Join us for one of our open online offerings. All postdocs are welcome to join us virtually in our hyflex learning environment to experience one of our program offerings in teaching or leadership. Experience innovative programming first hand as you engage and network with seasoned faculty, industry experts and other PDFs. Registration is free. REGISTER HERE

January 31st (12-3pm) Online Communication: The role of social media in knowledge translation (Arun Jacobs)
In this workshop, PDF’s will discuss what happens when academic publication platforms determine scholarly engagement by inadvertently turning scholars into academic influencers. How should early career researchers position themselves on scholarly publishing platforms vis-a-vis content-marketing practices to produce “trending” or “viral” work? Academic journals not only promote their most trending articles, but they also frequently include altmetric attention scores and refer to social media platforms such as Facebook and X (the Social Media Platform formerly known as Twitter). By emphasizing the importance of social media in knowledge mobilization, value is awarded to scholarly output based on visibility, highlighting how Search engine optimization (SEO) and information retrieval (IR) processes affect scholars’ and researchers’ writing and publishing strategies and their potential intellectual and research contributions.

February 14th (evening) Appetizers for the Mind Event (full event details will be available closer to the date) The winning participants from the McCall MacBain talks will present their 10min research talks in this exciting hybrid event (event can be attended online or in person). In person attendees can enjoy appetizers both literally and figuratively as you satiate your academic hunger for knowledge with these “bite sized” research talks.

March 13th (12:30-3:30pm) Writing Effective Test Questions (Joe Kim)
The primary goal of testing is to measure the extent to which students have learned the facts, concepts, procedures, and skills that have been taught in the course. In many university courses, instructors use multiple choice questions (MCQs) for some or all of the student assessment. However, many of the questions used by instructors contain critical flaws and most will do no more than test factual recall. Fortunately, writing high-quality MCQs is a learnable skill.

10:00am-12:00pm – Accessibility and AODA compliance

Led by: Jennifer Faubert
Location: PC 205

Creating accessible learning spaces isn’t just a great practice, it is required for learning institutions. The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act outlines standards that must be observed when creating student centered spaces for learning. Join us for this interactive workshop with facilitator, Jennifer Faubert from the Macpherson Institute helps to enrich your teaching practices with learner centered, accessible AODA compliant techniques.

12:00pm-1:00pm – Lunch

Location: PC 205

1:00pm-3:00pm – Job Talks (Panel of Experts)

Location: PC 205

Many Postdocs strive for a job in academia, estimates range from 75-81% of PDFs aspire to attain a tenure track professorship. The issue: there are limited appointments in academia. The market is highly competitive, and the interview process can be laborious! Join our panel of experts to gain an insider’s perspective on the academic job search, job talk and interview process.

Panelists:

• Dr. Bruce Wainman (Professor, Pathology and Molecular Medicine; Director, Education Program in Anatomy and Surgical Skills)
• Dr. Maureen MacDonald (Dean, Science)
• Dr. Jeremiah Hurley (Dean, Social Sciences)
• Dr. Pamela Swett (Dean, Humanities) or Dr. Martin Horn (Associate Dean, Graduate Studies and Research, Faculty of Humanities)
• Dr. Joe Kim (Professor, Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour; Director, McCall MacBain Postdoctoral Fellows Teaching and Leadership Program)

Due: Finalize and rehearse your presentation for McCall MacBain talks

To be delivered next week in the LIVELab.

10:30am-11:30am – Journal Club (in person facilitation)

Led by: Timothy Lo and Marycolette Ezediokpu
Location: PC 205

Anakin, M., & McDowell, A. (2021). Enhancing students’ experimental knowledge with active learning in a pharmaceutical science laboratory. Pharmacy Education?: An International Journal for Pharmaceutical Education, 21, 29–38.

11:30am-12:30pm – Lunch

Location: PC 205

12:30pm-3:00pm – Presentation Skills and Presenting to the Crowd

Led by: Ginette Mohr
Location: PC 205

Ginette Mohr award winning performer, director and social worker will guide program members through the fine art of performance. Delivering your message in a meaningful way can be a challenge. Verbal communication skills will be honed in this workshop to allow program members to excel as they prepare for the McCall MacBain talks.

10am-4:00pm – McCall MacBain Talks

Location: LIVELab (Psychology Building, second floor)

After attending workshops relating to effective PowerPoint design and how to give a fantastic presentation, postdoctoral fellows will develop a 10 minute talk about their research aimed towards a general audience. The Ted-Style talks will take place in McMaster’s LIVElab, filmed by our multimedia media expert. The top McCall MacBain Talks will also present at the Alumni Appetizers for the Mind event. This will allow the postdoctoral fellows an opportunity to continue honing their academic communication and leadership skills.

