Inspirational teaching focus of UPEI faculty seminar

Inspirational teaching was the topic of a day-long seminar organized recently by the UPEI Faculty Development Office to launch the new academic year. The guest speaker was TA Loeffler, Professor of Outdoor Recreation at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She spoke on the topic 'Everything I Ever Needed to Know about Teaching I Learned from Climbing Mountains.'

Professor Loeffler is the author of 'More than a Mountain: One Woman's Everest,' a deeply moving account of how one woman overcame adversity to reach out to youth and become a testament to the power of having big dreams and big goals.

'Mountains are my teachers. They exact deep lessons. I teach my students like the mountains teach me. With vision. With struggle,' says Loeffler. 'Asking them to reach up and out for an unknown sky. To learn while filled with uncertainty and sometimes with joy and mirth. For me, mountains, like education, are both journey and destination.'

Four UPEI faculty members were recognized and celebrated at the seminar for their recent local and regional awards for excellence in teaching. They were: Catherine Innes-Parker, Pedro Quijon, Etienne Cote, and Susan Dawson. The work of 12 new faculty and mentors was also acknowledged through the Teaching Partners Recognition Program.

The Faculty Development Office operates in partnership with academic departments and faculty members to provide a supportive environment to assist faculty in creating new and exciting methods of teaching and connecting with students. It is part of the UPEI Webster Centre for Teaching and Learning. More information is available at upei.ca/webstercentre.