Welcome back! I am pleased to present the October issue of Innovatus.
Before I tell you about the wonderful stories in this issue, I want to offer my congratulations to Dr. Rhonda L. Lenton, who was officially installed York University’s eighth president and vice-chancellor on Oct. 18. President Lenton is a passionate supporter of teaching, learning and the student experience. To learn more about her vision for York University, visit the President’s Installation website.
In this issue of Innovatus, we present more interesting and intriguing stories about how York University faculty continually strive to redefine teaching and learning.
Here is an introduction to the stories in this special issue:
- Our lead story showcases a wonderful experiential learning opportunity. For a group of Toronto high school students, travelling to Iceland with students and faculty from York University to prowl around volcanoes was truly the experience of a lifetime. The trip, which took place last spring, was organized by Kathy Young, a geography professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.
- Faculty of Health Professor Christo El Morr‘s second-year course, Introduction to Health Informatics, is the first time most health studies students encounter the field of informatics. To help students with the complex material El Morr brings a variety of professionals whose work focuses on the health informatics topics under discussion during various class sessions.
- For Stephanie Bowerman, a faculty member in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science, her third-year Adapted Physical Activity course excels in raising her students’ experiential learning and understanding of what differently abled individuals need to be able to participate in physical activities.
- The project team behind Globally Networked Learning, an initiative funded by York University’s Academic Innovation Fund, has been exploring approaches to pedagogy that allow for experiential learning in an internationally focused curriculum. They present an overview of their work to date on the initiative.
- Our final story of this issue profiles Nicole Aylwin, co-academic director of the law school’s Winkler Institute for Dispute Resolution, has developed an innovative pedagogical approach to giving law students important skills that aren’t usually taught as part of legal education, such as collaboration, an understanding of technology and a user-centred perspective.
I hope you enjoy this issue of Innovatus, which is produced by the Office of the Associate Vice-President Teaching & Learning in partnership with Communications & Public Affairs.
I extend a personal invitation to you to share your experiences in teaching, learning and the student experience through the Innovatus story form, which is available at http://tl.apps01.yorku.ca/machform/view.php?id=16573/.
Sincerely,
Will Gage
Associate Vice-President Teaching & Learning