Expandable List
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. No registration required.
October 4 (1-3pm) – The Importance of OpEds with Wade Hemsworth (see description below)
October 25 (11-12, 12-1 break for lunch, resume 1-3pm) – Delivering Powerful Presentations with Dr. Joe Kim and Paulina Rzeczkowska
November 1 (1-3pm) Delivering Powerful Presentations (part II)
Each meeting will be delivered via zoom through the link below:
Join Zoom Meeting – LINK
Meeting ID: 930 8871 6115
Passcode: 755982
10:30am – Welcome and Orientation
Location: PC 205
11:00am – LiveLab Tour
LIVELab Tour
Location: second floor of the Psychology Building (PC)
11:45am – Welcome Lunch
Location: The Buttery
9:30am-10:30am – Journal Club
Location: Online
Freeman, S., Eddy, S. L., McDonough, M., Smith, M. K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences – PNAS, 111(23), 8410–8415.
11:30am-1:00pm – Postdoc Appreciation Week Event
Focusing on what really matters: A reset for workplace productivity
Led by Joe Kim
Location: The Great Hall at the University Club
During the course of a busy term, we are pulled in multiple directions with increasing demands for our time and attention. Without a game plan, confusion, procrastination and “busy work” dominate over moving toward higher goals. Research from psychology can provide effective strategies to choose priorities that separate signal from noise, focus attention to engage in deep work, and develop habits that invest limited resources on what really matters. In this workshop we will:
- Explore how understanding the cognitive architecture of the mind leads to developing a working plan to handle daily challenges with optimized solutions.
- Develop a culture for productivity that promotes deep work and movement towards a goal.
- Learn about digital tools to integrate into workflows to shift our resources to important tasks like strategic planning which also deserve attention.
1:00pm-3:00pm – Lunch
11am-3:00pm – Leading with your authentic self
Led by Monique Armstrong
Location: PC 204/205
Creating your 90 second elevator pitch.
Program members will create a 90 second elevator pitch and revise their pitch within this workshop. Once perfected, it will be recorded in the MacPherson Studio at McMaster University (by our very own multimedia specialist).
View some of the pitches from Cohort 4 to prepare for this deliverable (click on the “More Information” button to view their video).
Due: 90 second elevator pitch script
Due: Sign up for a time slot for your headshot photo and filming of 90 second elevator pitch
9:30am-10:30am – Journal Club
Location: Online
Robinson, K. A., Lee, S. Y., Friedman, S., Christians, E., McKeague, M., Pavelka, L., & Sirjoosingh, P. (2022). “You know what, I can do this”: Heterogeneous joint trajectories of expectancy for success and attainment value in chemistry. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 69, 102055.
12:00pm-1:00pm – Lunch
Location: PC 205
1:00pm-3:00pm – The Importance of OpEd
Facilitator: Wade Hemsworth
Location: PC 205 (note that this will also be available as an Open Online Offering. Non-program members can join via zoom)
This workshop will prepare Program Members on how to write an Op-Ed article on the topic of their choice. Writing an Op-Ed will help members fine-tune their communication skills by writing for a lay-audience about a complex topic. Op-Eds can be published on the McCall-MacBain program website and submitted to other publication outlets (The Sil, The Spec, etc.)
Book Your Time Slot – Headshot photo and 90 second Elevator Pitch Filming
Multimedia Specialist: Paulina Rzeczkowska
Location: MacPherson Institute Studio (5th floor Mills Library)
Paulina will take a series of headshot photos from which you will choose your favourite.
Your 90 second pitch script will be displayed on a telepromter during filming. You will have the opportunity to film your pitch up to 3 times.
Due: Rank Order Research Talks
Due: Peer Review 2-3 Op-Ed reports and submit feedback
Due: Submit “problematic slide”
9:30am-10:30am – Journal Club
Location: Online
McDermott, K. B., Agarwal, P. K., D’Antonio, L., Roediger, H. L. III, & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Both multiple-choice and short-answer quizzes enhance later exam performance in middle and high school classes. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 20(1), 3–21.
12:00pm-1:00pm – Lunch
Location: PC 205
1:00pm-3:00pm – Education Research Talks: Research Supervisors
Get to know your research supervisors and hear about the interesting educational research ideas that you will be involved with this term.
Location: PC 205
Due: Revised OpEd reports submitted to Wade Hemsworth
11am-12:00pm – Delivering Powerful Presentations (Part 1)
Led by: Joe Kim & Paulina Rzeczkowska
Location: PC 204 (also available as an open online offering for non-program members)
Applying findings developed in controlled-lab and classroom-based studies can lead to improved slide design which translates into durable learning that extends from short-term tests to beyond the final exam. Building on the previous workshop in which we learned how to organize the lecture structure, we will next explore the underlying multimedia learning principles that guides good slide design. We will practice as we learn about redundancy, segmentation, signaling, and coherence. Together, these workshops will provide a practical plan for delivering lectures with a cohesive message.
12:00pm-1:00pm – Lunch
1:00pm-1:00pm – Delivering Powerful Presentations (Part 1 continued)
Due: Design a 10min presentation for your OpEd report
9:30am-10:30am – Journal Club
Location: Online
Brady, S. T., Hard, B. M., & Gross, J. J. (2018). Reappraising test anxiety increases academic performance of first-year college students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 110(3), 395.
