Professional Development Support for Teaching
Promoting knowledge transfer within the Faculty of Math
Effective knowledge transfer is at the core of the University of Waterloo. Whether that be from professors to students, or between faculty members, Waterloo is committed to ensuring that the latest research, insights, and trends are being shared with our community. Knowledge sharing is critical to securing Waterloo’s position as a leader in the academic space – a university at the forefront of cutting-edge research, technology, and teaching.
The Math Teaching Development Fund provides dedicated funding for professional development opportunities for instructors, promoting attendance at teaching and learning conferences where they can hone their skills. The Fund has increased attendance at such conferences and has enhanced speaker opportunities through the Math Teaching Seminar, securing Waterloo Math’s leadership reputation in this domain.
In 2021-2022, the Teaching Development Fund supported 69 unique faculty members, representing all instructional units, participating in a total of 125 development opportunities. This year, to facilitate information sharing from these conferences, the Teaching Fellow introduced the Math Teaching Colloquium where conference attendees can share the information they learned with colleagues. Six faculty members who attended teaching and learning conferences presented the most interesting and inspiring highlights they learned, in a roundtable format. The event was successful, with 25 people attending in person and another 30 attending online. A similar event will be planned for the coming year. Two faculty members who were not able to attend the Math Teaching Colloquium prepared posts to share their experience on the Teaching Fellow blog.
The conference learning supported by the Teaching Development Fund and the collegial knowledge sharing facilitated by the Math Teaching Colloquium are just a few examples of how the Faculty of Math is putting emphasis on the professional development of its faculty: further securing Waterloo’s place as a leader in higher education.