Policy paper : Teaching and assessment

Scholarship of Teaching and An emerging movement of scholarly thought and action that Learning (SoTL) draws on the reciprocal relationship between teaching and learning at the post-secondary level; the goal is to enhance and augment learning amongst and between learners by investigating discipline specific expertise and pedagogical best practice.9 Syllabus Plural: syllabi; A tool used by instructo [...] Teaching excellence and training should be supported in Ontario by: • The demonstrated commitment to teaching excellence and professional development in universities’ promotion and tenure decisions; • The application of best practices in the use of student evaluation tools that allow instructors to receive feedback throughout a course; • The delivery of training that gives instructors broad unders [...] Though university is a formative period in a variety of ways, and though the student experience is profoundly shaped by experiences outside the classroom, at the heart of it, students’ lives revolve around the learning that they achieve and the ways that they demonstrate their progress. [...] Our priorities include ensuring that university instructors have the tools, resources, and incentives necessary to foster a culture of teaching excellence and provide modern, effective, engaging, and high quality instruction to the undergraduates of the province. [...] Formative evaluation consists of assessment that occurs early and throughout a course, and is intended not only to generate grades but also to guide student learning by revealing to students where they are succeeding or struggling.19 The primary benefit of these tests is to inform students about their own learning and equip them to continue their studies with this new information.