We are excited to have The Phoenix Crafthouse & Grill reopen. The Health & Safety on campus is top of mind as we operate in these challenging times. If you are already on campus for graduate work, please join us on the patio, or consider take out options. As always, The Phoenix is also open to the larger community – the hours of operation are currently Tuesday to Saturday 11:30am-7:30pm. Scan the barcode above to check out the re-opening video! |
It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Dr. Frederick Morfaw; a friend, colleague, and alumni of the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI) at McMaster. Prior to coming to McMaster, Frederick was a Cameroonian obstetrician. Frederick joined the HEI community in 2017 to pursue his Ph.D. in Health Research Methodology under the supervision of Dr. Lehana Thabane. In 2017-2019, he was a member of the African Caribbean Graduate Students’ Association (ACGSA) and several met him at our events.
Following the completion of his Ph.D. in the summer of 2019, Frederick worked as a Research Fellow in Perinatal Clinical Epidemiology with McMaster’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He will be missed by many members of the ACGSA that knew him to be a kind, generous, and gracious soul. As well as, an exemplary student, that completed his Ph.D. in record time and mentored and helped many others.
Our deepest condolences to Frederick’s wife, Laura, and their three lovely children: Vanessa, Prince Henry, and Ricka. Please consider visiting the fundraiser for Frederick by HEI on their GoFundMe page and contribute towards raising money for Frederick’s family.
Written by friend and President of the African-Caribbean Graduate Student Association (ACGSA), Tafadzwa Machipisa.
At the GSA, we have made a contribution of $500 to the GoFundMe in fundraising efforts for Frederick’s family.
We are actively working on the best agreement for graduate students using HSR in the 2020-2021 school year given COVID-19 pandemic and the change in day-to-day usage of the bus. If you would like to provide feedback ahead of our meeting with HSR next week on behalf of all the graduate students at McMaster University, please fill out this survey. We hope to capture all of your feedback in that survey to best inform the conversation, which is still ongoing.
Your GSA
Here are 14 quick tips to make online teaching better, from an expert in online learning.
1. Record your lectures – don’t stream them
If students are unwell or are struggling with internet access, they will miss a live streamed lecture. Record videos instead and send them to your students so that they can watch in their own time.
2. Show your face
Research has shown that lecture videos that show instructors’ faces are more effective than simple narrated slideshows. Intersperse your slides with video of yourself.
3. Keep videos short
Videos longer than 15 minutes can cause issues of slow downloading and learner distraction. If you have more to say, record two or three short videos.
4. Test out slides
Make sure you test slides on a smartphone before shooting your lectures so all text is readable on small screens. Font sizes, colours, template designs and screen ratios can be double-checked.
5. Use existing resources …
It is unrealistic to expect that you, on your own, will produce a semester’s worth of high quality videos. You can use pre-developed resources available online and provide students with clickable links.
6. … and make sure they’re open access
Using open resources helps prevent access problems for students. If any of your suggested resources are not accessible, you will receive an inbox full of student emails and eventually waste all your time troubleshooting. Spending a few extra minutes carefully searching for fully open access materials will save you a headache later.
7. Give specific instructions
When you suggest online media which runs for longer than 15 minutes, students will be put off watching. Instead, suggest the exact parts they need (eg 13:35 to 16:28) as this can even make students more curious. When you provide more than two resources, label them in the order you want students to approach them. Simple numbering, based on the level of difficulty or importance of each resource item, can be of great help for your students.
8. Provide interactive activities
Most learning management systems, such as Moodle, Edmodo and Blackboard, include a range of functions to create interactive learning activities such as quizzes. Step-by-step guides to creating them are widely available online. Use them.
9. Set reasonable expectations
When you create quizzes, you should make sure all questions can be answered by referring to the given learning resources. When you ask students to write a summary of lecture videos, you should make it clear that this is not a serious report. Making this as a mandatory assignment but a low-stakes task will produce the best outcomes and responses from students. A set of 15 quiz questions or a 300-word limit will be sufficient to engage students for 30 minutes.
