The Centre for Teaching Excellence collaborates with individuals, academic departments, and academic support units to foster capacity and community around teaching and to promote an institutional culture that values effective teaching and meaningful learning.
“Staff members of CTE are very highly respected among educational developers in Canada, as well as around the world. Their work is scholarly, grounded in current research on teaching and learning, innovative and carefully designed. CTE is one of the teaching centres we look to as an outstanding centre that models excellence in educational development.” — Feedback received via a "reputation survey" conducted as part of CTE's 2017 External Review.
News
- Feb. 13, 2020Time to register for Ed Tech Week 2020
It's time to register for Educational Technologies Week! March 2-6, 2020
EdTech Week is an opportunity for Waterloo instructors to focus more intensively on teaching development and technologies that promote deep learning. Join us for the entire week or register for individual workshops that you find interesting! Learn about what others are doing and engage with the following topics and technologies:
- Using Bongo, a video assessment tool that promotes experiential learning and the development of soft skills
- VirBELA, a virtual workplace platform that facilitates casual and structured collaboration
- Use of virtual and augmented reality in the classroom
- How to “gamify” a course with LEARN
- H5P, a powerful and flexible authoring tool that allows users to create interactive videos, presentations, games, and more
- Lightboard, an illuminated glass “chalkboard” that can be used to create engaging videos
- Mobius, a tool that facilitates the development of interactive online content for STEM courses
- PebblePad ePortfolios
Derek Bruff, Director of Vanderbilt University’s Center for Teaching and a principal senior lecturer in the Vanderbilt Department of Mathematics, will deliver a keynote presentation: Principles to Guide the use of Educational Technology in University Teaching. He will also lead a workshop on the use of creative assignments for deep learning.
- Feb. 10, 2020Registration now open for University of Waterloo Teaching & Learning Conference 2020
We are pleased to let you know that registration is open for our 12th annual University of Waterloo Teaching and Learning Conference taking place on April 29, 2020. Last year saw over 400 faculty members, staff, and students gather to learn from and with one another around the theme of inclusivity and diversity in our learners and approaches to teaching. Our 2020 conference theme is Learning through Assessment. We are excited to welcome Kay Sambell, Professor of Higher Education Pedagogy at Edinburgh Napier University, and Sally Brown, Emerita Professor at Leeds Beckett University, as our keynote speakers, as well as Tamara Maciel (Program Director, School of Anatomy) and Dr. Geoff Hayes (Associate Professor, Department of History) from Waterloo, who will each recreate a successful instructional approach in our Igniting Our Practice plenary session, which showcases some of the excellent teaching being done on our campus. The registration deadline is Wednesday, April 8, 2020.
- Dec. 4, 2019ePortfolios at the University of Waterloo: A Teaching and Learning Story
When I was an undergraduate student, there was no Internet. We lined up to register for courses in a hot gym. I went to class, researched and wrote papers, studied for exams, passed x courses with a minimum grade of y to receive z credits in return for a diploma. After it was over, I didn’t look back.
Perhaps that’s still the perspective new students have when they approach the University of Waterloo for the first time: What do I have to do to get my diploma? The answer, they’ll find out, is that they still have to navigate their way through a series of classes, coursework, exams, and maybe co-op placements and volunteer opportunities.
What has changed is the technology that’s available to help them make meaning of their experiences as a university student. But I’m getting ahead of myself, because it’s not really about the technology.
