I’m writing this on a beautifully sunny day in the Okanagan, during a week between teaching and learning conferences, and at a time of reflection and preparation. June is National Indigenous History Month, and I’m planning to attend several events on campus and beyond in my journey to learn more about our hosts, the syilx Okanagan people, and their approaches to knowing and teaching, including from scholars such as Dr. Jeannette Armstrong and Dr. Aaron Derrickson, both of whose work continues to inform and inspire me. I also plan to continue learning from other colleagues on this campus, several of whom have recently been recognized with teaching awards, both local and national.
This continued learning is both a habit and a goal-oriented process: I’ll be teaching later this summer, as well as in the fall, and I’ve been spending a good deal of time designing (and re-designing!) my courses, doing my best to catch up on what can feel like an overwhelming advancement in teaching technologies. The conferences and workshops that I’ve attended at other institutions have been helpful, not least in helping me step back from the immediacies of my own teaching context, but I can’t help but feel that the some of the best opportunities available to me are those right at hand in the CTL.
I am, as always, grateful to the CTL team for their knowledge and experience, and perhaps most importantly, their consistently positive and supportive approach to their work. They’re helping me better understand how and why to use generative AI tools, guiding me to best practices in designing equitable and inclusive learning environments, and even just reminding me of the importance of constructively aligning the learning experiences of my students. We’ve had some changes recently in the CTL – Janine Hirtz, a long-serving member of the team and dedicated servant of the campus, retired in April, and Abir Cosyn, formerly the Manager of Learning Tools and Technologies, has stepped into the role of CTL Manager, embracing an opportunity to make our Centre more efficient and impactful – but we remain focused on providing effective and efficient support to all of you in your teaching.
I hope that you have the opportunity this summer to follow some steps on your own development path in teaching and learning, whatever it may be, and I encourage you to reach out to the CTL team along the way. Enjoy the summer, and we look forward to working with you!
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