Reflecting on our teaching is an important part of professional growth.
The Centre for Teaching & Learning supports instructors in examining their teaching practices, recognizing strengths, exploring new approaches, and identifying opportunities to enhance student learning.
Through teaching observations, consultations, and guidance on gathering and using feedback, we provide supportive opportunities to reflect on your teaching and continue developing your practice.
Whether you’re seeking a fresh perspective, trying a new instructional strategy, or interested in understanding your students’ learning experiences, we’re here to help.
Teaching observations offer an opportunity to reflect on your instructional practices through the perspective of a supportive colleague.
A member of the CTL team can observe a teaching session and work with you to explore what is happening in your learning environment, how students are engaging, and how your instructional approaches align with your teaching goals.
Teaching observations are intended to support professional learning, reflection, and ongoing improvement.
An observation can focus on areas such as:
Observations can be tailored to particular questions or areas of interest that you identify.
1. Pre-observation conversation
We’ll meet with you to learn about your course, teaching context, and goals. Together, we’ll identify what you’d like the observation to focus on.
2. Teaching observation
A CTL team member will observe an agreed-upon teaching session, paying particular attention to the areas identified in your initial conversation.
3. Post-observation reflection
Following the observation, we’ll meet to discuss observations, reflect on your teaching experience, and explore possible next steps.
The process is collaborative and developmental, with the goal of supporting your continued growth as an educator.
Student feedback can provide valuable insights into how students experience a course, engage with learning activities, and understand expectations.
While formal end-of-term evaluations provide one source of information, gathering feedback throughout a course creates opportunities to make timely adjustments that support learning.
The CTL can help you develop approaches for collecting and interpreting student feedback, including:
We can also help you consider how to ask meaningful questions, interpret responses constructively, and identify realistic opportunities for improvement.
Meaningful feedback helps students understand their progress, recognize areas for improvement, and identify next steps in their learning.
The CTL supports instructors in developing feedback practices that are clear, constructive, timely, and manageable.
We can help you explore:
Effective feedback is not simply about providing more comments. It is about creating opportunities for students to understand and use feedback to improve their learning.
Teaching observations and feedback can be valuable whether you’re new to teaching, experimenting with an unfamiliar approach, or reflecting on years of experience.
You don’t need to wait until something isn’t working to seek feedback. Reflection can be just as valuable when you’re looking to build on existing strengths or explore new possibilities.