Events

Explore how the first few minutes of class can set the tone for care, trust, and connection in learning spaces. Through guided examples and discussion, participants will learn starter activities that foster community and engagement. You’ll leave with practical tools and strategies to create welcoming environments, connect personal experience with pedagogy, and apply effective opening activities that ease learners into deeper reflection and complex ideas.

Drawing from the We’re Only Human TLEF project, this 30-minute online session examines how emotions shape students’ experiences with GenAI in writing-intensive courses. Participants will explore common barriers such as discomfort, ethical concerns, and fear of judgment, and consider how these emotions influence classroom dialogue and academic integrity. Through shared reflection, discuss compassionate, educative strategies for engaging students in conversations about GenAI use.

Join UBC faculty and STEPS Forward Inclusion Facilitators for a panel exploring inclusive teaching practices that foster belonging and accessibility in higher education. Panelists will share experiences co-creating learning opportunities for students with developmental and intellectual disabilities and reflect on inclusive assessment, disability justice frameworks, and connection as a pathway to learning. Discover how belonging can be practiced and sustained in diverse learning environments.

Explore how to build strong working relationships with faculty in online courses. This session helps TAs identify key elements of effective collaboration, address common challenges, and develop clear communication strategies.

Explore how play can transform learning. We will try a sample activity and discuss how TAs can adapt playful strategies to engage students, support understanding, and build collaboration. Leave with practical ideas for integrating games into your teaching.

Discover how creativity and reflection can enrich learning. TAs will examine experiential approaches and design activities that strengthen engagement, foster critical thinking, and encourage students to take greater ownership of their learning.

Building an inclusive learning environment starts with understanding how bias shows up in our teaching. This session offers TAs practical strategies for self-awareness, equitable communication, and fostering a strong sense of belonging in the classroom.

This session explores the contemporary expressions of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer (2SIQ) identities, focusing on resilience, connection, and joy. While histories of erasure have shaped 2SIQ experiences, stories and kinship practices have endured and flourished. Together, we’ll reflect on how these narratives continue to grow in both community and virtual spaces, highlighting the strength, creativity, and surthrivance of queer Indigenous peoples today.