The Teaching and Learning Innovation Digest - May 2023

What worked?
Adam:
“…Some trepidation among faculty to start…
but we adjusted…”
What didn’t work?
Anthony:
“…It was hard to find that balance, that
separation from work/school and home…”
Adam:
“…Contacting people from other departments
in the college was challenging…being
disconnected from the students...I give my cell
phone number to students freely…”
Anthony:
“…Communication suffers as soon as you get
rid of face to face…”
Do students prefer virtual or in-person?
Anthony:
“…Absolutely in person all the way!”
Adam:
“...Students wanted to be on campus, in the
presence of each other. Faculty were happy to
hear that!”
Wish lists for the future:
Adam:
“…Part of my wish list for graduates of
all programs is that they have a better
entrepreneurial skill set for when they are
ready to enter any industry…”
Anthony:
“I think the key is not to stray away from what
college is meant to be. I don’t think any student
at Centennial wants their only memory of
their time at the college to be of studying for
tests or working on assignments, while those
things are important, the entire foundation
on postsecondary education is making those
lifelong connections, making lifelong friends…
It is much harder to do this in a strictly virtual
classroom environment. Still finding that
balance that I think will work is important, but
we cannot go overboard and try to streamline
things that shouldn’t be. Keeping what made
college so enjoyable for so long is important…”
This has been…
The return
Employability of our graduates:
Anthony:
Speaking of being better positioned, how do
you feel the pandemic has had an effect on the
employability of future graduates?
Adam:
“…I think the pandemic has given students an
opportunity to become more entrepreneurial…
Being an entrepreneur requires a ton of
maturity, hunger, organization, and I don’t
know if all young learners are ready for
it. As a system/institution we still have to
figure out how we are giving students the
skills. Some classes are helpful, the college
has stackable credentials…but the stackable
credentials existed before the pandemic, not a
result of it…”
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