As thousands flock back to university campuses, how do good teachers ignite passion in students? For most, the answer lies in moving past the standard lecture format that depends on students as passive listeners. Instead, professors are engaging students by incorporating social media in the classroom, teaching academic fundamentals while focusing on real-world applications and taking the learning experience out of the classroom. Concordia is leading the way in these teaching strategies to create the next-generation university experience.
Helping professors innovate their approach in the classroom is the goal behind Concordia’s Centre for Teaching and Learning. It offers a wealth of services for faculty and graduate students that include one-on-one consultations with the centre’s staff, workshops on blended learning and teaching technologies, and help with course design.
However, shifting the way we teach is not just about offering services to faculty and graduate students. It’s also about funding research that helps to inform how we can transform the classroom experience for our students. This is the objective behind Concordia’s Curriculum Innovation Fund. The funding supports faculty members as they explore new and inventive ways to improve classes and teaching methods.
To prepare graduates to shifting professional landscapes that requires collaboration across traditional boundaries, universities must transform our teaching and learning environment to be more adaptive and flexible.
Through this Spotlight on Teaching & Learning, discover how Concordia is teaching for tomorrow and encouraging students to get their hands dirty. The sub-themes of experiential learning, digital learning, curriculum innovation and research on teaching and learning will be explored.