Faculty of Science launches living library of teaching strategies

The Living Library: Teaching Strategies from McGill Classrooms is a new initiative from the Office of Science Education to support faculty with planning and delivering courses.

Just when the end of the fall semester is in sight, preparations for the remote winter semester are getting underway, adding to what has already been a hectic term. For many, this means adapting their courses for a rapidly approaching January start date. Figuring out which remote teaching strategies or technologies to use can take up time that is already spread thin juggling other responsibilities.

Building on faculty experiences with remote delivery this past semester, the Office of Science Education is launching the Living Library, a collection of teaching strategies from instructors in the Faculty of Science intended as a resource/inspiration for remote course preparation. The library contains short videos of faculty talking about adapted or new strategies that they have implemented into their remote courses. The strategies are broadly applicable across class sizes, discipline, and level.

The first installment of the Living Library focuses on strategies that can be used on the first day of class to engage and connect with students. Stay tuned for future installments that will explore other course elements. Until then, we hope the Living Library will help to ease some of the workload of preparing for the upcoming term so that you may enjoy a bit more time away from the computer during the holiday break!