Dr. Alan Wright: Centred on Learning

by Brian Cowan, CFL

Dr. Alan Wright

Dr. Alan Wright, appointed last fall as the University of Windsor’s first Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning, grew up in Montreal. He received a Bachelor of Arts in English and French Literature from Mount Allison University, and both a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Arts from McGill University. Before obtaining his PhD in education from l’université de Montréal, he was employed as a school teacher, a professional development and communications officer for the provincial teachers’ federation, and as the director of high school curriculum for Quebec ministry of education. Dr. Wright held a variety of teaching and administrative positions at l’université du Quebec and at Dalhousie University, where he was the founding Executive Director of the Office of Instructional Development and Technology. Over the last fifteen years, Dr. Wright has been an active researcher in several projects with major funding, has edited and co-authored a large number of books and university teaching guides, and has served on the board of the two main professional organizations devoted to improving university teaching in North America (POD and STLHE). Recently, Dr. Wright shared some of his perceptions of the University and future plans for CFL.

Teaching and Learning Enhancement

Dr. Wright strongly supports the learning-centred philosophy articulated in To Greater Heights, the University of Windsor’s strategic plan. He has encountered many excellent and committed pedagogues on campus, and expects that the Centre will play a major role in assisting faculty and administration to successfully move towards more engaging, autonomous, and effective learning environments for students. In order to facilitate further growth in this area, the Centre will offer formative evaluation of teaching, including direct observation, as well as facilitating peer mentoring and evaluation, in order to provide practical, confidential, and supportive feedback to instructors. The Centre will also offer more workshops and new opportunities for faculty to engage with effective and well-established approaches to learning-centred teaching. Dr. Wright sees this as a major initiative requiring leadership and commitment from faculty, staff and administration.

Celebrating Teaching

Dr. Wright at New Faculty Orientation workshop

The Vice-Provost believes that we need to do more to celebrate and recognize excellent teaching on campus through both internal recognition and a greater emphasis on nominating effective teachers for external awards. As a researcher and an educator, Dr. Wright understands the challenge of satisfying the demands of research and teaching for faculty members, but emphasizes that these roles can be mutually beneficial. He intends to facilitate opportunities to balance support for and recognition of both research and pedagogy. Demonstrating how research and teaching can inform each other is essential to this process.

Priorities for the Five Year Plan

In response to the call for a comprehensively learning-centred approach at the University of Windsor, Dr Wright has set five priorities for the CFL and the Vice-Provost’s office to be addressed over a five-year period. These include:

1. taking a lead role in classroom/technology development
2. increasing faculty professional development opportunities
3. advocating for personnel practices that take into account effective teaching
4. facilitating faculty learning communities focusing on teaching and learning
5. supporting curriculum change

Brian Cowan is an Instructional Designer with the Centre for Flexible Learning.