Teaching Chair Program

As part of the Destination 2020 strategic plan, the University of Ottawa's Chairs in University Teaching underscore the University's commitment to instructional excellence by:

Promoting innovative teaching and learning practices that will benefit the wider University community as grounded in a scholarly framework/model;
Recognizing the value of educational leadership and excellence in university teaching and learning; and
Supporting professors committed to the scholarly investigation of teaching and learning, translating to University wide transformation of instructional practices.

Appointment

The Chairholder will receive a three-year non-renewable appointment and an annual fund of $20,000. To highlight the significance of this appointment, the Chairholder's Faculty will provide one assistantship (130 hours per year).

During the appointment, the Chairholder will join the Research Unit for the Advancement of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ASoTL) housed within the Teaching and Learning Support Service (TLSS) and work collaboratively with fellow Chairs to play an active role in the promotion of teaching excellence and the enhancement of student learning in all sectors of the University community.

The Chairholder will lead a three-year research program, with implications for the broader University teaching and learning community, which will relate to:

Significant transformation of teaching and learning practices in their field; and
Scholarly development and research in the field of university teaching and learning.

The Chair in University Teaching will also serve as keynote speaker at TLSS and University of Ottawa events which may include: the New Professor Orientation Program, the annual Perspective Symposium, and TLSS lecture events. In addition to the submission of an annual progress report, the Chairholder will disseminate the results of their scholarly work (via conference presentations, articles, and the TLSS website) and give a public presentation in the final year of their program.

Eligibility

Candidates for a Chair in University Teaching must be full-time faculty members who have:

A record of excellence in teaching and strength in research;
Demonstrated leadership in university teaching within their Faculty and/or department;
A demonstrated interest in the examination and development of transformative teaching and learning practices/initiatives; and
A fairly broad range of teaching experiences at various levels and within different teaching contexts, including graduate student supervision.

Publications related to teaching and learning in higher education (SoTL) will be considered an asset.

Selection Process

There will be two rounds of selection for the Chair in University Teaching.

First Round
Second Round

First Round
Second Round

First Round

Submissions to the first round of selection (expression of interest for pre-selection) must include:

A completed PDF submission form which includes a one-page project description and an explanation of expected contributions to the Research Unit for the Advancement of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ASoTL) and to the enhancement of pedagogy in the uOttawa community;
A recent curriculum vitæ limited to 4-pages (OCGS format); and

To download the PDF submission form, please click here.

The submission deadline for expressions of interest is January 8, 2018.

One copy of the submission package, including all items listed above, must be submitted in print to the Teaching and Learning Support Service at: Vanier Hall (room 1001), 136 Jean Jacques Lussier, K1N 6N5.

All candidates will be contacted, in early February, informing them of the committee’s deliberations. Successful candidates will receive information to aid them in the preparation of an expanded submission package for the second round.

Second Round

Following the selection of submissions, the committee will contact successful candidates to request an expanded submission which must include all of the following:

A project title;
A 5-page project description;
A 4-page CV – (only if changes have been made since the first round of selection)
A 5-page teaching dossier (see FAQ section for details);
A letter of support from the Dean;
Two additional letters of support; and
An expanded description of proposed contributions to the uOttawa community.

The deadline for this second round is April 6^th. Following the second round of selection, the successful candidate will be contacted and may begin their appointment as of April 30, 2018.

For additional information, please contact the Teaching and Learning Support Service at or 613-562-5300.

Chairholders

2018

New Chair in University Teaching Seeks to Map Internationalization Across the uOttawa Campus

The Teaching and Learning Support Service (TLSS) is proud to announce Professor Rebecca Tiessen as the Chair in University Teaching (2018-2021) with Professors Nadia Abu-Zahra and Emily Wills as co-applicants.

