OISE Student Success Centre (OSSC)
COVID UPDATE: The OISE Student Success Centre, is only offering online appointments, until further notice.
The OISE Student Success Centre (OSSC) is an academic skills and support centre that offers OISE graduate students the opportunity to book one-on-one appointments with an OSSC advisor to improve their abilities in a wide-range of areas. Our advisors have a range of professional and academic experience. Students are encouraged to consult the advisor profiles below as a guide when booking appointments for a specific subject.
Fall/Winter/Holiday Schedule: The OSSC will reopen for Winter 2022 on Monday January 10, 2022. The last day for Winter 2022 will be Thursday April 14th. OSSC will be closed for Family Day, Good Friday and March Break (14-18th).
Types of Appointments Offered: Face-to-face appointments at the OISE Student Success Centre, 8th floor, Rm 8-202 at OISE Building. Online appointments via WCONLINE. We do not offer email appointments.
Booking an appointment: Click here or on the blue button on the menu to the left.
Access Online Appointments: log into the WCONLINE system approximately five to ten minutes before the start of your appointment. Then, open your appointment and click "Start or Join Online Consultation". In situations where we/you are encountering technical difficulties with the online booking system, your advisor will email you with Zoom instructions.
- Tech Specs: For your online appointment, make sure you have a working webcam and microphone, a quiet space and ensure that your local internet provider has not put up any firewalls for modes of this form of communication. Firefox and Chrome browsers usually work best for online appointments on the WCONLINE system. Be sure that you have the latest version of your browser installed.
What to know/bring:
- Bring the rough draft of the assignment you would like to work on, your questions and ideas.
- If this is a course assignment, the assignment instructions and/or syllabus.
- Feel free to bring your laptop or a print out of the assignment (for in person apts)
If there are any accommodations we can provide in order to better facilitate your learning during an appointment or improve your experience in the writing center, please contact Ghayas Shams or Jeananne Robertson.
Appointment Notes: Students can have two active appointments a time and book up to 5 a month. Each appointment is 50 mins. Please note we do not review your work outside of appointment times. We also do not allow for back to back appointments as we feel students should have time to reflect on the appointment, suggested changes and revisions before booking their next appointment with an Advisors.
Understanding the legend/colour blocks on WCONLINE: WCONLINE provides a legend (i.e. colour blocks) to easily identify when appointments are available, booked, online etc. For easy viewing, please see the legend below which is also available on the appointment booking system
- WHITE: APPOINTMENT OPEN
- YELLOW: MY APPOINTMENTS
- PURPLE: NOT AVAILABLE
- BLUE: OTHER APPOINTMENTS
- RED: ONLINE APPOINTMENT
Appointment Cancellation/Missed Appointment Policy:
If you need to cancel an appointment, please do so as soon as possible but at least 24 hours in advance. This will allow other students to plan ahead when booking an appointment. If you fail to cancel your appointment within the required time or miss the appointment twice, it will result in a "missed appointment" and you will be blocked from booking further sessions.
Services
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Advisors will be able to provide support in:
- Academic Writing
- French
- English Language Development
- Graduate Student Writing Groups
- Literature Review
- Presentation Skills
- Resume and Cover Letters
- Mock Interviews
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Teacher Skills Development
Please note: We no longer provide academic support for SSHRC and OGS grant/scholarship applications. Please inquire with your department about workshops and resources on these award competitions.