Vote for your favourite talks at the event.

View some of the Appetizers of the Mind presentations from last year to prepare for this deliverable.

Task: create a social media presence (Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn)

10:30am-11:30am – Journal Club (in person facilitation)

Led by: Sonia Kong and Charlus Zhang
Location: PC 205

Karim, N. I., Maries, A., & Singh, C. (2018). Do evidence-based active-engagement courses reduce the gender gap in introductory physics? European Journal of Physics, 39(2), 25701.

11:30am-12:00pm – Lunch

Location: PC 205

12:00pm-3:00pm – Online Communication: The role of social media in knowledge translation

Led by: Arun Jacob
Location: PC 205

In this workshop, PDF’s will discuss what happens when academic publication platforms determine scholarly engagement by inadvertently turning scholars into academic influencers. How should early career researchers position themselves on scholarly publishing platforms vis-a-vis content-marketing practices to produce “trending” or “viral” work? Academic journals not only promote their most trending articles, but they also frequently include altmetric attention scores and refer to social media platforms such as Facebook and X (the Social Media Platform formerly known as Twitter). By emphasizing the importance of social media in knowledge mobilization, value is awarded to scholarly output based on visibility, highlighting how Search engine optimization (SEO) and information retrieval (IR) processes affect scholars’ and researchers’ writing and publishing strategies and their potential intellectual and research contributions.

10:00am-12:00pm – Online Communication: Connecting to Policy Makers

Led by: Brenda McPhail
Location: PC 205

Dr. Brenda McPhail is the new Acting Executive Director of the Master in Public Policy in Digital Society program. As the former Director of the Privacy, Technology and Surveillance Program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Brenda is a long-time participant in a range of policy processes. As a researcher at a national, non-profit legal advocacy organization, her work has supported litigation at courts up to the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as legislative reform, and public education relating to the ways in which privacy rights are at risk in contemporary society. She has appeared as an expert witness before Parliamentary and Senate committees regarding privacy law, national security, and biometric data, and serves as a member of the Advisory Council for the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. Her current grant-funded research projects include studies on workplace surveillance applications, media governance and AI, and virtual health care data privacy.

During this workshop, Dr. McPhail will connect the importance of policy and postdoc research. If researchers could influence how their findings were used in public policy, it would lead to more informed decisions, transformative changes and impactful solutions.

12:00pm-1:00pm – Lunch

Location: PC 205

1:00pm-3:00pm – Online Communication: Connecting to Policy Makers

Led by: Alex Lawson
Location: PC 205

Alex Lawson is the Executive Advisor, Public Affairs in the Communications and Public Affairs (CAPA) office at McMaster University. Alex will introduce you to public policy and explain why we want to talk to policy makers.

10:30am-11:30am – Journal Club (in person facilitation)

Led by: Alanah McEvoy and Abby Kulisz
Location: PC 205

Bartlett, C., Marshall, M., & Marshall, A. (2012). Two-Eyed Seeing and other lessons learned within a co-learning journey of bringing together indigenous and mainstream knowledges and ways of knowing. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 2(4), 331–340.

*Note: no afternoon programming

6:30pm-8:30pm – Appetizers for the Mind

6:30 pm – doors open & appetizers
7:00 pm – talks
8:15 pm – awards

In collaboration with the Office of Alumni Advancement
Location: Alumni Memorial Hall (Great Hall), and online (by registering for the event with Alumni)

The top McCall MacBain Talks (as voted by our program members) will present at the Alumni Appetizers for the Mind event. This will allow the postdoctoral fellows an opportunity to continue honing their academic communication and leadership skills.

12:00pm-1:00pm – “Center Yourself with Yoga”

Led by: Alexa Geleynse
Location: Mindfulness Center at the DBAC (David Braley Athletic Centre)

Alexa will lead you through a basic yoga flow. Beginning with guided breath and grounded poses, the practice will build up to standing poses and more intensity before unwinding. Whether you’re brand new to the practice or experienced, all are welcome!

Alexa is a Canadian yoga instructor at De La Sol Yoga Studios in Hamilton. She has accumulated over 500hrs of training in Vinyasa, Yoga Trapeze, Chair Yoga, Restorative, and more.

1:00pm-3:00pm – Lunch and mindfulness talk: “Taking care of me and why it is so damn hard!”

Led by: Carla LaBella & Joe Kim
Location: Alumni Memorial Hall, West Room

In this experiential workshop, you will learn WOW (Ways of Optimizing Well-being) tips aimed at replenishing and renewing your energy so that you can do the important work that you do. Themes include, mindfulness, self-compassion, self-care (highlighting the importance of sleep and exercise). Learn strategies that will move you from “knowing” to “doing”.

