August 2010 - The Importance of Teaching and Learning Centres

In this issue we look at the role of teaching and learning centres at universities. Is it possible to change a professor's approach to teaching? How flexible should an instructor be in teaching and learning?

Podcast - Teaching and Learning Centres

An podcast interview with Dr. Alan Wright, University of Windsor, by Dr. Maureen Wideman

Play it / hear it - MP3 - 15.5 minutes

Changing Teaching Practice: Strategies and Barriers
 
Christopher Knapper, Queen’s University

This article discusses research conducted excellent teaching and learning centres at 11 universities world wide. The author states that good teaching can be encouraged and led, despite barriers to change.

http://cll.mcmaster.ca/scholarship/pdf/strategies_and_barriers.pdf

From Teaching to Learning: A New Paradigm for Undergraduate Education
Robert B. Barr and John Tagg

This article discusses the paradigm shift of postsecondary moving from providing instruction to producing learning - with every student by wahtever means works best.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/40165284?cookieSet=1

Always Ask Why?
Teaching Philosophy 101—The “Supersection” Experience at the University of Alberta
Cressida Heyes, David Kahane, Jennifer Welchman, Leah Armontrout Spencer, Paul Beach, Lisa Kretz, Brian Leahy, Elizabeth Panasiuk, Jennifer Runke, and John Simpson.

In this article, the authors discuss how they created a "supersection" - a large first year course, but were able to include active learning for better understanding. This paper was a submission to the Alan Blizzard Award.

http://www.stlhe.ca/pdf/2003%20Blizzard%20Alberta.pdf

Other Resources:

Good Teaching: The Top 10 Requirements

By: Richard W. Leblanc, PhD in Philosophy of Teaching

As recommended by Dr. Wright in our podcast this month, this article outlines the 10 top requirements for good teaching including: passion, substance and responsiveness. This article first appeared in Faculty Focus on August 11, 2010.

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