CTE symposium: ‘How Do We Learn and Why Does It Matter?’

Members of the Rice community assembled Jan. 15 to applaud pioneering teaching methods and learn from some of the university’s most celebrated educators at the third annual Symposium on Teaching and Learning, hosted by the Center for Teaching Excellence. This year’s symposium was titled “How Do We Learn and Why Does It Matter?”

Todd Zakrajsek, an associate professor and associate director of fellowship programs in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, gave the keynote address at the third annual Symposium on Teaching and Learning, hosted by the Center for Teaching Excellence.

The event kicked off with a welcome by Paula Sanders, vice provost for academic affairs, and remarks by the center’s director, Joshua Eyler, who spoke to a large crowd of Rice faculty, students and staff in Duncan Hall’s McMurtry Auditorium. Following Eyler’s remarks, Margaret Beier, an associate professor of psychology, delivered her presentation, “Inside the Undergraduate Classroom: Instructor Practices and Barriers to Implementing Active-Learning Strategies at Rice.”

“Margaret’s presentation was truly fantastic and was tremendously insightful regarding active learning as it is practiced at Rice,” Eyler said. “In particular, her analysis of the strengths and challenges of current approaches along with her thoughts on opportunities for moving forward were illuminating.”

After a series of lunchtime roundtable discussions focusing on teaching at Rice, Todd Zakrajsek, an associate professor and associate director of fellowship programs in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, gave the keynote address, “Teaching for Learning: Evidence-Based Strategies Designed to Help Students Learn Difficult Material.”

Zakrajsek cited quotes from “two of his favorite philosophers – John Dewey (an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer) and Wayne Gretzky (a retired professional hockey star),” which prompted laughs from the audience. Dewey’s quote read, “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” Gretzky’s quote said, “I don’t skate to where the puck is; I skate to where it will be.”

“The idea here is that we have to be very careful how we proceed,” Zakrajsek said. “Things are changing very, very rapidly, and if we keep teaching the way we’ve always taught, we’re going to find ourselves in a bit of a jam.”

Zakrajsek said that ultimately, “If we want to be better teachers, we have to work at teaching. We can’t just teach the same way over and over again.”

Following Zakrajsek’s remarks, Rice Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson commended the CTE on its work since its founding in 2012.

“The center is doing a great job of bringing people together, and it’s so gratifying to see so many folks show up to engage in these conversations,” he said.

All in all, Eyler called the third annual Symposium on Teaching and Learning a tremendous success.

“We are so pleased with this year’s event,” he said. “The community, the ideas that were generated and the engagement with cutting-edge research on teaching and learning were all wonderful to see.”

For more information on Rice’s Center for Teaching Excellence, visit http://cte.rice.edu/.