Teaching & Learning Resources

Support for Academic Units & Instructors

The A&S Teaching & Learning team offers a range of services and resources to support the development and delivery of teaching and learning activities in the Faculty of Arts & Science, including:

• A&S Academic Handbook: Comprehensive academic guidelines for Arts & Science staff and instructors.
• A&S Digital Teaching & Learning Studio: A free service for A&S instructors interested in video and audio projects.
• Academic Retreats: On/off-campus retreats that provide an academic unit with dedicated time for collective discussion and/or planning. Retreats may focus on UTQAP processes, curriculum planning, faculty development, pedagogical exploration and/or short/long-term planning exercises.
• Course Evaluations: Guidelines and resources about U of T's course evaluation process.
• Pedagogical Consultations: One-on-one consultations on all aspects of teaching and learning, including course development, organization and delivery; strategies for hybrid and online courses; assessment and activity design; academic integrity; fostering student engagement, and more.
• Quercus Support and EdTech Tools: Guides for Quercus and other educational technology tools, as well as direct support from the team.
• Teaching Awards: Instructors and faculty members are eligible for a variety of annual awards.
• Teaching & Learning Community of Practice (CoP): This collegial forum for instructors to share teaching practices and strategies across disciplines typically meets once a month during the academic year.
• Writing-Integrated Teaching (WIT): Supports embedded, discipline-specific writing initiatives within academic units.

You can also view a comprehensive list of other resources & supports for faculty members.

Additional resources are available at the U of T Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation and U of T Teaching Assistants' Training Program.

Academic Support for Undergraduate Students

• Arrive Ready: An online program for new students to help them gain academic skills before they come to U of T. Faculty members from a variety of departments participate.
• English Language Learning (ELL): Supports students whose first language is not English (multi-lingual students), as well as native speakers seeking to improve their English language ability.
• Experiential Learning Initiatives: A successful and well-proven teaching practice that allows students to create more deliberate and explicit connections between their educational experiences in and outside the classroom.
• Learning Communities (FLC & SLC): Small groups of first- and second-year students within the same program who meet regularly to network and build academic skills. If you are teaching first- or second-year classes, your students can benefit from the support of a social group of peers outside the classroom. Faculty members from a variety of departments can be advisors for Learning Communities.
• Meet to Complete: Group study sessions that take place daily in the Sidney Smith Commons.
• Recognized Study Groups (RSGs): Students in your class can form study groups of up to eight classmates to review course material, prepare for tests and attend office hours. Instructors report that students in RSGs better understand course materials. As an instructor, you can use the promotional materials to encourage your students to join RSGs.
• Sidney Smith Commons (SSC): A physical space in Sidney Smith Hall and a corresponding website. Students can engage with the SSC on a variety of programs, ask questions and get help from peers. As an instructor, you can learn about SSC programs and opportunities or work with the Student Success team to create tailored programming for your course.

Support for Graduate Students

• Graduate Student Development: A&S offers a variety of supports for graduate students' development and well-being as they progress through their studies and prepare for their careers.

Funding Opportunities

The Faculty of Arts & Science and the Provost’s Office administer several funds to support teaching and learning initiatives.

The Teaching & Learning Support team can guide instructors and units in selecting the best funding opportunity for projects and help to develop proposals and related budgets. Please note that all applications for institutional grants require review by the Teaching & Learning Support team on behalf of the Dean’s Office.

• International Student Experience Fund (ISEF): Supports academic and non-academic initiatives that enhance the experience of international students and foster intercultural exchanges between domestic and international students.
• Learning and Education Advancement Fund (LEAF): Supports projects that anticipate, leverage and create positive changes in undergraduate education.
• Pedagogical Innovation and Experimentation (PIE) Fund: Supports innovative undergraduate teaching and learning in academic units. Funds are allocated directly to each unit to support unit-level priorities that enhance undergraduate education.
• Pedagogical Research Grant: Provides funds to support instructor-led projects that focus on inquiry or research into teaching, pedagogical approaches or student learning; and/or dissemination of pedagogical research findings.
• Undergraduate Course Development Fund (UCDF): Fosters ongoing, mutually beneficial teaching relationships between graduate-only divisions and divisions that offer undergraduate degree programs. Funding is provided to the graduate division in support of their instructor teaching a course in the undergraduate division.