I am excited to serve as Carleton’s Associate Vice-President, Teaching and Learning. Carleton is a dynamic institution, located on traditional and unceded Algonquin territory, that places students at the centre of our research and teaching practices. I’m looking forward to working with the university community to further advance the strong teaching and learning culture that is already in place and to build on our successes.
The way we teach matters. Our role as an institution is to help learners succeed, not only in the classroom, but beyond, as we prepare them for a changing world. We do this by encouraging participation and building meaningful partnerships between instructors and students, where understanding and knowledge creation is a shared responsibility.
The future of higher education requires that universities maintain thoughtful and considered approaches to teaching and learning that are framed by societal needs and expectations. In many respects, society today requires a new type of citizen – a person who is capable of navigating rapidly changing information, committed to societal betterment, and able to understand, respect and work in contexts of difference. University teaching and learning spaces need to be oriented towards fostering Citizen Scholars. They should be places where students are exposed and enabled in developing a set of skills and cultural practices rather than just disciplinary content, where they are engaged in rectifying inequalities, intrigued and excited by innovation, and empowered to enact social justice.
Universities such as Carleton are uniquely positioned to help foster positive social change through our research and teaching contexts. It is through offering and exploring substantive theoretical and practical opportunities for teaching and learning that wider social change becomes possible. Teaching and Learning Services (TLS) carries out this mission by supporting instructors as they integrate experiential learning and high-impact practices that foster deep, lifelong learning and student success.
The teams that make up TLS play a crucial role in ensuring Carleton remains at the cutting edge in Canadian higher education. We assist the university’s faculty, contract instructors, TAs and educational support staff in all facets of teaching and learning, from providing teaching skills and strategies, to helping with blended and online courses, to offering media production services and learning space design, and so much more.
Whether you have a simple question about classroom technology or need in-depth assistance with a pedagogical issue, we are here to help. I invite you to drop by our office any time to chat and see how we can support you. I look forward to meeting you!
David J Hornsby
Associate Vice-President (Teaching and Learning)