Carla LaBella is a Professor of Psychology at Mohawk College. She has a background in Positive Psychology and Applied Positive Psychology. She is also a Modo Yoga teacher (Level 1 – 200hr Teacher Training) and a Unified Mindfulness Coach.

Due: complete your EIQ test and submit by Monday, March 4th

10:30am-11:30am – Journal Club (in person facilitation)

Led by: Derek Somo, Alannah McEvoy, and Anny Leudjo Taka
Location: PC 205

Drewery, D., & Pretti, J. (2023). How approaches to learning explain lifelong learners’ successful work adjustment. International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning, 24(3), 359.

11:30pm-12:30pm – Lunch

Location: PC 205

12:30pm-3:00pm – Leadership Foundations

Led by: Monique Armstrong
Location: PC 205

Engaging your team. Tips, strategies and key do’s and don’ts for building and leading a high performing team. Monique is a leadership and management development expert who is a true believer in self-efficacy. A skilled and energetic facilitator, Monique helps leaders and their teams to think, feel, and behave with more impact. Monique has led clients to achieve greater results in the manufacturing, energy and infrastructure, advertising, beverage, automation, software, and pharmaceutical industries throughout North America. A diminutive and effervescent motivator, Monique loves to ski at breakneck speeds and laugh till it hurts. Or maybe that’s the skiing.

10:00am-12:00pm – Emotional Intelligence

Led by: DSB (DeGroote School of Business) Facilitator (TBD)
Location: PC 205

12:00pm-11:30pm – Lunch

1:30pm-3:30pm – Emotional Intelligence (continued)

Led by: DSB Facilitator (TBD)
Location: PC 205

10:30am-11:30am – Journal Club (in person facilitation)

Led by: Marco Martinez Gonazalez and Sheena Jary
Location: PC 205

Kim, J.A., Pachai, M.V., & Sana, F. (2011). Training undergraduate teaching assistants in a peer mentor course. Transformative Dialogues: Teaching and Learning Journal, 4(3), 1-10.

11:30am-12:30pm – Lunch

12:30pm-3:00pm – Writing Effective Test Questions

Led by: Joe Kim
Location: PC 205

The primary goal of testing is to measure the extent to which students have learned the facts, concepts, procedures, and skills that have been taught in the course. In many university courses, instructors use multiple choice questions (MCQs) for some or all of the student assessment. However, many of the questions used by instructors contain critical flaws and most will do no more than test factual recall. Fortunately, writing high-quality MCQs is a learnable skill. In this hands-on workshop, we will:

• Learn about how to employ the best practices and avoid common pitfalls of writing measurably effective MCQs.
• Explore how theories of learning such as Bloom’s revised taxonomy can help us determine the level at which a question should be written.
• Practice writing MCQs and providing valuable feedback to peers.

12:00pm-1:00pm – Lunch

1:00pm-2:00pm – Teaching Panel: From sessional to tenure track

Location: PC 205

Join several teaching experts and learn about their journey into academia. Several perspectives will be explored, from College sector, University, tenure track and sessional instructors. This informative discussion will allow program members to ask questions and learn from the best!

Due: Prepare your 10min education research reports (you will present with your partner next week)

10:30am-11:30am – Journal Club (in person facilitation)

Led by: Zilong Zhang, Olusola Olasupo, and Amir Foroozan
Location: PC 205

Rao, Kavita & Gravel, Jenna & Rose, David & Tucker-Smith, T. (2023). Universal Design for Learning in its 3rd decade: a focus on equity, inclusion, and design. In: Tierney, R.J., Rizvi, F., Erkican, K. (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Education, vol. 6. Elsevier.

11:30am-12:30pm – Lunch

12:30pm-3:00pm – Work Period: Collaborate with your Research partner to create your education research report presentation

This time will be allocated for your education research report prep. Meet with you partner and prepare your reflective presentations for next week.

Due: 5-10min education research presentations (submit a copy online)

10:00am-12:00pm – Education Research report presentations

The culminating report from all education research projects will be presented during this program meeting. Program members will present their current research findings reflect upon their experiences working with faculty members on education/cognition based research.

12:00pm-1:00pm – Lunch

Location: PC 205

1:00pm-3:00pm – Entrepreneurship: Moving from Research to industry

Led by: Brandon Aubie
Location: PC 205

Many researchers bring their skills to industry. Starting your own company or taking an idea to industry can be intimidating. In this workshop, program members will learn about the risk and potential reward in entrepreneurial endeavours.

12:00pm – Final Program Day! Lunch and Debrief

Location: The Buttery

Join us for a final program day lunch. Debrief about your experiences in the McCall MacBain Postdoc program.