Dr. Carol Rolheiser is clear: her passion for teaching is at the core of her professional work. A professor with the University of Toronto’s Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning, Dr. Rolheiser also serves as the university’s director of the Center for Teaching Support & Innovation (CTSI). ACUE recently spoke with Dr. Rolheiser and her colleague Megan Burnett, associate director of the CTSI.
After looking for a faculty development experience that Rolheiser says would “support the building of teaching culture across the University of Toronto,” they found ACUE. They launched the Effective Teaching Practices course with 45 faculty members in mid-2019.
The duo’s insights several months into the experience?
“Our biggest worry was that the basics would feel like the basics or it would feel foundational. It doesn’t because they [faculty course-takers] are applying new ideas they haven’t thought about or ideas that they have been using are now more intentional. And they’re also affirmed because there are things that they now are thinking about in a new way,” said Rolheiser.
“And the level of discussion that we have seen on the discussion boards is amazing. They’re sharing ideas. They’re cross-pollinating. And it’s a very diverse group. Lots of different disciplines represented. And they’re learning from each other, which is one of the key factors that we wanted in place for this experience,” added Burnett.
