For the last six months, TRU’s amazing faculty members have been working hard to re-envision their courses to shift them to digital. Join us as we hear about some of their successes in this new mode of delivery. Sessions will feature a brief presentation followed by a larger discussion about how the strategies shared might work in participants’ own contexts. 

This month's guest:  Christie Fraser

Meet Ms. Unicorn and her Class of Stuffies: Creative Teacher Education Practices for Pandemic Times

Whenever I tell people that I am a “teacher of teachers,” there is a short pause as they process what that means. It is an extraordinary thing to teach teachers! There is the usual layer of expectation for a university professor; that they are an accepted expert in their field. But there is an added layer for the teacher of teachers – that they are also a prototype of exceptional teaching. But what does exceptional teacher education look like during a pandemic? How do I model teaching strategies for my teacher candidates virtually? How do they practice new teaching strategies, alone? Great teaching requires creativity and taking risks, both of which for myself and my students, the pandemic has inspired. Join me, Ms. Unicorn, and her class of stuffies for an adventure into an imaginative pedagogical approach for teacher literacy education, where you will learn that with great risk comes great reward, even during a pandemic.