Learning charter unveiled

January 22, 2010

By Mark Ferguson

Expectations for students, instructors and the institution are becoming clearer as the university’s new learning charter, dubbed a one-of-a-kind initiative to support teaching and learning in Canada, gets a sneak peek by the campus community.

At the December meeting of Council, Rick Long, professor in the Edwards School of Business and member of the teaching and learning committee, unveiled the new U of S teaching and learning charter he helped create. According to documents that appeared before Council, “The learning charter defines aspirations about the learning experience that the U of S aims to provide.”

It was at a meeting last December that Council approved the development of a teaching and learning foundational document that would outline ways to improve teaching for instructors and learning for students, explained Long. A year later, he was excited to show what the committee had come up with, and after his presentation, several faculty members came to the microphone to speak in the feedback phase of the approval process.

“The learning charter is very unique,” said Long in an interview with On Campus News. As far as we know, there is nowhere else in Canada with something like this. We looked at several universities’ expectations for their students quite closely, and we (the teaching and learning committee) came up with the charter.”

The charter is 11 pages, but it all boils down to two main parts, said Long. The first defines the learning goals for graduates, and the second, the roles of students, faculty, instructors and the university in a learning partnership.

“In terms of helping instructors, when students understand how important they are in the learning process, it will be helpful to instructors as well,” said Long. “And the university continues I think, to help assist the role of instructors for helping students. The whole idea is that students, instructors, and the university are working together.”

Long thinks there are pockets of great learning all over the university, mentioning the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching Effectiveness and the University Learning Centre as examples of the institution’s ongoing commitment to enhancing the educational experience. But the expectations of what makes a good learning environment are not necessarily clear, so the charter, he said, could provide expectations that are understood by both instructors and students.

He expects there will be a summary document of the final charter that will be no bigger than a two-page folded pamphlet, or small enough to get it into a lot of hands. “Our ultimate hope is eventually, every student and instructor will have the charter. It will be a template for decision-making: are we following the charter or not?

But Long thinks everything is on the right track. The document, he said, will help me “do my job even better, even after 22 years with the college.”

Visit the University Secretary’s website to view and comment on, the current version of the learning charter.