Need help with course design, revamping an assignment, writing your teaching philosophy or other topics? We’re here to help. UPEI is committed to supporting the learning goals of faculty and instructional staff through a variety of programs. 

Orientation for New Instructional Staff
Academic Instructional Skills Program (AISP)
Teaching Matters! Series
Let's Talk Teaching
Lunch and Learn Sessions
Peer Mentorship Program
Teaching Squares Program
Faculty Development Summer Institute
Teaching Community Conference
Time to Write Retreats

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Orientation for New Faculty, Librarians, Clinical Nursing Instructors and Clinical Veterinary Professionals

This university-level orientation is meant for all newly hired faculty of all ranks and tracks and complements orientation programming offered by your unit and Human Resources.  Our event will introduce you to several senior administrators, colleagues from a variety of teaching, research, and support units as well as the UPEIFA, our faculty union. Our orientation sessions will include background info, a review of key university policies, and tips to support faculty and student success to help your transition to UPEI be as smooth as possible.

Invitations will be sent in early August. If you are a new academic member of the UPEI community, and you haven’t received an invitation or wish to ensure you receive the invitation, please contact the Teaching and Learning Centre at tlc@upei.ca.

Academic Instructional Skills Program (AISP)

The Academic Instructional Skills Program (AISP) is for instructors, postdocs and graduate students who are currently teaching at UPEI or who are interested in teaching at a post-secondary level in the future. The program provides you an opportunity to develop evidence-based teaching expertise and skills that are relevant across disciplines in postsecondary education. For more details and to self-enrol visit the AISP page.

Teaching Matters! Series

Teaching Matters! is a series of thought-provoking keynote-style talks related to teaching and learning in higher education. Talks typically happen at the start of the Fall and Winter semesters with invited speakers from across the country sharing their perspectives on a contemporary issue impacting university teaching and learning.

Let’s Talk Teaching

Just before the start of the fall semester join colleagues for practical, teaching-and-learning focused workshop focused on activities you can implement in your classes right away. Come prepared to engage in active learning!

Lunch and Learn Sessions

Lunch and Learn sessions crowdsources innovative teaching practices from across campus and creates a space for conversations take place. We bring people together in an informal atmosphere around the noon hour each month to collaborate and learn. Sessions are led by colleagues from different areas of campus and cover a wide range of topics. If you have an idea for a lunch and learn session that you would like to attend or would be interested in leading one, please reach out to the Teaching and Learning Centre by email: tlc@upei.ca.

Peer Mentorship Program

Early-career and experienced faculty members are invited to participate in our Peer Mentorship Program. Interested faculty members are often matched with a colleague from another discipline. Mentorship partners can choose to focus on specific aspects of their faculty role or take a holistic approach discussing teaching, research and service. Mentorship conversations might include elements of psychosocial support (emotional and personal support including Indigenous forms of mentorship), instrumental support as they explore approaches that they might want to incorporate into their teaching practice (team-based learning, online teaching, ungrading, etc.), guidance through bureaucratic processes, ideas on navigating the challenges of setting up a research project, and sponsorship  through letters of recommendation or introductions to colleagues. Our peer mentorship program offers a flexible, rewarding experience without a huge commitment of time.

Teaching Squares Program

The Teaching Squares program provides an opportunity for instructors to gain new insight into their teaching through a process of reciprocal classroom observation and self-reflection. Four faculty members from different disciplines work together to visit each other’s classes once over the semester. Participants commit to visiting one hour of one class for each colleague in their Teaching Square. Groups coordinate which class sessions are the most suitable for classroom observation. Groups then meet over a complimentary lunch to discuss what they learned about their own practice through the observation process.

The goal of the program is to provide an opportunity for faculty members to observe active learning and classroom management in a range of disciplinary settings and class sizes and become familiar with strategies they may try in their own teaching.

Faculty Development Summer Institute on Active Learning in Higher Education

The Faculty Development Summer Institute (FDSI) on Active Learning in Higher Education is a multi-day institute of talks, activities, and workshops focused on active learning. The goal of this institute is to bring together post-secondary instructors from across PEI who are passionate about engaging their students through active learning. Our research-based program with learning activities will allow participants to learn about active learning approaches that can enhance student learning and develop plans to incorporate active learning into your classes, labs or rotations. Email tlc@upei.ca to find out when the next Institute will be offered.

The 33rd iteration of the Faculty Development Summer Institute will be June 6 to 9, 2023. For information, please go to the FDSI website.

Teaching Community Conference

Each spring we host the UPEI Teaching Community Conference. This is a conference for instructors and staff to share innovative approaches and support activities and services for teaching and learning here at UPEI. More information and recordings from previous year's presentations can be found at upei.ca/teachingcommunityconference.

Time to Write Retreats

If you have difficulty carving out uninterrupted time for writing, if you struggle with motivating yourself to write, or if you would simply like the supportive collaboration of a writing retreat, consider Time to Write, UPEI's faculty writers retreat. Email tlc@upei.ca to find out when the next retreat will be offered.