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S.96-37

Date:

23 April 1996

To: ?

From: ?

Re: ?

SCUM Annual Report

Please find enclosed a copy of the annual report of the Senate Committee on University Teaching and

Learning.

EG/mn

Enclosure

24 April 1996

REPORT OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON UNIVERSITY

TEACHING AND LEARNING (SCUTL)

During its second year in operation SCUTL met 11 times (over the period 1 May

1995-

1 May 1996). Over the year, SCUTL was involved in four main activities:

(1)

Course evaluations

SCTJTL refined its test version of a course evaluation form, and administered a

test pilot in July 1995 (i.e., near the end of the summer semester). With the assistance

of Sue Roppel in Analytical Studies, a random sample of courses was drawn.

Instructors were contacted by SCUTL and requested to participate, with the assurance

that all results would be kept confidential. All instructors whose courses were drawn

for the random sample agreed to participate (with the exception of three courses which

had been held during intersession and were thus over). Dr. Charmaine Dean and a

number of graduate students in the Math/Statistics Department ably carried out the

actual administration of the course evaluation forms for the pilot test. In the end, we

collected data from 18 courses and 404 students, representing all five faculties.

Peter Coleman and Larry Weldon, both members of SCUTL, performed

preliminary analyses of the data. However, the task quickly developed into a very time-

consuming one. At SCUTL's request, Vice-President Gagan provided some funds for

the committee to hire a student to finish off the analyses. This student will complete the

task over the summer 1996 semester. On the basis of the results, a second pilot will be

done, most likely in the fall 1996 semester.

Given the range of opinions regarding course evaluations, SCUTh will be putting

on a university-wide forum for the discussion of this topic, in conjunction with the

second pilot test.

(2)

Student Forum

On 16 January, SCUTL held a student forum for a discussion of the factors that

facilitate or hinder learning from students' perspectives. SCUTL members felt it very

important to host a forum that focussed on learning (cf teaching) and that provided

students an opportunity to voice

their

concerns/opinions. Planning for the forum was

facilitated by Richard Day and Lori Barkley (two graduate students representing

TSSU)Kristjan Arnason(representing the Student Society), and Rhona Steinberg of

Counselling Services (representing Student Services).

See the attachment

for material

on, and following from, this forum.

(3)

Teaching Awards

In keeping with our Senate-defined mandate, SCUTL has begun to examine

issues surrounding Excellence in Teaching awards. A meeting with TSSU representa-

tives was held in April 1996 to explore avenues for the recognition of the teaching of

TSSU members. Three members of SCUTL are awaiting the scheduling of a meeting,

through the Office of the Vice-President (Academic), with representatives of the

Alumni Association regarding current selection practices.

(4)

Budget Cutbacks and Teaching/Learning

SCUTL is in the process of assessing the impact of budget cutbacks on the

teaching and learning environment at the university. The Committee has contacted all

Chairs for information on their budget modelling exercises, and has received feedback

from a number of units. A reminder notice was sent out at the end of April, and it is

anticipated that more information will be obtained shortly.

The Senate Committee on University Teaching and

Learning and the Centre for University Teaching

present

A Student Forum on

Teaching and Learning

Tuesday, February 13

Halpern Centre 1:30 - 4:30

What factors affect your learning here at SFU? In what ways can your learning

be best supported? What forms should teaching and learning take at SFU in the

future? These are just a few of the many questions we will be exploring in the

firsi

Student Forum on Teaching and Learning. The Senate Committee on University

Teaching and Learning wants to hear from you, and wants to provide you with an

opportunity to talk with other students about issues that matter to you. Make

plans to attend this important event.

.:..:..:.

Session One

1:30-2:20

(For Students Only)

What Factors Affect Your Learning at SFU?

A Chance to Inform SCUTL

Session Two 2:30 - 3:20

Good Students and Good Instructors.

A Discussion Among Faculty and Students

44-41-44-

Session Three

3:30 - 4:20

Where is Education Going?

Ways of Teaching and Learning in the Future

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Welcome To

A Student Forum on Teaching and Learning at SFU

Session One: (For Students Only) What Factors Affect Your

Learning at SFU? A Chance to Inform SCUTL

In what ways is your learning made easier or more difficult at SFU?

How can your learning be best supported? What aspects of teaching

and learning at SFU do you want to see preserved? Changed?

Session Two: Good Students and Good Instructors:

A Panel Discussion

How do faculty define good students? How do students define good

instructors?

Session Three: Where is Education Going? Ways of Teaching

Learning in the Future

What do students and instructors know about on-line course delivery

and other forms of educational technology? What are their opinions

of such courses? Can we effectively replace traditional lectures with

other modes of information dissemination? Are we doing

all we can

to enhance current lectures? Is information access improving?

Utk-

Forum Explores Students'

Perceptions of Learning and

Teaching at SFU

On February 13th, the Senate Committee

on University Teaching and

Learning

(SCUTL) and the Centre for University

Teaching held the first Student Forum on

Teaching and Learning. The

afternoon

was

divided into three sessions: a

student-only

hour, a faculty/student panel, and a small-

groups session discussing directions for

SFU's teaching and learning in the future.

In the first session, students were

invited to speak freely regarding factors

they saw as facilitating or hindering their

learning at the University. To avoid any

possible inhibitions, faculty did not attend

this session. Instead, notes were taken by

students and these were passed on to

SCUTL so that the committee could develop

a better appreciation of teaching and

learning

from the students' perspectives.

