3.5 Teaching and Learning Supports and Resources
Learning Outcomes
Identify teaching services and supports for faculty, focusing on
- Curriculum Support
- Teaching and Learning / Tech for Teaching
- Library Services (including Copyright and Academic Integrity)
- Bookstore Supports
Review this scenario to determine which support units can assist faculty with different teaching and learning needs.
Scenario 3.5.1 Teaching Supports
Dennis is new to teaching at Conestoga College. He has some questions about his course and the resources he has received to teach it.
- In looking at the Course Outline, Dennis is unsure about how the course outcomes align with the course evaluation structure and assignments.
- In looking at the PowerPoint slides he received, Dennis is noticing no copyright information on the slides with images.
- In looking at the course topics, Dennis wants some ideas for active learning so that students are more engaged in class.
- In looking at assignment instructions, Dennis wants some advice on how to best respond to potential academic misconduct cases.
Where should Dennis go for advice on these four topics?
- 1. Outcomes-Assignment Alignment – Contact Curriculum Operations and Planning
- 2. Slides without attributions – Contact Copyright Officer (Library Services)
- 3. Active learning ideas for the classroom – Contact Teaching and Learning
- 4. Responding to cases of academic misconduct – Contact Academic Integrity Officer (Library Services)
See the sub-sections below for details and contact information for the faculty support units.
Curriculum Support for Faculty
The Curriculum Operations and Planning department provides guidance and support to program academic teams who develop and revise Course Outlines on an annual basis.
Consultants are also available to help faculty to understand the alignment of course outcomes and the course evaluation structure for assessments.
Teaching and Learning
Contact Teaching and Learning for ideas to support students with doing group work in class, creating a welcoming environment for diverse students, using rubrics and marking schemes, effective classroom management, and more!
The Teaching and Learning team provides one-on-one consultations to help faculty with engaging their students actively in their learning.
The Teaching and Learning team also provides a range of other supports for teaching, including developmental teaching observations, workshops, micro-credential courses, anytime teaching resources, and support using educational and instructional technologies.
Watch the short video below to get to know the Teaching and Learning department at Conestoga.
Teaching and Learning. (2023). Get to Know Teaching and Learning Conestoga. [Online video]. Youtube.
Developmental Teaching Observations
Teaching & Learning provides developmental teaching observations and reviews to all new full-time faculty, usually in the first semester of their contract. Find out more in our guide on Developmental Observation of Teaching and the Reviews of Fully Online (Asynchronous) Teaching processes.
Some part-time faculty will be observed. Observations may be done by an expert in teaching or by the Chair (in some Schools).
Educational Development Opportunities
For just-in-time educational development, Teaching and Learning offers a number of learning opportunities year-round:
- Courses, Micro-credentials, and a teaching certificate
- Workshops on effective teaching
- Instructional Skills Workshops (ISWs)
These opportunities are provided at no cost for active employees at the College. Use the Student Portal to register for most of these educational development opportunities. Workshops listed as “Offsite” are usually virtual workshops, typically held in Zoom. The organizer will typically provide an email a few days prior with an introduction and a link to join the session.
Teaching Resources
Anytime faculty development resources, social media, and communities are available from Teaching and Learning to support your practice. Visit the Faculty Learning Hub to discover readings and downloads on topics related to teaching, learning, assessment, and educational technology.
5-Minute Web Search Activity
Do a web search now! Visit the web pages below.
- Faculty Learning Hub: Anytime teaching tips and resources
- Join the Microsoft Teams Teaching at Conestoga community to connect with faculty and colleagues.
- Learn more about the Developmental Observation of Teaching process.
Tech for Teaching
Teaching and Learning is also home to the Tech for Teaching team, staff dedicated to supporting your use of educational and instructional technologies, such as eTexts, HyFlex classrooms, interactive projectors or any licensed and supported apps provided by the College.
The Tech for Teaching team is one of several key areas that will support your use of technology at the College.
Teaching and Learning. (2023). Orientation to Technologies at Conestoga. [Online video]. Youtube.
