Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about UBC’s Strategic Plan, reflecting particularly on the core area of Transformative Learning and its associated strategies, and looking ahead to what the refreshed Plan might hold for our commitments in teaching and learning. One of the functions of the Strategic Plan is that of articulating the university community’s values, of guiding their expression as actions and behaviours. Because of this, I think the broad strategies will maintain in some form – they are central elements of our academic mission – and I think we’re likely to see them articulated in specific contexts. Teaching and learning with AI tools will be a priority, as will experiential learning; inclusive excellence and Indigenous truth and reconciliation will continue to shape our work, and resilience and sustainability are also likely to figure prominently.
One of the core functions of CTL is that of translating institutional goals and aspirations into the teaching and learning spaces of our campus: supporting a foundation of evidence-informed and student-centered teaching, as well as extensions designed according to priorities like the ones above. In practice, this means working with you to provide just-in-time assistance for everything ranging from Canvas to course design, and from AI tools to assessment strategies. It means working with you to fulfill commitments to decolonization and Indigenization of our classrooms, to ensure best practices in scholarly teaching, and to build connections and collaborations. It means, too, meeting you where you are in your demanding situations and schedules, to serve the goal of providing excellent learning experiences for our students.
It promises to be another very busy year in teaching, and we’re ready to help. We’ve spent a good deal of time this summer preparing to, well, help you prepare, and I hope you’ll stop by our table at the Welcome Back BBQ, sign up for some of our programming, or just stop by the Centre to say “hello” and re-connect with the team. We’d love to see you!
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