We do not provide editing or proofreading services, rather we work together with the student to provide feedback, and work together through the writing process to develop your skills long term. Advisor Profiles
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Emil Marmol
Doctoral candidate, Department of Social Justice EducationExpertise: Critical media literacy, media studies, education, critical pedagogy, critical race theory, qualitative methods, and politics/government/international relations
Languages: English, Spanish
Services: General study strategies, academic writing, presentation skillsFiona Purton
Doctoral candidate, Department of Curriculum, Teaching and LearningExpertise: lesson and unit plans; mock teaching; reflective writing (self study); teaching or pedagogical philosophy statements; academic (faculty) job interview prep; qualitative research
Languages: English
Services: teacher skills and development; reflective/personal writing; research skills; interview preparationGabrielle Breton-Carbonneau
Doctoral candidate, Department of Social Justice EducationExpertise: Academic writing, working with multicultural learners, ESL/FSL teaching, qualitative research
Languages: English, French
Services: Academic writing, presentation skills, resumes and cover letters, French language proficiencyHarriet Akanmori
Doctoral candidate, Department of Social Justice EducationExpertise: Academic writing, qualitative research methodologies, international and ESL/ELL teaching
Languages: English
Services: Academic writing, English language developmentJade Kim
Doctoral candidate, Department of Curriculum, Teaching and LearningExpertise: International student experience, qualitative research methods, academic writing, oral classroom discourse
Languages: English, Korean
Services: Academic writing, English language development, presentation skillsKatherine (Katie) Brubacher
Doctoral candidate, Department of Curriculum, Teaching and LearningExpertise: Experienced OCT certified teacher, working with multilingual learners, academic writing and scholarships, presentation skills, publishing research
Languages: English
Services: Academic writing, presentation skills, teacher skills development, English language developmentLucy El-Sherif
Doctoral candidate, Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and LearningExpertise: Academic writing, coaching English language learners, comparative and international education
Languages: English, Arabic
Services: Academic writing, presentation skills, English language developmentMary-Ann Fowler
Doctoral candidate, Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and LearningExpertise: Using research databases and conducting literature searches, qualitative research methodologies, experience with international English language learners, retired OCT teacher
Languages: English
Services: Research skills, academic writing, English language development, conference/classroom presentation skills, lesson/unit plan developmentMichael Koslowski
Doctoral student, Department of Curriculum, Teaching and LearningExpertise: International and ESL teaching, plurilingualism, oral presentations, adjusting to new educational cultures
Languages: English
Services: Academic writing, English language development, research development, transition advising, presentation skills, teacher skills development, interview preparationMona El Samaty
Doctoral candidate, Department of Curriculum, Teaching and LearningExpertise: Qualitative research, English for academic purposes, Sociolinguistics, Working with multicultural learners.
Languages: English, French
Services: Academic writing, Presentation skills, IELTS Preparation, French as a second language.Sana Abuleil
Doctoral candidate, Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult EducationExpertise: Navigating research databases, academic writing, resumes and cover letters, lesson plans/mock lessons
Languages: English, Arabic
Services: Research skills, academic writing, English language development, designing teacher-trainee resourcesShelly Mehta
Doctoral candidate, Department of Applied Psychology and Human DevelopmentExpertise: Child and lifespan development, psychology, psychology and neurospsychology, curriculum development, working with multicultural learners
Languages: English
Services: Academic writing skills, CV/resume/cover letter writing, interviewing skills, presentation skillsStacy Alexandra Costa
Doctoral Candidate, Department of Curriculum, Teaching and LearningExpertise: Academic Writing, Qualitative Methods, Learning Sciences, Curriculum Development, Digital Technologies & Education, Science, Mathematics and Technology Education
Languages: English, Portuguese
Services: Presentation skills ( in-class presentations, conference presentations), Academic Writing ( Planning, organizing, writing and revising academic papers, dissertations, articles,) , Resumes,( preparation for interviews), Mathematics Concept Development ( STEM) , English Language Proficiency Improvement( grammar, listening, reading, pronunciation)Susan He
PhD Student, Department of Leadership, Higher & Adult Education*AVAILABLE FOR THE WINTER TERM ONLY*
Expertise: PSE access, student development, educational policies, professionalization in student affairs, qualitative methods, quantitative methods, mixed-methods
Language: English, Mandarin
Services: academic presentations, academic writing, CV/Resume/Cover Letters, practitioner development, teacher developmentTy Walkland
Doctoral Candidate, Department of Curriculum, Teaching and LearningExpertise: Academic writing, qualitative research, practitioner research, critical literacies
Language: English
Services: Academic writing, presentation skills, resume and cover letters, teacher skills developmentVelta Douglas
Doctoral candidate, Department of Curriculum, Teaching and LearningExpertise: Academic writing, environmental education, Indigenous education, international ESL teaching experience
Languages: English
Services: Academic writing, English language developmentXimena Martinez Trabucco
Doctoral candidate, Department of Social Justice EducationExpertise: Qualitative research methods, ethnographic techniques, experienced classroom teacher, adjusting to new educational cultures
Languages: English, Spanish
Services: Organization of ideas for academic writing, presentation skills, teacher skills development Contact and Location
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OSSC is located inside the OISE building, Room 8-202.
