METHODS OF COURSE DELIVERY
Decision makers may need to choose between various instructional delivery methods/tools to support the courses and programs they are responsible for. This document outlines factors that should be considered when selecting the appropriate choice. As a summary of critical information this document is not exhaustive but will provide common ground for informed discussions and will reduce misconceptions.
Methods of Course Delivery: A Decision Maker’s Guide to Advantages and Issues
MENTORING
Formal learning partnerships, which include mentoring, extend the dialogue related to teaching practice beyond the staff of the Centre for Teaching and Learning. They effectively meet the “just in time” and “discipline specific” learning needs of faculty as well as promote growth and development related to teaching practice. Learning partnerships and mentoring are also key in ensuring that the intellectual capital of experienced faculty members is transferred to others as people move towards retirement.
Mentoring Report February 2004
CLASSROOM DESIGN
Since the spring of 2004 we have been working to get designated classrooms set up in a format other than rows. K209 is the first classroom to be set up as such a “Flexible Learning Space”, using the layout in the file below:
“Flexible Learning” Classroom Design
Faculty must request to have their classes scheduled in this “Flexible Learning Space” classroom through their Academic Officer (AO). Although there are currently more requests than teaching hours in this room, it is important that faculty continue to request the room in order to demonstrate the need for more classrooms to be set up this way.
The League for Innovation recently published an article: “Student Centred Learning and the Traditional Classroom”, which is an interesting read on classroom set up.
http://www.league.org/leaguetlc/express/inn0410.html
A quote from the article:
“In Literature classes after the change, there were
5% more As,
4% more Bs, and
4% fewer withdrawals.
Students love the room and are quick to praise it. They stay in courses longer and perform better in those that demand abstract thought. They perceive of themselves as more actively engaged in courses offered in the room, take good care of it, and eagerly fill out surveys in the hope that other rooms, which they call “institutional” and “sterile,” can be similarly transformed.”
PART-TIME FACULTY REPORT