Rethinking Teaching: a Course Redesign Workshop

Network of Teaching & Learning

Topic

Rethinking Teaching: A Course Redesign Workshop

Introduction

All programmes at AKU now have to undergo Curriculum Review every five years. Part of these reviews require faculty to rethink and update their courses. This workshop will be helpful to faculty who are either developing a new course or revising an existing one. It will also be helpful to the programmes that have recently undergone a cyclical QA programme review or those programmes due to undergo a self and peer assessment. The Rethinking Teaching Workshop is also a good follow up for faculty members who have been through the compulsory Teaching and Learning Enhancement Workshop. The course is also a prerequisite for faculty members who wish to enrol in the Blended Learning Faculty Development Programme.

These workshops will be facilitated by Ms. Vivian Neal (Simon Fraser University’s Teaching and Learning Centre, Canada) and Professor Geraldine Van Gyn, formerly the Director of University of Victoria’s Learning and Teaching Centre with co-facilitation from TL_net staff.

During this workshop, you will:

learn to develop a concept map of the core materials in your course
develop learning outcomes and align this to assessment practices
explore an approach to course design consistent with your subject-matter understanding
work in small multi-disciplinary groups and benefit from peer and facilitator feedback and self-evaluation
experience and examine various innovative teaching strategies including those enabled by technology

This four-day workshop is designed to support you in the redesign and/or development of your course. By the end of the workshop, you will have a draft course outline and a plan for implementing various teaching strategies.

Dates and Venue:

Tues-Fri, 25–28 July, 2017 in Nairobi, Kenya by Vivian Neal of Simon Fraser University, Teaching and Learning Centre, British Columbia, Canada

Tues-Fri 26 -29 September, 2017 in Karachi, Pakistan by Geraldine Van Gyn a retired Professor from the Faculty of Education, University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

For a day by day account of the same workshop delivered at Simon Fraser University in Canada, check out this blog post by Nienke van Houten of Health Sciences.

Due to the high facilitator to participant ratio spaces are highly limited and you are encouraged to register early. Please register by filling this registration form. There will be no fee for attending but all travel and accommodation costs will need to be borne by your department. Please send this form to by May 10th 2017 for Nairobi and June 23rd 2017 for Karachi.

Experts Bios

Ms. Vivian Neal

Vivian Neal is an educational developer with more than 15 years of experience working on curriculum development and helping faculty to develop their teaching practice and their understanding of teaching and learning. She has taught as a faculty member, a sessional instructor, and a non-credit instructor at several universities in Canada and the UK. Her passion lies in the integration of education for sustainable development into courses and curricula. Vivian is currently working at Simon Fraser University’s Teaching and Learning Centre where she collaborates with academic program directors to develop and revise programs, and with individual faculty members in the design and redesign of courses and in instructional development. She holds a Master of Educational Technology from the University of British Columbia and she is a Professional Engineer. She also volunteers with stewardship groups to help preserve natural ecosystems near her home on Burnaby Mountain, with the Land Conservancy of British Columbia and recently with the Sierra Club in California.

Geraldine Van Gyn, PhD

Geraldine Van Gyn, PhD is a retired professor from the Faculty of Education, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. As past director of University of Victoria’s Learning and Teaching Centre and a research history in issues of learning conditions and practice issues, she has a had a long-standing interest in learning in higher education. In 2006, Geraldine and Carol Ford developed, for the Society of Teaching and Learning (STLHE Canada), the Green Guide on Teaching for Critical Thinking (one in a series of Green Guides on various pedagogical issues). A 38-year ‘veteran’ of university teaching, Geraldine has focused on developing courses in which students are challenged to think critically and guided to challenge themselves to apply the intellectual effort necessary to engage in deep learning.