Mission Statement
TSC Brochure (PDF)
The Teaching Support Centre works collaboratively with faculty, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and staff to advance teaching and learning at The University of Western Ontario. We believe that the quality and value of university education is enriched through scholarship and pedagogical reflection. Working in partnership with Western Libraries and Information Technology Services, the mission of the Teaching Support Centre is to:
- lead and foster a culture of excellence in teaching and learning;
- enhance the practice of teaching and learning;
- nurture a community that values and recognizes teaching excellence and innovation;
- encourage the exploration of diverse learning styles and approaches to discovery;
- facilitate the globalization of education;
- contribute to the scholarship of teaching through research.
Scope of Teaching Support Centre Initiatives
SCHOLARSHIP & INNOVATION
- Developing and maintaining resources for teaching and learning
- Supporting teaching innovations through grants and awards
- Conducting and publishing original research
- Promoting the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) within the institution, nationally, and internationally
INSTRUCTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- Supporting the development of effective instructional and classroom management strategies
- Designing and implementing instructional technologies
- Consulting with individual faculty, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows
- Facilitating the professional development of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows
- Supporting distance studies course development and administration
- Creating information literacy initiatives
INSTITUTIONAL MANDATES
- Supporting curriculum development and program review
- Advocating for teaching excellence across campus through representation on various University committees
- Fostering community through the work of faculty associates
- Facilitating internationalization initiatives
Quotes
"Without a doubt, the Course on Teaching at the University Level… was instrumental in assisting me to improve my teaching. During the workshop, I was challenged to try something new, in my case to incorporate technology into my teaching, and to think more clearly about how to explain complex concepts in lectures. It was a fantastic idea to put experienced and new professors from completely different disciplines together. This provided participants with an opportunity to experience new teaching approaches and to get a sense of the range of scholarship being done across the campus. As a new faculty member, I found this aspect of the course invaluable."
Erica Lawson, Assistant Professor, Women’s Studies and Feminist Research
"Through my involvement with various TSC programs, I have concluded that the TSC is like the iPhone of all things teaching…whatever your goals are, whatever you want to try out, or whatever information or pointers you need: there’s a TSC resource for that. Need to know how to design effective Multiple Choice exams? There’s a workshop for that. Need to know how to teach large classes? There’s a brochure for that. Having questions about specific situations in your supervision of graduate students? There’s an expert for that…Taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the TSC has not only helped to make me a better teacher; I’ve also learned how to make more effective use of resources, which has saved me a tremendous amount of time."
Jan Cami, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy
"Shortly after accepting my first faculty position, I enrolled in the week long Course on Teaching at the University Level. This was an invaluable experience, and gave me tools, tips, and confidence heading into my first term of teaching. Not only did I learn some great strategies to try in the classroom, but it was an opportunity to meet other faculty members...In the months and years that followed, I often called upon these friends and mentors for support and ideas. It has been a tremendous resource. I also attended many of the Faculty Mentor sessions…this series of workshops often highlighted many of the issues that were crucial to my career development at that time – writing research grants, forming supervisory skills for working with graduate students, dealing with difficult students, navigating the promotion and tenure process, etc. Again, not only was it informative, but also an opportunity to meet and share with others."
Cynthia Dunning, Assistant Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering
"The Instructional Skills Workshop was a intense, engrossing opportunity to explore novel ways of delivering content. I learned a great deal… both from the feedback that I received and from the opportunity to watch and comment on teaching by other faculty. The opportunity to discuss a broad range of issues related to teaching with other faculty and TSC personnel, all of whom are interested in our lives as educators, was itself informative, energizing and, yes, even fun. This was a wonderful three days. Can I do it again?"
John Mitchell, Professor of Psychology and Academic Dean, Brescia University College