Future of Teaching and Learning

We invite members of the campus community to review and provide feedback on Western’s Future of Teaching and Learning: Key Themes and Draft Recommendations (for consultation only):

Theme 1: Preparing Students for Success at Western and Beyond

1. Help all students successfully navigate the transitions throughout their journey at Western, from undergraduate to graduate programs to the work environment (from EDIDA Strategic Plan)
2. Encourage strategies for raising awareness of academic norms and expectations (the hidden curriculum), especially among first-year students
3. Promote existing resources
4. Proactively reach out to students who would benefit from additional support
   Promote career / professional education in support of lifelong learning

Theme 2: Transformational Programs Relevant to Students, Society, and Industry

1. Embed equity, diversity, inclusion, decolonization, accessibility and anti-racism principles in undergraduate and graduate education
2. Create an experiential learning graduation requirement
3. Reduce or eliminate barriers to uptake of experiential learning, particularly for equity deserving students
4. Support programs to develop more experiential learning opportunities as needed.
5. Explore the impact of GenAI on disciplines and consider updates to programs, learning outcomes, and assessments as needed.
6. Expand the current essay requirement to a communications intensive (CI) requirement

Theme 3: Reimagining Assessment

1. Embed accessibility and universal design for learning (UDL) in assessments
2. Support assessment strategies at program level to ensure students experience a range of assessment types and faculty are supported in implementing assessments at scale
3. Support no/low stakes assessment and feedback practices to encourage student curiosity and engagement in learning
4. Support assessment integrity through technology, teaching methods, and infrastructure
5. Support transparency on use of Generative AI in courses and assessments

Theme 4: Support and Recognize Teaching Excellence

1. Support and advance teaching priorities in the Faculties
2. Orient faculty to the teaching culture at Western and in their disciplines
3. Increase resources to support faculty in incorporating EDIDA more fully into the classroom to enhance the learning experience of students
4. Build university-wide culture that values EDIDA in teaching and learning at the level of policy and governance
5. Create resources to increase opportunities to receive feedback on teaching
6. Enhance opportunities to showcase and share promising teaching practices
7. Create new awards to recognize teaching excellence
8. Develop processes and resources to reduce teaching-related administrative workload

Theme 5: Graduate Education

Supervisor/Student Relationships  

1. Increase supervisor and student awareness of responsibilities and relationship building.  
2. Develop more support and recognition for supervisor excellence. 
   
   

Professional Development  

1. Integrate professional development opportunities into graduate program curricula.  
2. Develop a co-curricular strategy to support graduate students. 
   
   

Flexible Pathways  

1. Encourage program level assessments of the barriers and opportunities to create more pathways through grad school.   
2. Develop doctoral options for practicing professionals and laddering options into graduate education.  

Share your feedback on these draft recommendations at our Qualtrics form:

 Share Your Feedback Here


Your feedback will be considered in the development and refinement of the final Strategic Action Areas, helping to ensure the plan reflects diverse perspectives and supports engaging, inclusive, and impactful teaching and learning experiences at Western.

Higher education is at a turning point. Technological advances, public perception, and the perceived misalignment between degree outcomes and the workforce skills gap require us to assess our values and priorities to address the central question: Why go to university? And what is the added value of learning at a research-intensive university?

Further, teaching and learning goals appear across a range of Western plans, including the Global Engagement Plan, the EDIDA Strategic Plan, and Faculty-based plans. An overarching strategic action plan commensurate with the importance of teaching and learning at Western can further advance these goals.

Western Future of Teaching and Learning: Strategic Action Areas will act as a bridge plan to integrate priorities from across existing plans and Towards Western at 150, while addressing a pivotal moment for reflection and action in higher education.

Meet the Future of Teaching and Learning: Strategic Action Areas Steering Committee:

Chair: Susan Lewis, Vice-Provost (Academic Programs) ​
Lauretta Frederking, Associate Vice-Provost (SGPS) ​
Aisha Haque, Director, Centre for Teaching and Learning ​
Jovan Groen, Director, Office of Academic Quality and Enhancement ​
Katrina McIntosh, Program Manager/Academic, Western Continuing Studies ​
Shaun Boe, Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences​
Wolfgang Lehmann, Associate Dean Undergraduate Studies, Faculty of Social Science​
Ken Yeung, Associate Dean, Academic, Faculty of Science​
Nicole Campbell, Associate Professor, Department of Physiology & Pharmacology​
Michael Fox, Associate Professor, Department of English & Writing Studies ​
Jenna Ijam, USC Vice President University Affairs​
Evan Sauve, Graduate Student Representative​
Heather Campbell, Western Libraries Teaching and Learning Librarian 
Sergio Rodriguez, Director, Client Services, Western Technology Services

• First-year Academic Transition (Lead: Nicole Campbell) 
• Experiential Learning (Lead: Heather Wakely)  
• Teaching Excellence (Co-Leads: Shaun Boe & Susan Lewis) 
• Assessment (Lead: Wolfgang Lehmann) 
• Common UG Requirements: The Writing Requirement (Lead: Michael Fox) 
• Lifelong Learning and Careers (Lead: Ken Yeung) 
• Graduate Education (Lead: Lauretta Frederking)