The following is a list of workshops and public talks held at Saint Mary’s University to foster discussion of teaching and learning.
Saint Mary’s Community Forum II:
AI and ChatGPT in the Classroom
June 22, 2023
Faculty and staff explored four key themes that a recent HESA survey identified as the most important areas that require attention in higher education: the ethical use of AI; the opportunities it presents for students, staff, and faculty; what universities need to do to ensure we are ready for its use; and how generative AI might impact equity, diversity, inclusion, justice and accessibility.
A University Education:
What’s the Point?
Dr. S. Crooks, Dr. P. Muir, and J. Shaw | April 24, 2023
Faculty and staff at Saint Mary’s were invited to reflect on their conception of the value of a university education. After a lively discussion about what such an education should mean, they were challenged to describe how we might enrich our teaching in ways that address these ideals.
ChatGPT in Higher Education
February 17, 2023
This faculty panel, moderated by Dr. Sarah Malton, considered some of the many questions that are emerging in the wake of large language model chatbots (such as ChatGPT) that have - in a short few months - forever changed the landscape of higher education. Notes from this session have been gathered on this Padlet page.
Against Teaching and Learning
Mark Mercer | February 16, 2023
Dr. Mark Mercer (Philosophy) hosted a conversation about the role of university faculty in the classroom. He argued that whatever teaching and learning that took place in the classroom was incidental, and that our one and only goal is to “engage intellectually with whatever problem is at hand”. Indifference to teaching and learning, he argues, “reflects our commitment to inquiry.”
2022 AAU Teaching Showcase
Saint Mary’s University | October 15, 2023
The AAU Teaching Showcase brings together faculty, academic librarians, graduate students, educational developers, and other professional staff to reflect on and critically examine teaching practice, share methods and strategies, and discuss issues related to university teaching and learning.
Teaching & Learning Symposium
Learning from Each Other: Reflections at the Crossroads
February 22, 2022
The 2022 Teaching and Learning Symposium aimed at fostering discussions on the faculty experience of navigating continually shifting modes of course delivery during the Pandemic.