12:00pm-1:00pm – Lunch
1:00pm-3:00pm – Delivering Powerful Presentations (Part 2)
Led by: Joe Kim & Paulina Rzeczkowska
Location: PC 205
Applying findings developed in controlled-lab and classroom-based studies can lead to improved slide design which translates into durable learning that extends from short-term tests to beyond the final exam. Building on the previous workshop in which we learned how to organize the lecture structure, we will next explore the underlying multimedia learning principles that guides good slide design. We will practice as we learn about redundancy, segmentation, signaling, and coherence. Together, these workshops will provide a practical plan for delivering lectures with a cohesive message.
Work Period – Education Research Projects
Utilize this time to connect with and begin (continue) your education research project.
Due: Select a week in the winter term to deliver a journal club and submit your article choice
9:30am-10:30am – Journal Club
Location: Online
Pan, S.C., Sana, F., Samani, J., Cooke, J., & Kim J.A. (2020) Learning from errors: students’ and instructors’ practices, attitudes, and beliefs. Memory, 28:9, 1105-1122.
Due: Prepare a 10min lesson to deliver
9:00am-3:00pm – Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) Day 1
Location: PC 205
24hrs of micro teaching and learning. Facilitated using a peer-based model of feedback versus an expert model. Participants will use of an instructional design model (BOPPPS/CARD). There is a focus on guided practice, including:
- 3 distinct opportunities for participants to teach a lesson to the group
- 3 distinct opportunities for participants to receive feedback from each member of the group (not the facilitator)
- 3 forms of feedback for each participant per lesson (written, verbal and video)
Due: Prepare a 10min lesson to deliver
9:30am-10:30am – Journal Club
Location: Online
Bozeman, R., Mallett, R. K., Mitchell, L., & Tindale, R. S. (2023). May we take the test as a group? Examining group processes and member learning in a collaborative testing environment. Active Learning in Higher Education, 0(0).
12:00pm-3:00pm – Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) Day 2
Location: PC 205
24hrs of micro teaching and learning. Facilitated using a peer-based model of feedback versus an expert model. Participants will use of an instructional design model (BOPPPS/CARD). There is a focus on guided practice, including:
- 3 distinct opportunities for participants to teach a lesson to the group
- 3 distinct opportunities for participants to receive feedback from each member of the group (not the facilitator)
- 3 forms of feedback for each participant per lesson (written, verbal and video)
Due: Prepare a 10min lesson to deliver
9:00am-3:00pm – Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) Day 3
Location: PC 205
24hrs of micro teaching and learning. Facilitated using a peer-based model of feedback versus an expert model. Participants will use of an instructional design model (BOPPPS/CARD). There is a focus on guided practice, including:
- 3 distinct opportunities for participants to teach a lesson to the group
- 3 distinct opportunities for participants to receive feedback from each member of the group (not the facilitator)
- 3 forms of feedback for each participant per lesson (written, verbal and video)
Due: Record and post 10min Op-Ed presentations online, and peer review 2-3 presentations
Due: Complete term 1 feedback form online
12:00pm – Semester Wrap Up: Lunch and Debrief
Location: The Buttery
Join us for a final term lunch. Debrief about the term and your experiences in the McCall MacBain Postdoc program.
Key Fall Deliverables
OpEd report
The Opposite to the Editorial report allows researchers to share their knowledge with the public. Allowing you to reach a larger audience and amplify your voice. Write, edit and submit an OpEd to popular publications such as “The Conversation Canada”
Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) certification
Program members will complete 24hrs of micro teaching and learning. Facilitated using a peer-based model of feedback versus an expert model. Participants will use of an instructional design model (BOPPPS/CARD). There is a focus on guided practice, including:
- 3 distinct opportunities for participants to teach a lesson to the group
- 3 distinct opportunities for participants to receive feedback from each member of the group (not the facilitator)
- 3 forms of feedback for each participant per lesson (written, verbal and video)
Education Research Project
Postdoctoral fellows will have the opportunity to work with a professor doing education-related work or choose to investigate their own topic. The postdoctoral fellow will have the opportunity to select from these projects to form a research collaboration and mentoring relationship to be conducted throughout the year. The goal of this research project is to showcase the work they’ve done and to disseminate findings that will translate into prescriptions for teaching in the classroom and result in changes in policy.
Leadership Certification
In the fall term, program members will create, edit, peer review and film a 90 Second elevator pitch (with the direction of a DeGroote School of Business facilitator). Mixed media expert (Paulina Rzeczkowska) will guide program members through a perfect headshot and professional filming at the MacPherson Institute Studio.
Journal Club
(Fall term = ONLINE via ZOOM)
Program members will learn a foundational and historic perspective on cognition and educational research. This foundation will assist program members as they move into the winter term and facilitate one weekly journal club meeting (members will choose an article related to education and cognition and in collaboration with a partner, facilitate their own weekly IN PERSON journal club session)
Lunch and Learn
During Program lunches, program members or external PDF’s from around McMaster are welcome to deliver and receive feedback on a job talk. Hear from your peers and perfect your talk to heighten your chances of getting that next job.