✨The First Day of Class
📩 I’m drafting an email to my colleagues about the first day of class, but I thought I’d test it out here first. What would you add to this note? Does it inspire? How’s the tone? What resources would you link to? Subject: Making the First Day of Class Count Dear Colleagues, I’m sharing some thoughts on preparing for the…
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✨How to Keep My Sabbatical Glow When Real Life Returns
As my sabbatical winds down and I prepare to return to my regular role, I find myself both excited and anxious. Excited about new projects and reconnecting with colleagues, but anxious about losing the sense of renewal I’ve cultivated over the past year. How can I capture the magic of sabbatical and carry it back into my demanding work? I’ve…
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Re-visioning Experiential Learning: More than “Learning by Doing”
Many educators view experiential learning as hands-on “learning by doing.” However, through our work at the University of Calgary’s Office of Experiential Learning, my colleagues and I have come to realize that this definition doesn’t quite capture its full essence. Revising a Framework: A Simple Update Prompts Deep Reflection In 2023, a team at the Office of Experiential Learning was…
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💡 Coaching Through CURE Design
Using Questions to Develop Meaningful Research Experiences During my sabbatical, I had so much fun collaborating with a colleague, Krista Larsen, who is designing a course-based research experience (CURE) for first-year biology students. CUREs integrate authentic research experiences into regular course curriculum, allowing undergraduate students to engage in the scientific process as part of their coursework. Over a series of…
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🔊Learning Through Evaluation: A Conversation with Rachel Stewart
In my role leading the Undergraduate Research Initiative, I’ve had the privilege of working with incredible educational professionals who’ve transformed my thinking about teaching, learning, and leadership. Today, I’m excited to share insights from a conversation with Rachel Stewart, an evaluator whose work has been instrumental in helping us understand the impact of undergraduate research experiences at our institution. The…
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🎉Friday LinkFest – Continuing the topic of Evaluation!
As part of our presentation at the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning Conference this week, we prepared a handout with some free evaluation resources. So thanks to Rachel, here are some evaluation related links for your Friday: For those interested in Indigenous approaches to evaluation: What resources have you found helpful in evaluating teaching and learning initiatives? Drop your…
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“Lazy Genius” Principles for Program Evaluation
This week at the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning’s Post-secondary Conference on Learning and Teaching, I had the pleasure of presenting alongside Rachel Stewart on a topic close to both our hearts: program evaluation. With the conference theme of “Reassessing Assessment,” we shared our five-year journey evaluating the Undergraduate Research Initiative through a different lens—Kendra Adachi’s “Lazy Genius” principles.…
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📢 Friday LinkFest: Enhancing Online Learning and Collaboration
Happy Friday, everyone! This Friday LinkFest is all about tools I’ve been looking at for online learning and collaboration. For the redesign of the Peer Mentoring program, we are moving much of the content online, so Lisa and I are trying to make our D2L shell as engaging as possible! Additionally, I’m in week three of the Facilitating Online with…
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From Sage on the Stage to Guide by Their Side: My Teaching Transformation
When I first stepped into a university classroom as a sessional instructor in 2009, I was armed with PowerPoint slides and a singular mission: transmit knowledge with precision and clarity. If my explanations were thorough and clear enough, surely students would understand everything I shared. Simple, right? Then reality hit—two semesters teaching statistics to biology students left me puzzled. Despite…
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Friday LinkFest ✨ – Learning Assistants, Specs Grading and a new tool!
The Dynamic Duo’s Big Plans 🚀 This week has been a whirlwind of creativity as Lisa Stowe and I dive headfirst into redesigning our Academic Peer Mentoring course for next Fall/Winter at the University of Calgary. This program has been transforming student experiences since 2005, but now we’re ramping it up. We’re not just updating—we’re planning a redesign that aims…
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Five Dimensions of Co-active Leadership: My Educational Leadership Journey
It took me years to develop a leadership philosophy that truly felt authentic. The breakthrough came when preparing my dossier for the 3M National Teaching Fellowship. A colleague challenged me to deeply reflect on my understanding of leadership, prompting me to reconnect with the co-active leadership model I’d encountered in earlier training. In that moment, everything clicked. The revelation was…
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Friday LinkFest – My Journey Through Facilitation and Coaching
I love Dynamic Ecology’s Friday LinkFest, so I’m taking blatant inspiration from it. I’m bringing you my own digital linking journey for the week. This week, I’ve been diving deep into the worlds of facilitation and coaching through two courses at Royal Roads University. Join me as I share the digital rabbit holes I’ve tumbled down that might inspire your…
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Allow me to introduce myself (and my new blog adventure)
I’m starting a blog! Have you ever surprised yourself by doing something completely out of character? As an introvert who prefers staying behind the scenes, starting a blog feels completely out of character for me. However, six months into my year-long sabbatical, I’m embracing discomfort and diving into this new adventure, hoping this leads to meaningful conversations about teaching and…
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Case-Based Teaching: Engaging Students with Real-World Problems
The author utilizes case-based teaching to enhance students’ critical thinking through real-world biological and ecological scenarios. Students tackle complex issues, analyze case studies, and engage in group discussions, which fosters their understanding and retention of relevant content.
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Kyla Flanagan 