Questions? Concerns? Contact: ghayas.shams@utoronto.ca
For Emergencies, please contact:Ghayas Shams (Primary)
OSSC and Career Coordinator
416-978-1599
ghayas.shams@utoronto.caJeananne Robertson (Alternative)
Assistant Director & Student Success Counsellor
416-978-2448
jt.robertson@utoronto.ca OSSC Initiatives & Events
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Thesis in Motion Project
Dr. Anne Jordan invites Ph.D. and Ed.D. thesis candidates to participate in the Thesis in Motion project, an OISE and OSSC initiative to help students complete their theses/dissertations.
On-line Write-In sessions with AnneDates: Every Wednesday and Saturday Time: 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Option to join the Zoom accountability/support meeting at 3:30 p.m.
If you are interested, please email anne.jordan@utoronto.caI’ll send you details and add you to the email list with a reminder to join in any time from 9:30 a.m. on a writing day.
Individual consultations with Anne
Anne is available to work individually with thesis-track candidates. Are you at the end of year 3 of a doctoral program and have completed or are in the process of your candidacy requirements? Or have you have reached year 4 or 5 or beyond, and are feeling stuck or frustrated by your thesis? Are you a flex time candidate feeling disconnected from your supports? Anne may be able to help you with your proposed study or drafts of chapters. This service is at no charge to you.
Your privacy will be respected and confidential information protected. I do not replace the supervision and advice of your supervisor and committee. I cannot help you to complete the comprehensive exam requirements set by your department. I do not provide a copy-editing service although I can recommend these and other resources for you.
I will however guide and support you so that you can make progress with your thesis drafts or thesis proposal, and move along to meet the departmental requirements for completing your thesis.
International MEd Academic Writing Group (FALL 2021)
The Master of Education program at OISE is intense! Ten courses can mean A LOT of writing. For many graduate students, the type of writing done at OISE is new and confusing. Students often end up writing alone, which can be very isolating. It can be very helpful to talk to others who may be experiencing the same issues with academic writing.Last summer, the OISE Student Success Centre initiated three pilot writing groups. We are happy to announce that we will be running two groups once again during the Fall Term. The MEd Academic Writing Group aims to help you connect with your peers and to make the academic writing process less stressful and more productive. Each group will meet 6 times over Zoom during the Fall 2021 Term. The first group will be meeting the first 6 weeks of the semester and the second group will be meeting the final 6 weeks of the semester. The groups will have a maximum of 10 students, all of whom are in the same discipline, although group members may be doing different types of writing and have different levels of content knowledge and experience with writing. In particular, these writing groups are intended to provide academic writing support for Master of Education students for whom English is not their first language.
By attending one of the MEd Academic Writing Groups, you will have an opportunity to work on your own academic writing in a collaborative group setting led by a Group Facilitator. In each two-hour meeting, we will discuss a particular aspect of academic writing, and then you will work with the other students in your group on feedback aimed at improving the content, structure, and grammar of your writing. Please note that the Group Facilitator does not provide individual writing consultations, although, you are still able to receive one-on-one appointments to discuss your work with Advisors at the OSSC.
If you are interested in joining one of the MEd Academic Writing Group, please contact Ghayas Shams, ghayas.shams@utoronto.ca.As spots are limited in these writing groups, we ask that you ensure that you are able to attend all six sessions.
