Cape Breton University Faculty Association (CBUFA)
1250 Grand Lake Road B1P 6L2 Sydney, NS, Canada

Some studies show that 70% of the population experiences Imposter Syndrome. Academia is rife with it -- among both students and faculty. This article outlines strategies for managing IP in faculty lives and in their teaching.

There's always such emphasis on writing skills in universities, but good writing starts with good reading. When and where do CBU students learn how to read effectively? What more should we be doing to develop this essential skill?

We are rapidly approaching final exams. Many faculty are concerned about academic dishonesty, particularly in online environments. What are your options?

You are invited to the third webinar in our Politics of Hope series, Reconciliation in Action: Stories of Friendship and Collaboration, on Thursday, November 19th at 6:30pm. To register for this session, visit https://politics-of-hope-fall-2020.eventbrite.ca/. What does it mean in the current moment to be an ally and friend, to work in solidarity with Indigenous and other social movements working for land protection, inclusion and peace? In this virtual talking circle we wi...ll hear from a roundtable of speakers about what reconciliation and decolonization in action look like. The panel of speakers includes Elder Albert Marshall, Carola Knockwood, Heather Schmidt, Mary-Beth Doucette, Ishbel Munro, Steve Law, Tuma Young and Matthias Bierenstiel. Panel commentators are Lee Maracle, Sto:lo, S'ólh Téméxw author and educator, and Leigh Potvin, social justice educator and community organizer.

On ways to create more engaging and interactive speaker events on campus -- which will benefit all talks while making it easier to present controversial topics for discussion and debate.

The Global Social Justice Project, in Collaboration with Unama’ki College Announces Inaugural Virtual Speaker Series The Politics of Hope: Building Resilient, Compassionate and Inclusive Communities Radical Hope as Medicine: Voices from Wabanaki... October 8, 6:30 pm Wapna’kikewi’skwaq - Women of First Light: Journeys of Resilience, Hope and Love Speakers: Jane Meader, Ishbel Munro, Paulina Meader, Miigam'agan, Cathy Martin, Sherry Pictou, & Marilyn Francis To register for this or any of the virtual sessions, visit https://politics-of-hope-fall-2020.eventbrite.ca/. This virtual speaker series hopes to create a space and place, in this moment, to consider our roles and responsibilities to growing respectful, harmonious relationships with the earth, our communities, and each other. The radical hope is that these conversations will be the first of many and as always we (re)member to begin by grounding the dialogue in the traditional territory and centering it in the value system of the First Peoples of this land, their language and culture. Although virtual, we therefore begin, on the unceded territory of Mi’kma’ki welcomed by L’nu Clan Mothers, Wapna’kikewi’skwaq - Women of First Light. Please join us as we gather to listen, learn and share with Elders, Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, allies, community members, writers, activists, educators, scholars and leaders as they share their stories of resilience, resistance and resurgence. Simultaneously, celebrating and cultivating, our appreciation of the commitment, strength, and sometimes the invisible work they do as they actively challenge everyday systems of oppression and structural violence. This series offers a unique opportunity to sit with this wisdom and actively co-create knowledge and actions to build resilient, compassionate and inclusive communities.

Happy treaty day!

Is Canada falling behind the rest of the world in terms of scholarly publishing? What role do or should universities play? Is CBU doing its share to support the publication of our research?

We must resist any efforts to narrow CBU and the provincial education system to market-driven programming. This is already happening in places like New Brunswick. Do we really need to learn this lesson again??

If you're not holding synchronous classes online or if your students are having challenges attending for whatever reason, there are ways to engage students asynchronously using video. This site reviews the main apps and suggests some ways to use them (e.g., interactive student presentations, discussions, providing feedback).

Ryerson University's Centre for Digital Humanities is running a free virtual program throughout September. Of particular potential interest may be a free Wikipedia edit-a-thon (Sept 30, 5-6 pm ADT) designed to teach anyone and everyone to edit Wikipedia.

Lumière is on now and all this week! It looks a little different this year, but there are still many opportunities to see and experience weird and wonderful art for free.

Do you have a blog assignment in your course? Aside from all the excellent reasons presented in this post for incorporating one, students also develop valuable digital skills that are transferable to many contexts, and a "real world" assignment and potential audience can be very engaging and motivating.

Are you ready for a different approach to giving feedback on student work? Why not ask students what they would like feedback on and ask them probing questions about their choices in developing their assignments before offering them critical comments.

Office hours are going to look a little different this year for most of us -- this may be the perfect opportunity to reconsider how you frame and offer them to your students.

ACENET is offering a variety of digital scholarship workshops throughout the fall, all online. Note especially the beginner series designed for Humanities and Social Sciences.

Happening TODAY! 2-5 pm. Free and open to all.

Many of us want to be more deliberately inclusive, equitable, and anti-racist in our teaching -- but how? This excellent post from Brown U's centre for teaching and learning offers concrete actions that you can take.

Attracting and retaining underrepresented students in STEM subjects requires fostering a sense of community and inclusion.

Do you find that the Chinese and other east Asian students in your classes aren't participating as much as you'd like? Find out what some of the reasons might be. https://www.universityaffairs.ca//why-do-east-asian-inte/

ACENET is offering an introductory virtual workshop on digital scholarship (taking place over 4 half-days): "The workshop will be of interest to: active computational researchers and their teams; anyone considering a research project that requires computational research; and students eager to enhance their career choices by expanding their skill set." CBU and StFX have first crack at registration before it opens to everyone on Sept 7.

At CBU, we feel public and political pressure to focus on delivering practical job skills. But do we risk widening existing inequities? "The focus on skills expands access and opportunity in the short term while creating a two-tiered society that reinforces equity gaps with a vengeance."

What would the administration-union relationship be like with a more diverse administration? Maybe nothing would change. Or maybe everything would. But how do we ensure greater administrative diversity?

Part of our job is to teach students how to examine an issue or question from several angles and how to make a case for taking a particular approach or perspective. But are we simply giving students a way to reinforce their pre-existing biases? Perhaps we should focus more on asking students to demonstrate the complexity of a problem to encourage more open-mindedness.

The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) is asking you to sign a petition. The petition calls on university presidents across the country to endorse the United Nations (UN) climate emergency letter. This letter calls on endorsing institutions to declare a climate emergency and commit to: Mobilize more resources for action-oriented climate change research and skills creation; Go carbon neutral by 2030 or 2050 at the very latest; Increase the delivery of env...ironmental and sustainability education across curriculum, campus and community outreach programmes. The UN letter currently has the support of 60 national associations that work to advance sustainability goals in higher education, along with endorsements by 259 post-secondary education institutions from about 46 countries, including 14 Canadian institutions. The petition is an initiative of the Climate Action Coalition at the University of Alberta. Their plan is to the send the petition to Universities Canada and presidents of post-secondary institutions across the country, urging them to sign the UN climate emergency letter.

What does inclusive teaching and learning look like in the online context? Columbia's Center for Teaching and Learning offers concrete principles and strategies to help you design the most inclusive online course possible.