The U of M’s Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL) opened the fall term with an open house, welcoming faculty and graduate students to discover its programs and resources. The event showcased the Centre’s role in supporting teaching excellence at U of M.
Erica Jung, director of the Centre, explained the purpose of the event. “We’ve been here […] over 25 years,” she started. “We wanted to continue to create visibility on campus, and so we decided to have an open house […] for people to come and see what kinds of services and supports [are available] for teaching through our Centre.”
Visitors toured rooms featuring interactive demonstrations. They attended short presentations on teaching strategies, explored the VR lab, visited the podcast studio and joined discussions on digital pedagogy and clinical teaching.
Part of the Centre’s mission is to strengthen teaching and learning at U of M. “We really serve the faculty members who are teaching, and instructors as well,” Jung explained. She added that graduate students are also a priority. “We have a graduate student teaching program [for] master’s and PhD students.”
The Centre offers structured programs alongside tailored support. “We have programs like the Teaching and Learning Certificate Program, and that’s geared for new faculty, so five years and under. We [also] have […] the Graduate Teaching Program […] for graduate students,” Jung said. These are supplemented by workshops, consultations, classroom observations and more.
Jung encouraged students and faculty alike to take advantage of the resources. “If you haven’t tried out anything at the Centre in terms of a workshop or a drop-in session or a lunch hour session, come and check it out, because it can really spark ideas […] about how to enhance your teaching.”
The Centre’s schedule of workshops and events for the fall term is posted online. With the open house as a starting point, the Centre reaffirmed its position as a cornerstone of teaching, innovation and support at the U of M.
Learn more about the Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning by visiting its website at umanitoba.ca/centre-advancement-teaching-learning/.
