This chapter deals with a number of policies, practices and programs which are favored by professional faculty developers, faculty, deans and heads. Instructional developers and faculty, as well as academic administrators themselves emphasize the critical role department heads, chairs and deans play in raising both the status and the quality of teaching in higher education. The matter of improving teaching must rank as a top priority in universities and colleges around the world if they are to successfully fulfill their missions as institutions of higher learning. Academics worldwide emphasize the prime importance of valuing university teaching in institutional personnel decisions. Structured instructional development programs generally include well-received orientation to teaching events for new faculty. A faculty developer in the United States described her university's "most successful teaching improvement initiatives" as "on-campus workshops provided by outsiders and faculty forums—informal discussions among faculty concerning teaching issues."

Though much literature describes the value of experiential and place-based learning experiences for participants, we have found little comparable literature regarding the facilitator experience. This paper provides current and future facilitators of workshops, especially those that take place outdoors, our reflections and ideas as facilitators, including tips for success. Our findings reinforce the conclusion that experiential learning can be as beneficial and transformative for facilitators as for participants, and that what we encounter during workshops parallels what students may go through in our classrooms as they learn. We identify five clear themes from facilitator reflections and encourage readers to consider leading an outdoor experiential learning sessions. Keywords: reflection, facilitators; outdoor education; place-based learning; conference pedagogy; educational development S’il existe beaucoup d’études décrivant la valeur des expériences d’apprentissage expérientiel axé sur la dimension locale, notre examen a révélé peu d’études du genre portant sur l’animateur. Notre article présente des idées, des réflexions et des conseils à l’intention des personnes qui animent ou animeront des ateliers, tout particulièrement des ateliers en plein air, en vue de la réussite de ces activités. Nos conclusions indiquent, premièrement, que l’apprentissage expérientiel peut être bénéfique et peut induire des changements chez l’animateur aussi bien que chez le participant et, deuxièmement, que notre expérience en tant qu’animateurs au cours des ateliers recoupe l’expérience d’apprentissage des étudiants en classe. Nous cernons cinq thèmes issus des réflexions des animateurs et nous encourageons les lecteurs de l’article à envisager la possibilité d’animer des sessions d’apprentissage expérientiel en plein air. Mots clés : réflexion, animateurs; enseignement en plein air; apprentissage axé sur la dimension locale; pédagogie de conférence; perfectionnement de l’enseignement

In this paper, we use a day-long professional development workshop for higher education faculty conducted in an outdoor setting as the starting point for an examination of the value of such activities. We explore the potential benefits, in terms of learning and holistic well-being, of educational activities designed to provide participants with sessions either in the natural environment or the built (urban) environment beyond the four walls of the traditional classroom. Drawing on the literature of ‘place-based learning’, the well-established traditions of some conference organizations, the emerging trend to mount such pre-conference workshops in the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE: Canada) and the feedback of past participants, we explore the nature of these experiences and the various outcomes, grappling with the challenge of identifying tangible ‘takeaways’ at the individual and community levels. We conclude with directions for further analysis of the role of this type of session in terms of conference pedagogy and means of measuring impact on the well-being, outlook, and practices of instructors in higher education.

In 2013, the Council of Ontario Universities invited representatives of Ontario universities to take part in a discussion of how Ontario universities might collaborate on the development of shared technology-enhanced courses. Preliminary discussions suggested that a collaborative approach to hybrid course development could facilitate the efficient development of new high-quality courses and programs and strengthen offerings in existing programs at Ontario universities. Five universities (Carleton, Trent, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Windsor, and York) committed to an exploratory study.The study, completed in June 2014, investigated the fundamental mechanisms, principles, policies and procedures typical of contexts which foster joint collaboration among institutions based on a study of Shared Course Development (SCD) models and initiatives internationally. It further offered recommendations for changes to the funding environment for SCD in Ontario, and identified the necessity of developing inter-institutional cultural, social, and technical capacity for cooperation. Given the need for enhanced knowledge transfer, distributed leadership, and effective management of labor and intellectual property issues in SCD, the study proposed the adoption of a consortial model to incentivize and facilitate collaboration, as well as the establishment of ongoing research projects to explore improved business modeling for SCD and common technical standards to facilitate collaboration.

In 2012, the Auditor General of Ontario undertook an audit intended to assess the "extent to which the Ministry and selected Ontario universities support, assess, and periodically report meaningful performance information on the quality of instruction provided to undergraduate students", at the request of the Ontario government. The results indicated that while all Ontario institutions gather student ratings of instruction (SRI), the nature, methods, and use of these data vary considerably among institutions, informed by disparate labor agreements, policy contexts, and institutional cultures. In response to the variation across the university system, the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities commissioned a feasibility study for a framework for improvement-oriented formative and summative assessment of teaching in Ontario, seeking a well-contextualized understanding of what the goals of teaching evaluation ought to be. This study, undertaken by four Ontario universities, evaluated the case for producing a standard customizable suite of tools for the evaluation and improvement of teaching for Ontario's university sector. It examined the kinds of teaching evaluation tools most likely to facilitate the efficient, effective improvement of teaching in Ontario, as well as mechanisms most likely to engage faculty and administrators in using teaching evaluation tools in the service of teaching improvement. Finally, the study produced a multi-stage series of recommendations based on identified needs, the current Ontario regulatory climate, and evidence-based practice, advocating the establishment of a teaching evaluation consortium in Ontario intended to function as a catalyst for systemic change, inter-institutional collaboration, knowledge transfer, and capacity building among Ontario universities.

