Course Syllabus

The University of Manitoba
Faculty of Education
Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning
EDUB.7416 Teaching and Learning in Post Secondary Education (3 credits)


Summer Session 2008
Mondays and Wednesdays – 5:30 to 8:00 p.m.

Instructional Team:
Dr. Brian Lewthwaite 474-9061 Room 259 lewthwai@ms.umanitoba.ca
Dr. Denis Hlynka 474-9062 Room 236 dhlynka@cc.umanitoba.ca
Dr. Francine Morin 474-9054 Room 261 fmorin@cc.umanitoba.ca


PURPOSE
The purpose of Teaching and Learning in Post Secondary Education is to provide a concentration course for graduate students in the Master of Education Program with a specialization in Adult and Post Secondary Education, and to provide an optional course for graduate students in a variety of other programs who are interested in teaching in post secondary settings.

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION
An in-depth study of teaching and learning in post secondary education contexts grounded in current theoretical, research and pedagogical literatures.

OPTIONAL TEXTS
McKeachie, W. J., & Svinicki, M. (2006). Teaching tips: Strategies, research and theory for college and university teachers (12th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Friesen, E. (Ed.). (2007). Teaching at the University of Manitoba: A handbook. Winnipeg, MB: University Teaching Services, The University of Manitoba. [Available on-line at http://www.umanitoba.ca/UTS/]

Additional common, multimedia “texts” will be provided to respond to the needs of students in the course.

FRAMING THE COURSE
A collaborative inquiry approach will be modelled in teaching this course and will begin, therefore, with broad themes and related questions for investigation rather than the formulation of course objectives. An initial undertaking will be to probe what students already know and think about these areas. Students’ questions and what they want and need to know will further inform and shape the course curriculum. The interaction between teaching and learning theory and practice will be emphasized.

1. Cognitive Learning Theory: A Framework for Guiding Teaching and Learning. What views of learning are now the primary guides for teaching in post secondary education? How are our views on learning wedded to our practice as teachers? How do learners construct knowledge? What are essential factors in learning? How and why are high levels of interaction important in teaching and learning? How is the interdependence of learning and motivation now understood? What is the role of social interaction in teaching and learning?

2. Essential Dimensions of Teaching: The Foundation for Effectiveness. What are the teacher attitudes and skills that ensure students learn as much as possible? What teacher actions increase student learning more than others? What does the research say about teacher effectiveness and how does it inform our practice as teachers? How are challenging, constructivist learning environments created and maintained for students? How can learners be supported in acquiring deep and thorough understandings of the course content they study? How do teachers create a climate for active learning, critical discourse, and creative thinking?

3. Designing Courses for Optimal Learning: The Planning Phase. What decisions do teachers make prior to teaching? How do teachers organize ideas, knowledge, and skills into meaningful course structures for teaching purposes? What organizing elements do teachers consider when developing courses (e.g., scope, sequence, continuity, balance, big ideas, key questions, assignments and assessment procedures)? How are course elements balanced to achieve curriculum consonance? What information should a course outline include and how do teachers prepare them? What instructional tools and resources are available to teachers (e.g., Internet, books, journals and periodicals, visuals, media tools, computers and computer-based instructional tools, copyrighted video, computer and multimedia programs, distance learning)? What organizing elements do teachers consider in their planning for everyday classes (e.g., descriptive course data, questions/theme/objective, learning strategies and procedures, special considerations, notes, reminders, materials and equipment, assessment tool, reflective notes for improving practice)?

4. Putting Course Plans into Action: The Interactive Phase. What strategies are available to teachers for interacting with their students (e.g., group interaction, guided discovery, inquiry, concept attainment, critical thinking, problem-based, active experience-based, direct instruction, lecture-discussion, questioning, and demonstration)? How do teachers select strategies that are most directly aligned with their beliefs about learning, as well as the nature of their disciplines? What strategies address the needs of diverse learners working in different contexts? How do teachers scaffold learning? What decisions do teachers make during the act of teaching? What presentation skills engage students’ interests?

5. The Teaching Scholar and Professional Growth: The Analytical and Reflective Phase. How is the scholarship of teaching and learning defined and conceptualized in the literature? What paradigms and methods do teaching scholars working in post secondary institutions use to systematically study their own teaching and their students’ learning? What systems are used for assessing quality in teacher research?

COURSE OBJECTIVES
Course objectives emerge within the context of a collaborative inquiry, but can be flexibly foreshadowed. Participants can expect that by the end of the course they will make gains towards:

• understanding the unique nature of teaching and learning in post secondary education;
• examining the principles, research and theories related to teaching and learning in post secondary education;
• understanding the multiple dimensions of effective teaching and learning;
• designing, enacting, and evaluating courses for post secondary education;
• developing a repertoire of learning strategies, assessment tools, and resources for use within post secondary classrooms;
• generating beliefs and principles about teaching and learning in post secondary contexts; and
• becoming a reflective teacher-scholar.