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The Student Learning Commons blog is your online writing and learning community


Dealing with criticism for our writing

Girl in a kayak
Published by Hermine Chan
Have you ever received feedback on your writing and it didn't turn out well? How do you deal with criticism and save your sanity?

Asian Heritage Month Book Recommendations

Hands of diverse skin colours
Published by Hermine Chan

May is Asian Heritage Month, and our SLC resident avid readers, Writing Peers Kitty C. and Jaden T., and Writing Coordinator Hermine, bring us some recommendations by authors of Asian descent in English and in translation. Enjoy!  

Must knows for exam prep

Published by Hermine Chan

Writing & Learning Peers Asia C. and Kaitlyn R. take us through some essential tips to prepare for your final exams

Academic integrity and getting help ethically

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Published by Hermine Chan

When issues of academic integrity are brought up, it's sometimes easy to dismiss them as just something that the "bad students" do. But sometimes, it is much more complicated than that. Let's talk about what to do and how to get help ethically.

In the time of Zoom: internationally-based students  

Published by Hermine Chan

The pandemic has changed the way we live and learn, and some internationally-based students are feeling more pressure than ever as they deal with time zone differences and expectations.  Some of our EAL peers share their experience working with, or themselves being, internationally based students. 

Writing a Professional Email: 101

Published by Julia Lane

Former SLC English as Additional Language Peer Bessie W. returns with tips and tricks for writing a professional email. Just in time to help you reach out to your professor or TA to get clarification on those first assignments... 

Insights from a summer of remote learning

Published by Julia Lane

Former Writing and Learning Peer Grace L. reflects on her experiences with remote learning in the summer 2020 semester. She offers tips to help you set and maintain boundaries to support both your academic success and your health and well-being. 

We wish you the very best for this new kind of learning adventure and hope that these insights from the summer semester can help you get set up for success! 

A trauma-informed approach to difficult course material: Part 2

Published by Julia Lane

SLC EAL Peer Ashley K. returns with more information about using a trauma-informed approach to learning. She shares more information about a trauma-informed workshop co-facilitated by Jennifer-Lee Koble and Jennifer Dehoney. She also offers 8 important self-care tips. 

To read the interview she conducted with Dr. Elise Chenier, click here

If you are in need of support, please reach out. A particularly good resource for immediate support is My SSP. 

A trauma-informed approach to difficult course material: Part 1

Published by Julia Lane

How do we take care of ourselves when we are introduced to difficult material in class? This is a question that SLC EAL Peer Ashley K. asked herself as she embarked on . her learning journey in HIST 436, which focuses on a close reading of Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

As part of her work to answer this question, she sat down to interview the course's instructor, Dr. Elise Chenier. This two-part blog series begins with a transcript of that interview. Here is a powerful idea that emerged from their discussion, 

"my main goals is not just know the breadth and depth of the problem intellectually, but to know it in their bodies. In my opinion, when you know it in your body, then it changes you, but to know it intellectually, you can still hold that at a distance and you don't necessarily see why you should change anything about the way you do anything" (Dr. Elise Chenier). 

In part two of this series, Ashley K. shares some self-care tips that she learned through a workshop offered by Jennifer-Lee Koble and Jennifer Dehoney during the class. 

Take care of yourselves. If you are in need of support, please reach out. A particularly good resource for accessing immediate support is My SSP