UPEI summer institute draws faculty from across North America

The 27th annual UPEI Faculty Development Summer Institute on Active Learning and Teaching, taking place August 2 to 6, has attracted 20 teaching faculty from as far as Colorado and as near as Charlottetown.

The only remaining institute of its kind in Canada, the program's goal is to improve teaching and learning by supporting teachers to learn and use active learning in their classrooms. Since 1984, hundreds of participants have had an opportunity to work with professors from Canadian, American, and overseas colleges and universities who believe that teaching is both an art and a science.

Offered through the UPEI Centre for Life-Long Learning, this year's institute is facilitated by four professors from UPEI who are all 3M National Teaching Fellows: Dr. Brent MacLaine, Dr. Shannon Murray, Dr. Brian Wagner and Dr. Philip Smith. Participants discover new ideas that will assist their students in learning more effectively, and make teaching more enjoyable.

Dr. Murray, a professor in English says, "This institute is a unique opportunity for a conversation about university and college teaching with a wide range of faculty who all have such wonderful experiences to share. For all of us, student learning comes first."

Jamie Bodenlos, Bernard Gee, and Elizabeth Ramey are three professors from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY attending the institute. Bodenlos said, 'The program thus far has certainly met and exceeded my expectations. We learned of the institute at UPEI through our career development office, and we will certainly recommend it to our peers back home.'

The institute continues until August 6 and features daytime classroom sessions and evening social activities as part of the registration.