Story and Photos by Bryan Gagnon
On May 11, a group of distinguished Carleton panelists gathered to share stories with the community to celebrate 30 years of Teaching and Learning Services (TLS) at Carleton.
Carleton’s Teaching and Learning Services began as the Teaching and Learning Resource Centre (TLRC) in July 1992 a small department that has grown over the years to include key services in support of faculty, instructors, teaching instructors and support staff that include Digital Learning, Learning Spaces, Teaching Excellence and Innovation, and Audio Visual Event Support.
The event was hosted by TLS within the modern Future Learning Lab — a fitting location to highlight some of the many ways that Teaching and Learning has evolved over the years.
The celebration provided ample opportunities for the invited panelists led by David J Hornsby, Associate Vice-President (Teaching and Learning), to reflect on their relationships — between them and their students, with teaching and TLS.
The panelists included:
- Melanie Adrian, Associate Professor, Department of Law and Legal Studies, OCUFA recipient
- Robert Burk, Interim Director, School of Mathematics and Statistics, 3M National Teaching Fellow
- Janna Fox, Professor Emerita, School of Linguistics and Language Studies, 3M National Teaching Fellow
- Kim Hellemans, Associate Dean (Student Recruitment, Wellness and Success), Faculty of Science, OCUFA recipient
- Joy Mighty, Professor Emerita, previous Associate Vice-President Teaching and Learning at Carleton, Christopher Knapper Lifetime Achievement Award recipient
- Alan Steele, Associate Professor, Department of Electronics, 3M National Teaching Fellow
- Sarah Todd, Director, School of Social Work, 3M National Teaching Fellow
Joy Mighty, Professor Emerita, and previous Associate Vice-President (Teaching and Learning), shared that teaching itself is about relationships and people relating to each other.
“Relationship building is what drives me,” says Mighty.
Sarah Todd, Director of the School of Social Work, shared that her favourite part of teaching is witnessing the moment when students believe in themselves. “It’s magic,” says Todd.
Hearing the many stories and anecdotes from the panelists, it’s clear that student success is high on the list of motivations for all the instructors on the panel.
But as Kim Hellemans, Associate Dean (Student Recruitment, Wellness and Success) in the Faculty of Science, shared, “Teaching can sometimes be a marathon.”
The panelists openly shared that they also struggle with bad days and difficult periods as instructors. Having the support of TLS during these times is something they all appreciate.
Alan Steele, Associate Professor, Department of Electronics, shared that the people in TLS stand out for him.
“Whether it’s the people taking video of you, solving the technical problems, all those steady hands in TLS make the machine purr.”
David J Hornsby, Associate Vice-President (Teaching and Learning) closed the panel celebration by expressing his gratitude for working with the TLS team and highlighting their special role.
“Universities are full of treasure and talent, our critical task as instructors, lecturers and faculty members is to find ways to unlock that in our students. The support we receive in unlocking it in ourselves is critical in having Teaching and Learning Services [at Carleton].”
