Faculty Development Summer Institute Promotes Active Teaching and Learning
Professors and instructors from as far afield as the UK and Saudi Arabia, from every province in Canada, and from four US states are taking part in a unique program at UPEI this week. They are attending the Faculty Development Summer Institute on Active Learning and Teaching (FDSI).
The only one of its kind in Canada, the five-day FDSI focuses on improving post-secondary teaching and learning by demonstrating and modelling techniques of active learning. It began on July 31 and runs until August 4. Topics include setting the tone, teaching large groups, encouraging student feedback to professors, and assessing student learning.
Since 1984, hundreds of participants have travelled to UPEI to work with professors from Canadian, American and overseas universities on new approaches that will assist their students to learn more effectively, and make their own teaching more satisfying. This year's enrollment is the highest ever. As Ayo Jeje of the University of Calgary points out, the UPEI Faculty Development Summer Institute "has something of a reputation for excellence."
Fahad Alamr has travelled from Saudi Arabia to take part. He found the Institute through an internet search. After comparing several summer school options, he chose UPEI. "I felt it had something valuable for me to learn," he says. "I believe that I should look for knowledge and experience anywhere in the world, and here I am."
Rachel Carkett is attending from the University of Plymouth in Devon, England. She is the Coordinator of a Teaching and Learning Centre for faculty. "I wanted to see how a faculty institute is run on this side of the ocean," she explains. "I can draw comparisons and learn new things. For example, the workshop on motivation reminded me of why we do what we do, and made me think about how we engage learners."
The Institute leaders are Dr. Serge Piccinin, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for the Advancement of University Learning, University of Oxford, UK; Dr. Vianne Timmons, Vice-President, Academic Development at UPEI, who has extensive experience with adults and children who have diverse learning abilities; Dr. Brian D. Wagner, Chair of the UPEI Department of Chemistry; and Dr. Shannon Murray, a professor in the English Department at UPEI. Drs. Murray and Wagner are recent recipients of the prestigious 3M/Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Teaching Excellence Award.
The Institute's focus on quality teaching and learning is one of several key initiatives at UPEI that promote educational excellence. It is coordinated by the Centre for Life-Long Learning and the Webster Centre for Teaching and Learning which offer an array of programs to enhance the academic success of students and the professional development of faculty.
More information is available from Isabel Christian at ichristian@upei.ca, 902-566-0355.
