Celebration of teaching showcases UVic's award-winning teachers, innovative teaching methods

Members of the media are invited to attend a Celebration of Teaching, February 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in UVic's new Centre for Innovative Teaching. The Centre, which opened in January, provides a venue for using the latest educational technology to support teaching. UVic's Learning and Teaching Centre and Computing User Services are hosting this event, which is open to members of the university and invited guests.

Throughout the day there will be presentations and demonstrations by UVic teaching award winners, recipients of innovative teaching grants, creators of interactive web-based teaching materials, and developers of UVic software used, for example, in language learning and demonstrating difficult concepts in psychology. There will also be displays of staff and student-developed projects. The keynote speech at 12:30 p.m. entitled "Understanding or Memorization: Are We Teaching the Right Thing?" will be delivered by Dr. Eric Mazur, a physics teacher from Harvard University who has pioneered active learning techniques.

For a complete schedule of events, visit the Celebration of Teaching Web site (http://learn.terc.uvic.ca/calsep.htm) or call UVic Communications at 721-7640.

For further information on the Centre for Innovative Teaching, visit the CIT Web site (http://web.uvic.ca/techlearn/cit).

(Please call Robie Liscomb to arrange advance interviews with Dr. Andy Farquharson, Director of UVic's Learning and Teaching Centre; Dr. Arnie Keller, UVic's Advisor on Technology and Learning; or any of the presenters; or to sit in on a UVic class being conducted in the Centre.)

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