Dal Events

Resilient Classroom Series: Don’t Fake It ‘til You Make It – Confronting Academic Imposterization

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 13:00:00 GMT

Tuesday, September 23
10–11:30 a.m.
Killam Library, Room B400*
Link to register for the event (opens in new window)

“I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘Uh oh, they’re going to find me out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.’" – Maya Angelou, American writer

As high as 82% of individuals experience imposter phenomenon throughout their careers (Bravata et al., 2019). The imposter phenomenon, a term coined by Clance & Imes (1978) is the “subjective experience of perceived self-doubt in one's abilities and accomplishments compared with others, despite evidence to suggest the contrary” (Walker & Saklofske, 2023). More recent interpretations of this experience shift the focus from “fix-the-individual” to “fix-the-institution” with the concept of impostorization – policies, practices, and interactions that make individuals question their intelligence, competence, and sense of belonging (Gutiérrez & Cole, 2023).

In this in-person session, you will learn how to:

Identify the characteristics of the imposter phenomenon as experienced by instructors
Describe how impostorization manifests in academia (e.g., microaggressions, grateful guest syndrome, invisibility and inclusion taxations)
Explain the factors that contribute to the imposter phenomenon and imposterization in academia (e.g., systemic discrimination, gender)

This session will provide a safe space to share personal experiences if you wish. We will collectively brainstorm strategies to better prevent and mitigate the impacts of the imposter phenomenon, as well as first steps to chip away at the structural and systemic factors that perpetuate imposterization in academia.

Presenter

Daniella Sieukaran, MA (she/her)
Senior Educational Developer (Program Development)

Intended Audience

Graduate Students
Instructors (all)
TAs/Markers/Demonstrators

Teaching Tuesday Virtual Drop-in: Establishing Roots – Keeping Students Engaged

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 13:30:00 GMT

Tuesday, October 7
10:30–11:30 a.m.
Online via Microsoft Teams
Link to join the session (opens in new window)

Come to our autumn-themed Teaching Tuesday Virtual Drop-ins this semester to create a personalized support experience. Your needs and interests guide the direction of the drop-ins! Ask our CLT Senior Educational Developer questions, bounce ideas off a sounding board, or debrief about your teaching. Join us online and stay for as little or as much time as you would like! Registration is NOT required. Each month has a broad theme:

October

Come to our Establishing Roots – Keeping Students Engaged virtual drop-in to create a personalized support experience. Your needs and interests guide the direction of the drop-in! Ask our CLT Senior Educational Developer questions, bounce ideas off a sounding board, or debrief about topics such as: active learning, rapport-building, fostering critical thinking, and other student engagement methods. Join us online and stay for as little or as much time as you would like!

November: Preventing Deadwood – Instructor Self-Care
Chat about emotional labour of teaching, preventing burnout, maintaining momentum through to the end of the semester, and teaching stressors.

(AI Pedagogy) Assessment Re-design, Part I: Moving toward process-oriented assessment models

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 18:00:00 GMT

Tuesday, October 7
3–4:20 p.m.
Killam Library, Room B400 or Online
Link to register for the event (opens in new tab)

GenA.I. is troublesome for educators because its capabilities challenge our assessment’s “construct validity”— the ability of the assessment task to provide evidence that students are meeting learning outcomes. Assessment that is designed to gather evidence of student learning from their “journeys” (how they did it) rather than their “destinations” (what they submitted), provides the instructor with better evidence for how well outcomes are met. Additionally, process-oriented assignments augment students’ self-efficacy and metacognition, and can strengthen the relationship between instructor and student. This workshop will help participants test the construct validity of their current assessments and discover ways to design assessments that help students attend to, and evidence, their learning journeys.

Facilitator

Les T. Johnson, PhD (he/him)
Educational Developer (Accessible Digital Learning)

Capacity

Online: 16
In-person: 16

Intended Audience

Instructors

Decolonizing Classroom Participation

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 17:00:00 GMT

Wednesday, October 8
2–3 p.m.
Killam Library, Room B400*
Link to register for the event (opens in new window)

Classroom participation is often narrowly defined: speaking quickly, confidently, and frequently. These norms privilege certain voices — often male, extroverted, or Euro-Western — while silencing or penalizing others, particularly women, gender-diverse students, and those from non-dominant cultural backgrounds. In this workshop, faculty will examine how gendered, cultural, and colonial expectations shape our perceptions of “good participation” and how these assumptions influence teaching, feedback, and grading practices.

Drawing on Indigenous pedagogical principles that value listening, relationality, storytelling, and collective knowledge-building, participants will:

Reflect on their own biases in assessing participation.
Explore alternative ways of recognizing and valuing student engagement.
Co-create strategies for designing more inclusive, equitable, and relational learning environments.

This session invites instructors to critically reimagine participation, ensuring that all students have opportunities to contribute meaningfully and authentically, while also honoring diverse ways of knowing, being, and learning.

Facilitator

Rachelle McKay, Educational Developer, Indigenous Knowledges & Ways of Knowing

*Please note that the B400 classroom is in the basement of the Killam Library. We are aware of, and apologize for, the accessibility barriers associated with this room. If you require the use of an elevator to reach this room, one of the CLT staff will have to access the elevator with you, using their key card. Please let us know in advance so that we can facilitate a smooth and timely transition to the basement.

We also ask that participants be respectful of those with significant allergies and avoid wearing perfume, aftershave, cologne, and highly scented hairspray, soaps, lotions, and shampoos.