The Teaching Commons is pleased to invite you to this year’s Annual Summer Teaching Institute, taking place over three half-day sessions between June 23-25th. Our 2025 theme is:
Working Towards Essential Requirements.

This year's Institute is designed to offer an engaging, hands-on experience focused on deepening our shared understanding of the interconnectedness between program learning outcomes, course learning outcomes, course-level assessment practices, and essential requirements, with a particular focus on accessibility and inclusive design.

We encourage colleagues from the same academic unit to attend in pairs so that collaborative work can meaningfully translate back to your programs. Because the sessions are scaffolded toward shared goals and outcomes, we ask that participants commit to attending all three half-days.

Please bring the following materials with you to guide your participation and activities:

• Your program-level learning outcomes
• Learning outcomes and assessments from 2–4 required courses in your program (across varied year levels)
• Course syllabi, if available

Please note, the Summer Teaching Institute is not an evaluation of your current assessment practices. Rather, it is an opportunity to reflect, collaborate, and better understand how intentional alignment across outcomes, assessments, and essential requirements can help us create more coherent, accessible, and meaningful learning experiences for students.

Please see the agenda below. More information and details will be provided closer to the week of the Summer Institute.  This event will be held via Zoom.

We look forward to learning with you this summer!

Join us for a collaborative session exploring how generative AI is reshaping teaching and assessment in higher education. Together, we will discuss Leon Furze’s AI Assessment Scale and consider how it might be adapted for an institutional context. We’ll also engage with Jiahui Lou’s (2024) article, "A critical review of GenAI policies in higher education assessment: a call to reconsider the ‘originality’ of students’ work," to ground our discussion in a critical academic framework. This session is open to all Lakehead University faculty and staff who are GenAI novices or experienced users - all input is welcomed and encouraged!

Session Outcomes:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Discuss the spectrum of AI use in assessment via the AI Assessment Scale.

• Reflect on Lou’s critique of originality and its implications.

• Examine how the AI Assessment Scale might be used at an institutional level.

• Identify supports needed for teaching and learning for effective AI Assessment Scale integration.

Pre-session Work:

Please come to the session having reviewed and read the following:

• Lou, Jiahui. (2024). A critical review of GenAI policies in higher education assessment: a call to reconsider the “originality” of students’ work. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lakeheadu.ca/10.1080/02602938.2024.2309963 (you may need to login to the Lakehead Library to access)

• Leon Furze’s AI Assessment Scale: https://leonfurze.com/2024/08/28/updating-the-ai-assessment-scale/ 

This session will provide an overview of the learning environment and how to use the various tools in mycourselink/D2L to effectively structure your online site to simplify class management and enrich course experiences for students.

Explore the evolving Teacher-AI-Student dynamic with Dr. Fridolin Ting, an expert in technology-enhanced active learning in STEM education, Senior Lecturer for The Education University of Hong Kong, and former Associate Professor for the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Lakehead University. This community of practice session will explore AI-integrated teaching strategies supported by AI tools like YoChatGPT in personalized and active learning environments. Learn how to harness AI to foster collaboration and active learning, support student agency, and enhance cognitive engagement in your classrooms.

Key Highlights:

• The good, bad, and ugly of generative AI in education.
• The limitations of current AI tools and how to overcome them.
• How to implement personalized and active learning pedagogies using YoChatGPT in STEM and beyond.
• Strategies for integrating generative AI into your learning and teaching to support, not undermine, critical thinking and student growth.
• Some evidence of improved student learning outcomes from 2024-25 Fall Semester pilots.

Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this session, participants should be able to:

• Analyze the role of AI in the modern educational landscape and its impact on teaching practices.
• Implement strategies for integrating AI tools into personalized and active learning pedagogies.
• Identify potential pitfalls of generative AI in education and develop safeguards to mitigate them.
• Utilize AI platforms like YoChatGPT to enhance collaboration and critical thinking in their courses.
• Reflect on the ethical and pedagogical implications of the Teacher-AI-Student relationship.

Presenter’s Abstract: In this CoP workshop, I will share our progress on UNESCO's recommendation for fostering human-centered and pedagogically appropriate relationships among students, AI, and teachers by implementing collaborative learning through the innovative YoChatGPT platform, which integrates multimodal large language models within an online backchannel environment.  We will discuss current limitations of AI platforms in education and describe how YoChatGPT solves these problems to enable educators to implement both personalized and active learning strategies effectively. We will demonstrate practical applications through various pedagogical approaches including collaborative storytelling, design thinking, inquiry-based learning, and modified peer instruction. By fostering a dynamic teacher-AI-student relationship while maintaining human-in-the-loop decision-making at its core, YoChatGPT! represents a significant step forward in integrating AI into educational practices thoughtfully and effectively.

Please note that the Community of Practice is limited to 25 spaces. Spots are limited - register today!

Join us at our booth on the First Floor of Chancellor Paterson Library on Thursday, January 23rd, 2025, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Celebrate the art of writing, win exciting prizes, and learn about the writing and research support available at Lakehead University's Thunder Bay Campus!

Join Mkomose (Dr. Andrew Judge) for an engaging dialogue around Anishinaabe pedagogical practices. Mkomose has been a Professor of Anishinaabe and Indigenous Studies for 15 years and his PhD is in Indigenous education from Western University. In this dialogue he will share some of the ways he's implemented Anishinaabe pedagogical practices in teaching, assessment design, and course design in delivering over 50 courses throughout his career.

Join us for Teaching and Learning Week. Teaching and Learning Week is an annual event hosted by the Senate Teaching and Learning Committee to provide focused professional development for faculty, instructors, staff, and graduate students. This year’s theme is Advancing Accessibility & Inclusivity in Teaching.

Please register through Libcal.  You only need to register once to attend any session.  This year includes both in-person and virtual sessions. For virtual sessions, one Zoom link will work for all.  The Zoom link will be sent out via email on Friday, October 18th. 

To respect presenter preferences, some sessions may not be recorded. However, recordings and resources will be made available upon request.

Please contact teachingcommons@lakeheadu.ca with any questions. 

See the full schedule of events here (https://www.lakeheadu.ca/teaching-commons/events-and-activities/annual-a...)

Join fellow educators in a supportive environment to reflect on the term's progress, share experiences, and explore challenges and successes in teaching. Facilitated by the Teaching Commons’ instructional development staff, this session provides a space to discuss pedagogical strategies, exchange ideas, and build community connections. Ideal for faculty seeking to enhance their teaching practices through collaboration, feedback, and peer support. All levels of experience are welcome. Please note that the Community of Practice is limited to 25 spaces.

This workshop is designed for instructors who teach medium-sized classes and are interested in incorporating active learning strategies to engage students. Together, we explore various methods to foster interaction, enhance understanding, and promote critical thinking in medium-sized classroom settings. Participants will be provided with practical tips and resources to create more dynamic and inclusive learning environments.

This workshop is designed for instructors who teach large classes and are interested in incorporating active-learning strategies to engage students. Together, we explore various methods to foster interaction, enhance understanding, and promote critical thinking in large classroom settings. Participants will be provided with practical tips and resources to create more dynamic and inclusive learning environments.