Conestoga provides licensed access to a number of software tools for teaching. Faculty sign into their Conestoga accounts to access these tools. The use of College licensed and supported tools ensures the security and safety of student information.
- Virtual class meetings (Zoom)
- Polling tools (Mentimeter)
- Collaboration (Padlet)
Faculty may use these tools (at their discretion) to activate, gamify, and document learning in the classroom.
Recap of Key Technical Services
The table below summarizes and links to the services listed in the above video.
| Service Area | Additional Information |
| IT Services | Use the IT support site as your universal launch pad, and consult the support information for help with college-provided services. |
| eConestoga | Find help with eConestoga from the Online Learning Center (OLC). They offer technical services and supports for faculty in using our Learning Management System (LMS) eConestoga, or when developing or administering an asynchronous course. |
| The Bookstore | Use the Faculty FAQ Guide to get answers to commonly-asked questions about textbooks, digital access codes or eTexts, including how to obtain an instructor copy. Find out if you are teaching in an eText program. You can also consult the Faculty Learning Hub’s post on Starting to Teach with Texidium, the e-reading app used in eText programs. |
| The Library | The Library offers key technical supports to faculty including resource collection and copyright advice. Use tutorials from the Digital Skills Toolkit to support learners in using technologies in your course. |
| Tech for Teaching | The Tech for Teaching team is part of Teaching and Learning, and supports you in using educational and instructional technologies in learning activities. We can help create videos using licensed apps like Mentimeter or Padlet and classroom technologies like HyFlex rooms or interactive projectors. |
Library Services Supports for Faculty
Conestoga’s Library Services provides on-site and online resources to support teaching, research, and other information services. The Library has a presence at every campus and provides various resources in print, videos, images, and other multimedia resources that may be used in your courses (permissions vary by resource).
5-Minute Video Viewing Activity
View a short video overview to Library Services for faculty with Chris Woodley, Manager, Access & Education that provides an overview about: Library spaces, Library resources, Program liaison teams, Copyright and resource sharing, and OER support.
Library Services. (2020). Supports for faculty. [Online video]. Panopto.
Copyright Services
You may receive teaching resources and materials, such as PowerPoint slides, with limited or no copyright or attribution information.
Faculty may reach out to the Copyright Coordinator to learn more about what is copyright law, how to use various learning materials in class, and how author attributions should appear in course resources.
See this collection of webpages for information about copyright, resource databases available for use in the classroom, and more.
Academic Integrity Office
The Academic Integrity Office provides information and resources regarding promoting academic integrity in your courses, determining a course of action in cases of potential academic misconduct, and reporting academic integrity incidents.
See this collection of webpages for information about how academic integrity. At this site, you can learn about tools and processes available at Conestoga to encourage and monitor academic integrity.
Contact Academic Integrity Coordinator, Cory Scurr (email), to discuss academic integrity and academic integrity violations.
Open Education Resources
Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials that are licensed in a manner that provides everyone with free and perpetual use of retaining, remixing, revising, reusing, and redistributing the material so long as the licensed requirements are followed. Visit the OER Toolkit to learn more about creating or adapting an Open Educational Resource (OER) and integrating open pedagogical practices into your teaching.
- Contact Kim Carter (faculty secondment)
Program Liaison Teams & Course Reserves
Receive one-on-one support for obtaining current field/industry-specific resources and research. Also, get help with load course reserves into your eConestoga course shell,
- Program Liaison Teams – Supports by program to help locate articles, chapters, videos and more; design of research guides and tutorials for students.
- Have library resources added directly to your eConestoga course shell: Online course readings – submit a request
5-Minute Web Search Activity
Do a web search now! Find
Supports from the Bookstore
The Conestoga Bookstore can help with questions and issues related to your course textbook or learning resources, including digital access codes, eTexts and obtaining a desk copy.
Connect with the Bookstore via their website, use the self-help tool, or email the Bookstore for direct inquiries.
Section 3.5 Review
Please pause and answer these five practice questions to review and check your learning.