OISE Student Success Centre (OSSC)
COVID UPDATE: All appoinments will be online 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.
Types of appointments offered: Face-to-face appointments and online appointments via WCONLINE. We do not offer email appointments.
- Face to Face Appointments: OISE Student Success Centre, 8th floor, Rm 8-202
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Online Appointments: If you choose an online appointment, log back onto 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 SKYPE or 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.
Limits: Students can have two active appointments a time and book up to 5 a month. Each appointment is 50 mins.
Booking an appointment: Click on the blue button on the menu to the left. 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.
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 Viel Tolentino or Jeananne Robertson.
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.
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.
*PILOT* MEd Academic Writing Group - Summer 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.
This summer, the OISE Student Success Centre is pilot testing two writing groups to help you connect with your peers and to make the academic writing process less stressful and more productive. Each group will meet five times over Zoom during the May/June Intersession. 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 Groups, please complete the form using the following link (https://forms.office.com/r/Qbd9MYQJag) no later than Friday July 9th, 2021 at 12:00 PM (EST). If you are selected, you will receive an email with the Zoom link for your group by Monday July 12th, 2021 at 1:00 PM (EST).
As spots are limited in these writing groups, we ask that you ensure that you are able to attend all five sessions. Preference is given to international students or students whose first language is not English.
If you have any further questions, please contact Viel Tolentino at viel.tolentino@utoronto.ca
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 skillsGabrielle 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 proficiencyShelly 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 skillsVelta 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.
For general questions and to submit documents, please contact:
ossc.oise@utoronto.ca
For scheduling questions, please contact: viel.tolentino@utoronto.ca
For Emergencies, please contact:Viel Tolentino (Primary)
Recruitment and Diverse Student Success Coordinator
416-978-1852
viel.tolentino@utoronto.caJeananne Robertson (Alternative)
Student Success Counsellor
416-978-2448
jt.robertson@utoronto.ca Additional Resources + OSSC Event listings
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Additional Resources
APA Citation: Overview, Guidance and Resources (update 1/18/21)
Plagiarism Workshop video (updated 9/21/2020)
Plagiarism Workshop powerpoint (updated 9/18/2020)
University of Toronto Academic Success Centre
Graduate Centre for Academic Communiction
Style Guide ResourcesAdvice on Academic Writing
The advice files on this site answer the kinds of questions that University of Toronto students ask about their written assignments. Most were created by writing instructors here—people who are familiar with U of T expectations. Please visit the University of Toronto's Writing Advice website for further information.
iSSD - International Student Support Dashboard
iSSD is a new digital tool for OISE students and is intended for all students who wish to learn more about academic integrity practice at the University of Toronto. The Academic Integrity Module contains 5 case-based topics structured around typical scenarios that students face in their coursework. The module is self-access and contains video, knowledge quizzes, and self-reflective activities. Resources related to academic integrity practice are included for students who wish to learn more. Users are also encouraged to participate in OISE research on the effectiveness of the module by completing a short student survey and providing their consent. However, participation in the research project is not required to access the module. To access iSSD and assess your knowledge of academic integrity practice, please register here to receive your login information.
On-line Write-In sessions with Professor Anne Jordan - Summer 2021Dr. Anne Jordan invites PhD, EdD and MA thesis candidates to participate in the Thesis in Motion project, an OISE initiative to help students get their thesis/dissertation completed.
Dates: Every Wednesday (Doctoral and Masters) and Saturday (Doctoral flex and full time).Time: 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Join the Zoom support meeting at 3:30 p.m.
If you are interested please - email anne.jordan@utoronto.ca from 9:30 am on a writing day.Include the following:
- Time you start
- Time you intend to finish
- One writing goal for the day.
- Whether you will join the Zoom meeting at 3:30 p.m.
