2025 University of Toronto Teaching & Learning Symposium

Events

Welcome and Opening Plenary: Learning, Leading, and Thriving for Human Flourishing: Insightful ideas to catalyze change

Presenters  Bob Gibbs, Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Faculty of Arts & Science  Aarthi Ashok, Professor, Teaching Stream, Biological Sciences and Special Advisor on Teaching Stream Faculty Success, UTSC Trimble, Undergraduate Coordinator, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Women & Gender Studies Institute, Faculty of Arts & Science  Moderator  Keith Adamson, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, and Deputy Director, Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation  The academic landscape is constantly shifting, as we respond to social, political, technological, environmental, and demographic realities. How do we learn, lead, and thrive in a world of perpetual change while we create an [...]

1.2 Inquiry on Teaching and Learning 1

1.2.1 Translanguaging as Learning Strategy: Moving Beyond “English-only” YaseenAli, Learning Strategist, Learning Strategist, Intercultural & Community Learning, Centre for Learning Strategy Support (CLSS), Division of Student Life “Translanguaging” refers to multilingual users’ transcendence over the boundaries historically maintained between socially constructed language systems (Otheguy et al., 2015). This dynamic practice can include moving across “named languages” (e.g., French, Japanese, Urdu) and leveraging environmental materials (e.g., writing instruments, assistive technologies, semiotic resources) to express ideas. This session provides findings from a study examining the language frames (i.e., beliefs and attitudes) of 22 graduate students who identify as English as an additional language users [...]

1.3 Spark an Idea 1: Teaching Strategies

1.3.1 Indigenization of Environmental Science courses: Challenges and Insights from a Pedagogical Perspective Tanzina Mohsin,Associate Professor, Teaching Stream, Physical and Environmental, UTSC This session will present an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) initiative focused on the Indigenization of Environmental Science courses. The integration of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) and perspectives remains significantly underrepresented in Environmental Sciences and related fields. To address this gap, experiential learning elements have been incorporated into climatology courses within the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences at UTSC. These courses explore Indigenous Climate Change experiences through an applied pedagogical approach, introducing students to the impacts of climate on [...]

1.4 Leveraging Contemplative Pedagogies to Thrive Academically, Professionally, and Beyond

Kathleen Scheaffer, Strategic Initiatives and Liaison Librarian, University of Toronto Mississauga, Paulina Rousseau, Liaison Librarian, University of Toronto Scarborough Faculty, librarians, staff, and students are increasingly expected to understand and integrate emerging technologies within our teaching, learning, and researching activities; however, the rate in which they emerge and evolve does not afford us the time to critically assess their educational, political, social, global, and environmental impacts. In an effort to facilitate and cultivate critical lenses, this community chat will encourage participants to share and explore contemplative pedagogies and practices. Through anti-oppressive and inclusive discourse, this session provides a venue for discussing how contemplative [...]

1.1 Fear and Loathing in the Classroom: student voices from the Provost’s Working Group on Civil Discourse

Alison Thompson, Associate Professor, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, Nasim Niknafs, Associate Dean, Research; Associate Professor, Music Education, Faculty of Music Student Members of the Provost’s Working Group on Civil Discourse: Lydia Dillenbeck, Undergraduate Student, Haidy Giratallah, Recent Graduate Student, Hugh Considine, Undergraduate Student, Valentina Bravo, Graduate Student In this session, student members of the Provost’s Working Group on Civil Discourse explore the student experience of classroom discourse including how they perceive risk, power dynamics, and social pressures when participating in discussion-based learning. This conversation will center student experiences and ask: How can we better support students in engaging with difficult [...]

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