Council of Ontario Universities toasts excellent teaching

The Council of Ontario Universities has released a 32-page report with the intention of launching an ongoing dialogue on innovative teaching in the sector.

In addition to examples of innovative approaches, the report, entitled Beyond the Sage on the Stage: Innovative and Effective Teaching and Learning at Ontario Universities, invites Ontario’s 15,000 university faculty and many thousands of teaching staff to submit their own stories of the innovative ways they engage students in learning.

“Students learn from many different approaches and in different contexts,” says COU chair Alastair Summerlee. “This report highlights a wide variety of innovative approaches aimed towards securing student engagement with the course material and creating a passion for life-long learning.”

Among them is UWindsor’s University Teaching Certificate program, the first and only Staff and Educational Development Association-approved faculty development certificate program in North America.

Alan Wright, vice-provost, teaching and learning, says he hopes that the council’s initiative sends a sincere signal of commitment to quality teaching and learning.

A launch reception Monday at Queen’s Park brought MPPs together with award-winning university teachers, including UWindsor psychology professor Ken Cramer.

Named a 3M National Teaching Fellow in 2009, Dr. Cramer has received a number of teaching honours, including the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations Teaching Award, the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance Teaching Award, the Kathleen E. McCrone Teaching Award, and the Alumni Award for Distinguished Contributions to University Teaching.

Read the report on the COU Web site.