10. Use auto-checking to measure attendance
If you tell students that their attendance will be measured by their participation in a quiz, it will increase compliance. However, you won’t have time to check them all, so use the automatic checking and grading features on the learning management systems.
11. Use group communication carefully
Group communication shouldn’t be used for direct teaching. Instead, set up “virtual office hours” on a video conferencing tool like Zoom. Simply log in at the appointed time and wait for students. Focus on providing social support and checking if any issues need to be addressed immediately. This can be a great way to collect student feedback on your online teaching as well. Make meetings optional and be relaxed. No need to be frustrated when no one shows up: students are still happy to know that this option is available.
12. Let students take control
You can set up online group spaces for small groups of students and ask them to support and consult with one another before sending emails to you directly. You can post a couple of questions to help students break the ice and start conversation. Encourage students to use the communication tools they prefer. Some groups will click well and some will not, but this little tip can make students feel socially supported and reduce your inbox traffic.
13. Don’t hide your feelings
Online teachers’ emotional openness is a great instructional strategy. Tell your students that it is your first time teaching online and you are learning while teaching. Explicitly ask them to help you, reassuring them that you will do your very best to support their learning as well. They will be sympathetic since they share the same emotions, and you will be set up for success.
14. Repeat
Online students do not like frequent changes in their learning style. They are happy to repeat the same structure and activities. Once you find a teaching style working for you, feel free to repeat it each week until you are back in your classroom.
Author – Kyungmee Lee
Lecturer in Technology Enhanced Learning, Lancaster University
Hey! I’m Shawn Hercules and I am your GSA President for this academic year. I work very closely along with the GSA’s strong executive and administrative team, to continue advocating for your needs and providing you with resources to help make grad school a little more bearable! Specifically in my role, I chair our GSA Council and Board of Director meetings, and ensure that our executive and staff are working cohesively to bring us closer to our goals within our Strategic Plan.
Outside of the GSA, I’m currently wrapping up a Ph.D. in Biology under the supervision of Dr. Juliet Daniel. My doctoral work is focused on investigating the potential impact of socioeconomics and genetics on why more Black women globally are diagnosed with a very aggressive and clinically hard to treat breast cancer subtype. In this study, we currently have patients enrolled from hospitals and health centres across Nigeria, Jamaica and my hometown Barbados. I moved here from Barbados to embark on this project in 2015 and I can’t believe that time flew by so quickly and it’s almost over! I’m leaning towards pursuing an academic career path and will likely work for a few years as a Post-Doctoral Fellow after my Ph.D.
Right now, my life is pretty much balancing my duties for both the GSA and my Ph.D. but I also try to make time to relax! Watching RuPaul’s Drag Race every Friday night along with a few friends on Zoom has pretty much been my route for escapism from everything COVID-19 related as well as the rest of the world’s recent realization of anti-Black racism.
If you have any questions for me about how you can get involved with the GSA or even about my research, feel free to e-mail me at gsapres@mcmaster.ca (GSA related), hercules@mcmaster.ca (research related). You can also find me on Instagram/Twitter using @shawnhercules!
Graduate students at McMaster, we would like to highlight the recent annual report from the President’s Advisory Committee on Building an Inclusive Community. Other resources from PACBIC can be found here. There is always more that can be done at an individual level to be an anti-racist. We hope you have taken the time to reflect what changes you are making within each of the roles you hold at McMaster University. It is important to be aware of the events currently happening at McMaster University. You can consider joining the GSA Student Actions Committee by emailing macgsa@mcmaster.ca to indicate your interest.
We are putting out a call for Faculty Representatives to the GSA Council! This role connects the GSA and each of the faculties. We currently have vacancies for the three Faculties listed below. If you are interested, email Caroline, GSA VP-Internal about how to apply!
Your GSA
JOIN A WEEKLY CALL with GSA President, Shawn Hercules, and Andrea Cole from the School of Graduate Studies!