Although many Canadian universities offer graduate level training or certificates on teaching in higher education, there is no national framework of expectations or provision for national certification of post-secondary teachers. There are models of post-secondary teaching expectations in the United Kingdom and in elementary and secondary systems in both the US and Canada. In addition, many US universities have competency-based graduate teaching assistant programs. The province of Ontario has adopted a mandatory framework of learning expectations for Baccalaureate and graduate degrees for all publicly funded universities. The question we address in this essay is: Has our teacher training practice evolved to the point where we should look ahead to consider formalizing expectations of effective post-secondary teaching practices through a national framework? In our view, there is now sufficient interest within the Society for Teaching and Learning Higher Education (STLHE) to establish a working group that would initiate a national consultation to discuss the process and structure for formulating an enabling framework.

Le présent article présente les domaines d’intervention et des programmes canadiens qui ont pour objectif l’amélioration de l’accès et la persévérance des étudiants des groupes sous-représentés (notamment les étudiants autochtones, ceux provenant de familles à faible revenu et les étudiants de première génération) dans les études postsecondaires. Suivant des recherches financées par la Fondation Canadienne des Bourses d’Études du Millénaire, les auteurs proposent une approche holistique pour aider ces étudiants à surmonter les nombreux obstacles auxquels ils font face à divers moment de leur vie étudiante.

Nearly twenty college and university voyageurs hailing from Atlantic Canada to the Pacific Coast and points in between, as well as intrepid pedagogues from institutions of higher education from Asia and Australia rendezvous at the Small Craft Aquatic Centre in Fredericton, New Brunswick, on the shores of the St. John River. The sun shines brightly on this warm, mid-June morning, and the water sparkles, inviting the assembled paddlers to embark on a fleeting voyage of discovery in the great Canadian out-of-doors. The group leader addresses the circle of eager life vest-clad participants as they stand, paddles in hand, in anticipation of the day’s activity. “Welcome to this pre-conference workshop” begins the facilitator, “let us begin with a warm-up activity!” A casual observer of the scene would surely be perplexed: a canoe-based conference workshop activity? For professors of all ages, shapes, and sizes? What’s this about?

An increasing number of universities are creating instruments to support student perseverance. This paper describes the context which leads to the creation of an online system supporting student perseverance. SAMI-Perseverance is an interactive, multi-media system supporting student perseverance in post-secondary education. The results of an instrument validation study undertaken with a sample of 103 individuals from the target population are presented. This article describes the nature of the student difficulties addressed, as well as the methodology used in the validation study. The study's findings with regard to measures of userfriendliness, relevance, and usefulness of the instrument are described.

De plus en plus d'universités mettent en place des dispositifs de soutien à la persévérance aux études universitaires. Ce texte fait état du contexte de recherche justifiant la mise en ligne d'un dispositif d'aide à la persévérance aux études. SAMI-Persévérance signifie : système d'aide multimédia interactif à la persévérance aux études postsecondaires. Les difficultés éprouvées par les étudiants universitaires auxquelles SAMI-Persévérance répond, la méthodologie pour valider le dispositif auprès de 103 étudiants et les résultats sur les plans de la convivialité, de la pertinence et de l'utilité du dispositif également présentés.

What are the measures that have been put into place to counter the phenomenon of abandonment in university studies? How are online perseverance support tools used by undergraduate students experiencing their first semester of university studies? A study of 216 students from three Quebec universities shows that students have difficulties in the following areas: prior knowledge and competences, strategies related to learning and self-regulation, reading English and French. The study also shows that the online support measures (S@MI-Perseverance) have helped the students to resolve these difficulties.

Quelles sont les mesures mises en place pour contrer le phénomène d’abandon des études universitaires? Comment des outils d’aide et de soutien à la persévérance aux études, accessibles en ligne, sont-ils utilisés par des étudiants nouvellement inscrits en première session d’études universitaires? Une étude auprès de 216étudiants (sur campus et à distance) dans trois universités québécoises montre qu’ils ont des difficultés sur le plan des compétences et connaissances préalables, des stratégies d’apprentissage et d’autorégulation ainsi que de la lecture de l’anglais et du français, et que les mesures de soutien mises en ligne (S@MI-Persévérance) ont été utilisées pour résoudre ces difficultés.

Cet article expose, à partir d’une synthèse des écrits récents, l’ampleur du phénomène de l’abandon des études et ses impacts. Dans ce sens, quelques théories expliquant ce phénomène et celui de la persévérance sont discutées, tout comme certaines mesures de soutien à la persévérance et leurs conditions d’application. La méthode retenue pour la sélection des documents est exposée dans le texte. Cette démarche a été entreprise en vue de l’élaboration d’un cadre théorique pour la construction d’un système d’aide multimédia interactif par lequel des outils d’aide et de soutien à la persévérance seront rendus accessibles aux étudiants et au personnel des établissements d’études postsecondaires.