Message from the Academic Director, Centre for Teaching & Learning
As we enter the third week of the term, I’ve been reflecting on how my approach to teaching shifts at different points in the academic year. Once I’m in the classroom, I think I’m fairly consistent, but how I get there seems to vary. In preparing for September classes, I embrace innovation. I reflect on what worked and what didn’t in previous terms, sift through ideas from summer conferences, and consider what I can change to better support students’ learning. This past summer, for example, I spent a good deal of time creating self-study resources for students and restructuring the hybrid delivery of a first-year course, and I collaborated with a teaching colleague to evaluate its impact and effectiveness (overall: it was worth doing!). January preparation, on the other hand, often puts me in optimization mode. I stay closer to strategies I’ve used before, making smaller, targeted adjustments to my materials and assessments. (After a brief walk around a surprisingly cold campus yesterday, I’m now wondering whether this is part of a larger energy-conservation strategy…)
Recognizing this pattern has helped me be more intentional about my professional development and continuous learning. This term, I’ve set myself a reading schedule for scholarship of teaching and learning, and I’m working through a series of learning technology modules, as well as spending more time in discussion with teaching colleagues. It isn’t always easy to stick to these commitments, but I think it’s helping and I certainly feel more positive about my growth as a teacher than I have in past Januaries!
As always, a key to that growth and positivity is the opportunity to engage with members of CTL: to learn from them through 1:1 consultations, to collaborate with them in projects to support our campus communities, and to draw on their expertise, creativity, and support. If you’re anything like me in how you approach your professional development in teaching, then it might be helpful to make similar connections – if you haven’t already! Team members are facilitating communities of practice, collaborating with faculty in projects and programs, meeting with instructors for learning technology consultations… and in all of these, they are reinforcing the value and importance of good teaching, and lending their time, energy, and enthusiasm.
We are also preparing to welcome a new CTL team member: Emily Campbell, Educational Consultant (Inclusion), who will be joining us in February as leave coverage for Electra Eleftheriadou. Emily brings experience in both education and industry to the role, and we are excited to see how she will connect and contribute in this crucial role.
I wish you all the best in your teaching work this term!
Jannik Haruo Eikenaar, Ph.D.
Academic Director, Centre for Teaching & Learning
Subscribe