A&S Teaching & Learning Community of Practice: Connecting Minds: Global Collaboration and Creative Strategies for Learning

Presented by Teaching and Learning, Faculty of Arts & Science  

This session features the following two presentations:

Designing a Global Classroom

Presenters:

Amanda Sharples, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Department of Psychology
Anne Aseey, Senior Lecturer, University of Nairobi

The Global Classrooms Initiative enables instructors at the University of Toronto to partner internationally. I’ve worked with this initiative for 3 years, running two courses with Professor Anne Aseey from the University of Nairobi, and a third online course is planned for fall 2025. Students from both institutions attend classes virtually, participate in discussions, and collaborate on projects applying cultural insights to policy development, like creating interventions to promote success in diverse classrooms. Facilitating cross-country group work has challenges but offers benefits such as cross-cultural interaction and diverse perspectives. Students at the U of T noted the experience broadened their views and challenged their ideas about culture and bias. Professor Aseey will discuss global education benefits and strategies to address the digital divide, and we aim to co-present on our experiences, challenges, successes, and best practices.

Musical Mnemonics for Teaching Neuroscience

Presenter: Geith Maal-Bared, Lecturer, Department of Human Biology; International Foundation Program

Music has long been used to facilitate memory acquisition. This practice is supported by primary literature demonstrating improvements in verbal memory recall when the information is originally presented with music vs. as spoken word (i.e., no music). One famous example of this practice is Bill Nye’s science-themed covers of popular songs. In this presentation, I will share simple tips for course instructors (musicians and non-musicians alike!) interested in adopting this practice.

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