Dr. Michael Wesch’s opening keynote at this year’s Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education conference in Toronto caused me to think deeply about social construction of knowledge – and how that might flavour my teaching this coming term, particularly with graduate students in education. You may be familiar with Wesch’s video A Vision of Students Today Continue reading Social Construction of Knowledge: Wiki in Graduate School — Nicola Simmons
Author: Nicola Simmons
As Research and Evaluation Consultant, Nicola Simmons supports the design and implementation of research about teaching and learning at UW. In addition to co-ordinating the Teaching-based Research Group (TBRG) and LIF/PIF grants program, she assists faculty members with research-related activities: grant proposals, ethics proposals, conference proposals, and publications. Nicola pursues her own research in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), doctoral student and new faculty identity development, reflective practice, and qualitative research methods and ethics, and holds a number of research grants related to program evaluation.
Nicola is also a graduate advisor and teaches part-time in the Faculty of Education at Brock University, where she received her PhD for her study What’s different under the gown: New professors’ constructions of their teaching roles. Nicola and her husband, who live in Burlington, have a musical son and a horse-crazy daughter. Her hobbies include making willow furniture and judging science fairs.
Renewing my Scholarship: Journeys Away — Nicola Simmons
I’m just returning from the Congress of the Humanities and Social Science in Montreal, where (as at last year’s Congress) I bumped into a few Waterloo colleagues there for their own disciplinary conferences. I was there for the Canadian Society for Studies in Higher Education meeting, running a session with a colleague in which papers addressed the changing demographic of post-secondary students in the future based Continue reading Renewing my Scholarship: Journeys Away — Nicola Simmons
Failures, mistakes, stupidity – foundations of success in academia
Earlier this term I read a one page article, The Importance of Stupidity in Scientific Research. The article proclaims the importance of – nay – the imperative of learning from mistakes as a valuable education path. The author describes his astonishment that a very bright fellow PhD student gave up a career path because it made her feel stupid. Continue reading Failures, mistakes, stupidity – foundations of success in academia
On Congress, research and ideas, oh my! – Nicola Simmons
Last week I was in Ottawa at the Canadian Society for Studies in Higher Education conference, part of the much larger Congress for the Social Sciences and Humanities. I wasn’t the only Waterloo attendee, and it was great to see colleagues who were there for their own disciplinary conferences. Continue reading On Congress, research and ideas, oh my! – Nicola Simmons
Learning about Teaching – Researching the Practice and Practicing the Research Nicola Simmons
Two exciting events coming soon at UW – the Opportunities and New Directions conference (May 6) and the Learning about Teaching Annual Symposium (May 4 & 5).
The first annual “Opportunities and New Directions: A Research Conference on Teaching and Learning” will take place at UW at Conrad Grebel on May 6. Conceived by a sub-committee of the Teaching-Based Research Group (TBRG) and the Centre for Teaching Excellence, the event is supported by Geoff McBoyle, AVPA. Continue reading Learning about Teaching – Researching the Practice and Practicing the Research Nicola Simmons
Spring Forward: Circadian and Cognitive Shifts – Nicola Simmons
The spring clock change. For me, it’s a time of shifts and re-framing, some of it good, like stargazing for another few weeks on my early morning walk, and some of it challenging, like waking up an almost 14 year old daughter who’s sure it’s not time yet. There’s no question that it also disrupts our patterns – sleep patterns and cognitive patterns (Kamstra, Kramer, & Levi, 2000; Kuhn, 2001)(if you don’t have a teenager you may have noticed these changes in your colleagues or yourself!). Continue reading Spring Forward: Circadian and Cognitive Shifts – Nicola Simmons