Brian Greenspan, an Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature and the College of the Humanities, has been named the 2024 Carleton University Chair in Teaching Innovation for his commitment to student success and novel approach to digital storytelling.
The Chair in Teaching Innovation recognizes educators who have demonstrated teaching excellence and innovation. Chairs receive a $45,000 grant spanning three years to undertake projects that advance the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) at Carleton.
“On behalf of Carleton University, it is my pleasure to congratulate Brian on this outstanding achievement,” says L. Pauline Rankin, Provost and Vice-President (Academic). “His leadership in immersive storytelling further elevates the educational experience and fosters a culture of innovation and excellence at Carleton.”
As Chair, Greenspan plans to build a team of students experienced in interactive and immersive storytelling media. Working in the Carleton Hyperlab, these student storytellers will develop live and online workshops to help other students and instructors adopt new digital storytelling methods, media, platforms, and tools for their courses and disciplines.
These workshops will ultimately be featured in a future Digital Media Summer Institute at Carleton, building on the success of the 2017 Summer Institute that Greenspan co-created with colleagues from the University of Ottawa.
Storytelling, a core element of Greenspan’s research and teaching, is a concept that he says is deeply ingrained into all domains, disciplines, and cultural activities.
“Students now engage with new narrative media daily, which presents challenges and opportunities for teaching. They are not just consumers of stories but aspiring storytellers and media creators in their own right. I strongly believe that students can learn how stories in any medium work by learning to build them.”
Greenspan notes that this ubiquity makes it challenging to think about and teach storytelling, highlighting the need for new, media-specific approaches to narrative analysis.”
“Brian’s innovative teaching approach truly embodies the spirit of this award,” says David Hornsby, Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President (Academic).” Through his innovative teaching methods and use of new storytelling media, his work exemplifies the integration of digital tools and traditional education, enhancing the learning experience for students at Carleton.”
In receiving this award, Greenspan joins the ranks of distinguished past recipients, including Irena Knezevic, Ali Arya, and Manuel A. Báez, who have each set high standards in educational innovation.