> Kwantlen Polytechnic University > The Centre for Academic Growth > Faculty Initiatives > CASTL Leadership Project

Centre for Academic Growth

• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
• Transformative Dialogues
• Faculty Learning Communities
• Reading Circles
• Supporting Faculty
• CASTL Leadership Project

CASTL Leadership Project

CASTL Leadership Project (now completed)

http://kwantlen.ca/CASTL

The purpose of Carnegie initiative for the Advancement of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CASTL) Leadership program at Kwantlen University College is a combination of the following two themes:

1. Developing Scholars of Teaching and Learning - to provide those new to the scholarship of teaching and learning with a framework for engaging in scholarly activity; continuing the work of the Mentoring Newer Scholars Leadership Cluster.
2. Creating and sustaining Scholarly Communities of Teaching and Learning Practice - both institutional and disciplinary communities committed to scholarly practices and issues in common.

The Past President of the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE), Julia Christensen Hughes, has stated that we need "a national strategy (to) be developed to support evidence-based improvement of teaching and learning in higher education." (December 2005) and we agree that this is a key element of our individual and institutional approaches.

It is our belief that we must start by knowing our own research paradigms more deeply and uncover our own views of what research is and is not in the area of teaching and learning. Then, we can expand to a better understanding of other research processes, including and validating the many scholarly possibilities. We are working on scholarly and creative cultural change processes as Kwantlen moves from a University College to a University. We support faculty (and, therefore, student learning) with Mentorship for Scholarship through interdisciplinary faculty groups. Overall, our intent is to develop reflective practice in research - parallel to reflective practitioners in teaching - and to practice effective dissemination of our scholarship across varying contexts and at all stages of the process.

For this initiative we are partnered with: The Ohio State University (coordinating institution), Queen's University, Ryerson University, Southeast Missouri State University, and the University of Glasgow.