Undergraduate and graduate students

participated, providing

it was m

and not so well as we

instructor sh

support their learning.

students a

One of the first

opinions, que

themes that emerges

from a reading of the notes on students'

comments is that individual support staff

can play an important facilitating role in

students learning. Staff who take an interest

in students can affect a student's interest in a

field of study and even his or her choice of

in addition to TAs, could attend tutorials

and seminars, giving undergraduates more

opportunities to interact with people

engaged in intense study of a specialized

field.

Open labs in math and other sciences

were considered to be helpful, as were on-

line connections to the library. The co-op

education program was also endorsed as

something that facilitated learning.

Students expressed appreciation for

instructors who exhibit enthusiasm and who

have a sense of humour.

What inhibits learning at SFU?

According to some students, a competition-

based system of grading inhibits the

interaction between students that can be a

valuable way to learn. There is a

contradiction between a grading system that

is inherently competitive and an emerging

pedagogy that claims to encourage

cooperation.

Also, students attending the forum

suggested that there could be more

communication

between departments

entioned that the

and programs to reduce

7uld be sure to give ?

redundancy and, more

'ance to voice their ?

importantly, to provide

;tions and concerns,

more opportunities for

students to take

multidisciplinary

approaches to solving problems. While

students acknowledged that SFU offers

more interdisciplinary programs that many

universities, they would like even more.

Students in this session believed that

major.

diey neededrecos to our library. In

More generally, it appears that

interpersonal

factors are very important to

students when discussing what facilitates

their learning. For example, opportunities

to interact in small group seminars were

cited as being valuable. Regarding the

instructor's role in these classes, it was

mentioned that he or she should be sure to

give students a chance to voice their

opinions, questions and concerns. On the

other hand, students talked positively about

a seminar class in which two profs attended

and engaged in discussion and debate.

Pursuing this interactive theme further,

students said that opportunities to talk one-

on-one with professors was helpful. Also, it

was suggested that more graduate students,

'L LL..IALCL, LILJ vva1I.l. ?

ours expanUed.

Closing at six on Fridays can be a problem

for students.

Students also talked in more general

terms about the goals of the University. In

particular, they discussed the apparent

dichotomy between producing prospective

employees for the work force and providing

people with opportunities for personal

enhancement through learning.

The comments cited here represent the

views of the 20 or so people who attended

this part of the forum. We can only guess at

their representativeness. Still, comments

like these provide valuable feedback for

committees like SCUTL and the Centre

for

University Teaching.O

Teaching and Learning at SFU in

the Future as Envisioned by?

Participants at the Student Forum

Participants at the Student Forum on

Teaching and Learning held recently at SFU

engaged in a small-groups exercise in which

they were asked to design their preferred

university of the future. What would we

want to change? What do we want to

preserve?

There was considerable consensus

within and between groups regarding such

things as the use of educational and

information technology, as well as on the

value of face-to-face learning opportunities.

If the university of the future is to succeed, it

must take full advantage of the former

without sacrificing the latter.

Conputer-aided, on-line learning will

be an integral part of the university of the

future, but not to the exclusion of learning

environments in which

people meet in actual

(as opposed to virtual)

classrooms to learn

together.

This "place" we call

Simon Fraser University

is bound to expand in

many ways, both

architecturally and

virtually. In the SFU of

the future, as designed by participants at our

Forum, access to courses will be one of the

clear areas of major growth. Unrestricted by

geographic distance, students the world

over will be able to take virtual versions of

our courses. There will be a corresponding

expansion of our access to knowledge and to

people who possess that knowledge.

And if SFU can expand in these ways, so

can other universities. This will mean that

the boundaries between institutions will

blur. The university as designed by our

groups will have flexible systems for

transferring credits between institutions. A

university degree may consist of a hybrid

collection of courses taken from institutions

the world over.

What, then, would it mean to be an "SFU

student?" This questions, according to

Forum participants, hints at a potential

downside of a university system featuring a

technologically linked student body floating

rather ill-defined somewhere in cyberspace.

As exciting as the prospects are for

educational and information technology,

Forum participants were quite unified in the

value they ascribed to SFU as a real place in

which they could experience more

immediate contact with others.

The university of the future would not

be without tradition. Spontaneous debates

in real time, graduation ceremonies, protest

rallies, late night talks in residence, events in

the theatre, the gym, and elsewhere

contribute to a holistic university experience

that cannot be captured adequately via

virtual reality.

How do we create this university that

takes full advantage of technology while

retaining its human touch and sense of

place? This will be no easy task.

In Canada, SFU is a leader in research

and development in the area of on-line

education. Faculty and staff working on

Innovation Fund projects are developing

World Wide Web-based

- curricula that attempt to

preserve the essence of

what a university

course should be.

At the same time,

there were those at our

Forum who believe that

the great universities of

the future will look

much like the great

universities of the 19th century. Oxford will

always be Oxford, and this is because it will

continue to offer a highly valued

educational experience - small group

interaction, tutoring from experts, and the

opportunity to learn autonomously.

It remains to be seen how much of this

can be captured in on-line environments. It

was evident from the small group exercise at

the Forum that there exists some skepticism

about the potential for technology to

replace

much of what is good about our university.

There was considerable optimism, however,

regarding the potential for technology to

enhance

what we do at SFU and elsewhere. 0

Computer-aided, on-line learning?

will be an integral part

of the ?

university

the future, but not to?

the exclusion

of learning ?

environments in which people meet?

in actual (as opposed to virtual)

classrooms to learn toc'ether.