When? Wednesdays between 1:00 PM until 2:00PM.
Where? Register for the Zoom link here.
What? Bring your coffee and come for a chat!
Questions? Andrea Cole coleand@mcmaster.ca
WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER!
Congratulations to the four students that won prizes for GSA Short Video Competition! Here are the videos with links, and the top two are previewed below:
1. Grand Prize: Poodle playing with a small soccer ball by Chih Ting (https://youtu.be/K1xzGLZcYR0)
2. Second Place: Choose your graduate student quarantine edition by Lauren (https://youtu.be/Uo7jPqP1d-s)
3. Third Place: When you’re a clutz stuck at home and Yoshi’s life by Sergio (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7B3uSXmLF8)
4. Fourth Place: Dog Egg Challenge by Monica (https://vm.tiktok.com/T53jGq/https://vm.tiktok.com/T53jGq/)
Thank you for participating and voting!
GSA INTRODUCTION SERIES:
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Hello Graduate Students! My name is Mona Mohamed, I have been with the GSA for over 5 years, I have a B.Sc. in Chemistry and Zoology from Alexandria University in Egypt. I love administration a lot, so, I am now taking a Diploma in Management, Business Administration to add to my administrative experience. I will be able to assist with general inquires related to funding, sponsorship, clubs and specifically inquires related to Health & Dental.
If you have ever wondered where the GSA office is, look at this picture below… We are right beside the Phoneix and across from the General Science Building and near the GO Bus. Right now, you can find me on email at macgsa@mcmaster.ca.
UPDATES FROM GSA
Each year, in accordance with a contractual agreement the GSA has with the HSR, students obtain a highly-subsidized rate to access the busing system in Hamilton.
At the GSA, we are currently in conversation with HSR given the announcement that the Fall semester will be administered online. We are negotiating a contract that will allow graduate students to maintain HSR passes to access our various offices, labs and other essential physical spaces on campus and around Hamilton. We will keep you updated on this process and please reach out and let us know your thoughts about what you’d want our HSR pass to look like throughout the next academic year, especially the Fall semester. We will keep you updated about this and all other matters pertaining to the Fall semester and how the GSA is working on your behalf through our social media and our mailers. Also, feel free to join our weekly drop-in every Wednesday! More information below.
Your GSA
JOIN A WEEKLY CALL with GSA President, Shawn Hercules, and Andrea Cole from the School of Graduate Studies!
When? Wednesdays between 1:00 PM until 2:00PM.
Where? Register for the Zoom link here.
What? Bring your coffee and come for a chat!
Questions? Andrea Cole coleand@mcmaster.ca
Hello Graduate Students! My name is Ashley Ravenscroft and I am passionate about higher education in post-secondary institutions and student governance. My passion for higher education was sparked over a decade ago, when I attended McMaster University as an Undergraduate student. And it has continued with me through to Graduate School.
When I’m not working on the mission, mandate and vision of the organization, you can usually find me at home. I have three children, two are school-aged, and the third I am married to. I think that might be a ‘mom-joke,’ but nevertheless, I have lived in Hamilton since obtaining my first degree and love all the city has to offer – the market, trails and, of course, waterfalls!
During my tenure with the GSA of McMaster University, I have had the pleasure of working with hundreds are graduate students. We have also had many successes during this time, such as the reinstatement of the Student Wellness Centre operations, increasing the student benefits package at no additional cost to students. And, increasing mental health supports to our Graduate Students through 24/7 supports, and an increased health reimbursement threshold.
I have also had the opportunity to participate in multiple student initiatives and advocate on their behalf. One of such of these successes was the induction of a minimum funding package at McMaster, which is $13,500.00 + supp & tuition fee.
This year I am confident that we have a strong team and we are going to accomplish more of the strategic plans goal this year.
I hope to meet you virtually or in-person at a future GSA committee, event, or the graduate student owned and operated, Phoenix Craft House and Grill.
Warm wishes,
Ashley