Class, which offers three courses to help instructors develop online courses: Designing Online Instruction, Advanced Teaching Online, and Fostering Online Discussion.
UTS is the central IT services unit at McMaster. They provide support for several IT tools and services that are essential for all campus community members, including MacID, email, and productivity tools. In addition: they offer many new services that have been rapidly introduced to help instructors teach and engage students in the remote learning environment.
LinkedIn Learning is free for all McMaster faculty, staff, and students. It contains training and just-in-time resources on a variety of topics, including this Teams for Instructors playlist. Learn more about LinkedIn Learning on the UTS website here.
The Sherman Centre for Digital Scholarship supports a wide range of research and teaching activities across campus. Sherman Centre staff and affiliates consult with researchers on projects and grant applications, at any stage of development, by helping expand methodologies to include digital approaches.
The Centre offers curriculum development by collaborating with instructors to integrate digital tools and methods into undergraduate and graduate classrooms. And their annual Do More With Digital Scholarship workshop series (open to students, researchers, and instructors) provides introductory training on a variety of digital tools in an interactive, hands-on learning environment.
Contact scds@mcmaster.ca to inquire further or to book a consultation session.
Resources to Improve the Student Experience
The McMaster Equity and Inclusion Office has a wealth of programming and resources available on their website linked here. These resources provide more information on how to ensure educational experiences are equitable and inclusive. In addition, the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office’s website is a great resource for instructors looking for prevention education and response training.
Education needs to be accessible to all students, but many instructors voice concerns about how to make sure content is accessible. The Accessibility Hub’s Training page here contains a wealth of resources on this subject, including Accessible Education Training for Instructional Staff, available here.
Free for McMaster employees, Mental Health First Aid Training is a great way to ensure you are well prepared to support students’ whole persons. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a two-day interactive course with a focus on adults with mental health problems. Practical skills are taught using a model that is easy to apply in real life settings. Previous experience dealing with mental health issues is not required.
Professor Hippo-on-Campus was created by a team at McMaster to support instructors interacting with students in varying conditions of mental health. As demand for student mental health support and services is increasing, it is important that instructors feel prepared and are comfortable addressing student needs in ways that are consistent with and appropriate to their roles. The Professor Hippo-on-Campus program has been designed and tested to help accomplish this goal in an accessible and engaging format.
The SAS website contains some great information for instructors, including a guide to acknowledging accommodations and a list of resources to support instructors who wish to learn more about accessibility and supporting students with disabilities.
The Student Support and Case Management Office (SSCM) provides support to students throughout their time at university, providing resources to manage issues as well as crisis prevention and intervention for students who may be having trouble on campus. The SSCM has two primary areas of focus: administering the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities (the Code), and providing support to students through Case Management services. The SSCM is available for consultation and can assist if you are concerned about a student’s behaviour within the learning environment (in-person or online) and/or are concerned about a student who may be experiencing multiple barriers and/or challenges.
Resources to Share with your Students
This page is a collection of resources that instructors can share with their students to help with the transition to university life. Students can consult these references for advice, tips, and strategies to succeed at McMaster.