The Project – Internationalizing the uOttawa Campus: A Mapping and Mobilization Exercise

As part of the 3-year Chairship appointment, Professors Tiessen, Abu-Zahra, and Wills of the Faculty of Social Sciences will collaborate on this project with the support of the International Office, the Michaëlle Jean Centre for Global and Community Engagement, and a host of student groups. The project will focus on improving faculty engagement in internationalization and intensify efforts to internationalize curriculum which will help to make uOttawa a world-class university dedicated to excellence in intercultural learning.

Read more...

2017

New Chairholder in University Teaching Seeks to Enhance Experiential and Work-Integrated Learning at uOttawa

The Teaching and Learning Support Service (TLSS) is proud to announce the recipient of the 6^th Chair in University Teaching, Dr. Eileen O’Connor of the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Project – Building Effective Practices in Work-Integrated Learning at uOttawa

As part of the 3-year appointment, Eileen will be leading a project on building effective practices in experiential and work-integrated learning (WIL) at uOttawa.

Building on previous collaborative work to develop a WIL toolkit for Ontario Universities and Colleges (2016), this project will focus on adapting the toolkit template by consolidating and disseminating knowledge on effective practices within our wide range of work-integrated learning offered through programs, research and innovation at uOttawa.

Read more on the Press Release...

2016

Alison Flynn, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences

Project description:

University students have to learn in many different formats (e.g., lecture, online, blended, flipped, labs) and manage many different course and life expectations (e.g., part-time jobs, clubs, sports, volunteer work, family). To be successful, students need to know and continually monitor their learning plus develop autonomy and professional capacity skills; these are two Undergraduate Degree Level Expectations (UDLEs 5 and 6) and are components of self-regulated learning (SRL). Currently, few programs, courses, and online resources address SRL skills. In this project, Alison Flynn will develop (1) an annual workshop will help students learn domain general SRL skills, (2) modules that will target domain-specific SRL skills (i.e., SRL skills that are specific to a course or discipline), and (3) a practical participatory evaluation of the first two initiatives. You can read more and find updates here: flynnresearchgroup.com/chair/

2014

Maurice Taylor
Faculty of Education

Project description:
One of the recommendations from a recent University of Ottawa report suggests that our university adopts blended learning at large scale. This type of instructional model blends online and in class learning. To help move this initiative forward, Maurice Taylor, from the Faculty of Education will be conducting a three year study that investigates the current conditions across different faculties toward large scale adoption and the best practices in blended learning here at the university and other leading provincial universities. Results will help to determine action plans and the tools aimed at transforming instructional practices and teaching innovation.

2013

Jenepher Lennox-Terrion
Department of Communication
Faculty of Arts

Project description:
Given the place of large classes in today's universities, understanding how they can be best delivered is significant. The development of positive relationships between instructor and students through the professor's verbal and nonverbal communication, or teacher immediacy, is important to learning. Therefore, this study will assess the degree to which highly rated professors of large classes demonstrate teacher immediacy and catalogue how they do it. The study will produce guidelines for teaching large classes focused specifically on building teacher immediacy and, ultimately, positive classroom relationships.

2012

Jacqueline Carnegie
Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Faculty of Medicine

Project description
Undergraduate students explore pathophysiology beginning with the disease rather than the patient. This project involves the creation of learning modules, each with a video to acquaint students with a patient (student actors). The goals are to facilitate learning by personalizing the study of diseases, promoting learning through application, and encouraging patient-oriented storage of disease-related information in long-term memory.

Scott Findlay
Department of Biology
Faculty of Science

Project description:
The project on synthetic science will provide the opportunity for undergraduate students to contribute and actually do scientific research by extracting information from published studies using validated protocols, populating electronic databases with these data, and using the resulting synthesized data to test scientific hypotheses. This approach overcomes the logistical barriers associated with limited laboratory time and facilities, creating the potential to train students to think like scientists by doing actual science.

