A forum held last week at the University of Windsor brought together members of the campus community and representatives from 16 universities across the country to explore how teaching is documented and evaluated.

Director of teaching and learning services at McGill University, Laura Winer, said the day-long session sparked many important conversations that are likely to continue.

“The opportunity to share with colleagues from universities across Canada was extremely valuable and has already kick-started important collaborative projects,” she said.

Dave Andrews, head of UWindsor’s kinesiology department, called the event “a huge success” for many reasons.

“Most importantly, it brought together colleagues from different disciplines and institutions of higher education for a meaningful discussion on a topic of universal interest in the academy,” he said. “Through the presentations and discussions at the forum, we have fueled a dialogue and generated momentum that will shape how we progress on this issue in the days to come.”

The forum helped to confirm the University as a leader—nationally and internationally—in the development of programs, policies, and practices to enhance teaching, said vice-provost, teaching and learning, Alan Wright.

“Our forum was a UWindsor initiative that caught the interest of many Canadian universities as we pursue a national conversation about how to better evaluate teaching so that quality can be recognized and rewarded,” he said.

In conjunction with the event, the Centre for Teaching and Learning announced teaching evaluation as the theme for this year’s Centred on Learning Innovation Fund, with funding available for individuals or departments wishing to pursue projects that explore teaching evaluation at a program, department, or inter-department level.

About 120 people attended the event, which featured a keynote address by Nira Hativa, professor emeritus of teaching in higher education at Tel-Aviv University. Resource materials from the day include her presentation and an interactive webpage briefly reviewing teaching evaluation practices across Ontario.