In the August edition of Edubytes , our guest editor is Ainsley Camps, educational developer: teaching & learning professional development at the CTLT. She shares how the various CTLT Institutes can help empower educators in their goal of helping instructors create engaging learning experiences.
How the CTLT Institutes Foster Innovation and Collaboration
A core goal of the Centre for Teaching Learning and Technology (CTLT) is to build capacity for innovative, student-focused, and high-quality teaching practices to foster students’ learning. We support instructors in developing and revising courses, provide guidance on using classroom technology, and promote a scholarly approach to curriculum and pedagogy. This includes sharing best practices, mentoring, and applying educational theory in real-world contexts. By offering these services, we aim to equip instructors with the tools and knowledge to create engaging, inclusive learning experiences that prepare students for their future endeavors.
The CTLT hosts three seasonal teaching and learning Institutes every year. The Summer Institute focuses on foundational teaching skills and welcoming new faculty. The Winter Institute centers on mid-term community building and wellbeing for students and faculty. The Spring Institute promotes the exchange of ideas on innovative teaching practices at UBC. Since joining the programming team for the Institutes in 2019, I have become passionate about how the CTLT Institutes build capacity for innovative, student-focused teaching at UBC. The Institutes create a reciprocal space where both facilitators and participants learn about teaching practices and share their experiences in applying them in the classroom.
My main interest as an educator has always been professional development, driven by my passion for continuous learning and improvement. In previous roles, I have supported the professional development of healthcare professionals. Similar to these professionals, UBC faculty and instructors need professional development opportunities tailored to their diverse teaching and learning contexts and individual career development goals.
The Institutes are amazing multidimensional opportunities. In addition to simply attending workshops, faculty may share their adventures in teaching. Facilitating at the CTLT Institutes is a way to demonstrate a faculty commitment to student-centred teaching practice and contributing to the advancement of teaching by sharing their examples of application at UBC and beyond.
Facilitating a collegial workshop at a CTLT Institute differs from classroom teaching. The CTLT Institute workshops, typically lasting 60 or 90 minutes, resemble those at teaching and learning conferences. Faculty and instructors can experience the full process, writing a proposal, designing a workshop that fits the Institute’s theme and appeals to various disciplines, then presenting, and receiving participant feedback.
One of the ways that the CTLT comes to understand the draws attention to the value of facilitating workshops in this context is through spotlighting Institute facilitators. In the spotlight, we ask them what they learned from their participation as facilitators. Below are some of the learnings that were commonly shared:
- Foster meaningful connections with educators and future project leaders across diverse disciplines.
- Enhance communication skills to facilitate clear and productive discussions during workshops.
- Work collaboratively with participants to explore and refine group project methodologies.
- Gain innovative ideas and inspirations from participants to enhance teaching strategies.
- Strengthen the ability to create effective solutions for various group project challenges.
- Support a collaborative space where teaching members can recharge and improve their practices.
- Advocate for the CTLT Institutes as a key resource for enhancing teaching and learning experiences at UBC.
Participating in CTLT Institute workshops throughout the year has a more obvious professional development outcome. Faculty and instructors attend Institute workshops that meet their professional development needs, and provide opportunities to network with other instructors who are interested in or are already applying the concepts the Institutes highlight in their own classrooms and laboratories.
The CTLT Institutes offer a dynamic platform for faculty and instructors to engage in professional development that enhances teaching practices and fosters student-centered learning. Through interactive workshops, collaboration across disciplines, and the sharing of innovative ideas, participants gain invaluable insights that shape their teaching strategies and ultimately benefit UBC’s learning community. Facilitators, in turn, deepen their expertise while contributing to a culture of continuous improvement and excellence in education. The CTLT remains committed to supporting faculty in their professional journeys and advancing the quality of teaching and learning at UBC.
Additional resources
View recordings of past CTLT Institutes
2023 Winter Institute
2024 Spring Institute
2024 Summer Institute
Enjoyed reading about Celebrate Learning Week? Learn about other topics we covered in the August 2024 edition by reading the complete Edubytes newsletter. To view past issues, visit the Edubytes archive.
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