Research

The ‘Bricks and Clicks’ Towards Success: A Discussion Paper on a Blended Learning Research Project at the University of Ottawa

Maurice Taylor and Maria Bastien
University of Ottawa, Faculty of Education
May 2017

Executive Summary

As part of the Destination 2020, the University of Ottawa created the E-Learning Working Group in order to provide recommendations for online learning practices. In 2013, the working group produced a report that in part called for large-scale adoption of blended learning across the university. To achieve this, Teaching and Learning Support Service (TLSS) created the Blended Learning initiative with the initial goal of converting 20% of the University of Ottawa’s course offerings to a blended learning format by 2020. This ambitious goal was part of Phase One, which focused on quantity in order to lay the foundation for future work in blended learning. Moving forward into further phases TLSS continues to provide training and support to professors in order to focus on increasing the quality of blended learning courses offerings.

The Blended Learning Project, which was funded through the Centre for Innovative Pedagogies and Digital Learning (CIPDL) Chairship Program was a systematic inquiry on the topic of blended learning across the University of Ottawa. It provided needed evidence-based information for the planning and implementation of university wide adoption of blended learning as per the recommendation of the E-Learning Working Group and the goal of the Blended Learning Initiative. Therefore, the scope of the Blended Learning Project was to better understand how university professors could improve the quality of learning and teaching and as well as to better understand the student experience through the development and delivery of blended learning courses. Three questions drove the project: (1) What is the lived experiences of students who have taken a blended learning course at the University of Ottawa? (2) What type of changes do professors experience when teaching in a blended learning format? (3) What factors are important in the implementation of a university-wide blended learning initiative?

The three elements relating to student experience include: 1) Motivators for participation; 2) Mechanisms for supportive learning; and 3) The focal point of the blended learning course. For each element, information is presented from the perspective of graduate and undergraduate student experiences. Five elements relating to professors and their changes in teaching experiences through blended learning include: 1) Driving forces to change; 2) The power of new technology; 3) Discovering the meaning of a blended learning pedagogy; 4) Improved learning outcomes; and 5) The need to establish a supportive culture. Finally, four factors in the adoption and implementation of a blended learning initiative from an administrative point include: 1) The necessity for defining blended learning, 2) A hub of pedagogical and technological support, 3) Leadership through early adopters, and 4) Creating a research agenda to advance widespread adoption. To further deepen our understanding of the key factors in the adoption and implementation of a blended learning initiative, two additional perspectives were sought after: Subject Matter Experts from various Ontario universities developing blended learning and university personnel from across the country.

This discussion paper does not conclude, but rather looks forward through the enumeration of best practices in blended learning, the exploration of lessons learned through the project, and moving forward with questions towards a research agenda.

Download the complete report by clicking on the image below

The ‘Bricks and Clicks’ Towards Success: A Discussion Paper on a Blended Learning 2.5 MB

For additional information, please contact the TLSS at or 613-562-5300.

You can also consult our FAQ

Is the Chairs related to the TLSS Teaching and Learning Grants Program?

No. While both initiatives encourage innovation in University teaching, they are separate programs. Chairholders are first and foremost ambassadors of instructional excellence and play and active role in promoting innovative teaching and learning practices across all sectors of the University community. Chairholders are expected to undertake projects that go beyond the course level and have a larger impact on their Faculty and University community.

As the term is three years in length, Chairholders are expected to contribute to the scholarly development of university teaching through the dissemination of their research, involvement in the Centre for University Teaching’s faculty development programming and/or the development of resources.

What is a Teaching Dossier and what should be in it?

A teaching dossier is a comprehensive document that outlines, among other things: your perspectives on both teaching and learning, your teaching approach and goals, evidence of reflective practice and the effects of your teaching, your accomplishments and your contributions to teaching and learning in your department, institution and/or discipline.

Commonly a teaching dossier will contain sections on:

Approach to teaching (such as a teaching philosophy and a description of the ways you teach);
Teaching responsibilities (such as courses taught and advisory responsibilities);
Evidence of teaching effectiveness (such as evaluations, feedback, student work, and awards);
Teaching contributions (such as innovations in the field, service, educational leadership and scholarship).

Contact the Centre for University Teaching for more information about the development of a teaching dossier or to set up a consultation with a member of the CUT who can help you throughout the development process.

TLSS - Teaching and Learning Support Service