Engaging Students Actively in the Teaching & Learning Process

With Nicole Conrad, Paul Muir, & Will Kay

The final Community of Practice (CoP) session of 2018 will explore approaches in creating a positive and conducive culture to facilitate classroom collaboration between teachers and students. The session will focus on:

• Effective group work strategies (theory & practice)

• Implementing formative student questionnaires

• Transparency in teaching & learning processes

This CoP has been meeting on selected Friday afternoons this fall, to access expertise and encourage mutual engagement within the Saint Mary's University teaching community. All full-time and part-time faculty are invited to join. Sessions foster collegial discussion and sharing of ideas.

Please contact The Studio at studio@smu.ca to register.

As a structural model, the CoP approach offers a framework for creating learning communities to engage in sustained conversations focused on enhancing their professional practice. In the higher education context, CoPs can “provide professional support for academics who are increasingly overwhelmed by continuous change, excessive workloads and research output demands” (McDonald & Star, 2006).