This afternoon, ten of the faculty members from the Wildlife Institute and I gathered in the PortaCabin to discuss teaching and learning methods. The conversation was lively, the audience motivated. To start off with, I thought my first teaching lecture should be one that is immediately useful and easy to implement. We began with some of the basics of an interactive classroom – why we want active learning in our classrooms, what are some of the drawbacks, what are the advantages, how do we match our goals with our methods and student actions.

One of the things that struck me the most strongly was the similarities between questions the faculty asked and the questions I have had and heard at workshops at UBC. Despite the fact that faculty here are providing courses to professionals and graduates, many of the concerns and goals in the classroom are exactly the same. “An interactive classroom takes time. How am I supposed to get through all the material that I have to cover?” “What about domineering students who don’t let others speak?” “Should we control group dynamics? How do we go about doing that?”

Like any interactive classroom, we didn’t cover all the topics that I wanted to talk about today. But like a teacher who is used to an interactive classroom and the change in goals as an educator, I didn’t mind. I feel like I am learning as much about the needs, wants, and interests of the faculty members here, as they are learning about teaching methods used at North American universities.

Tomorrow, I look forward to having another lively discussion, including group examinations, team-based learning, and experiential learning. With this group of instructors, it will be another great experience!