The purpose of the Tomlinson Project in University-Level Science Education is to promote and enhance all aspects of Science Teaching and Learning within the University, and to ensure the widest possible distribution and appreciation of successful and innovative teaching practices. Although the Project has its primary focus in the Faculty of Science, it also actively collaborates with other Faculties that are concerned with Science Teaching and Learning, including the Faculties of Education, Medicine, Engineering, and Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.
One of our important functions is to bring current ideas and practices of educational research to bear on the teaching of science to university students at McGill. The Project is a resource for faculty and graduate students who wish to improve their teaching, and serves as a means to raise awareness of Science Teaching and Learning issues in the University as a whole.
Our goals are:
- The initiation or identification of innovative teaching and learning activities or projects to communicate new and better ways of teaching science, including, but not limited to, those involving the use of Information Technology
- The monitoring of these activities, so as to provide, where possible, appropriate human and financial support
- The evaluation of these activities or projects using the appropriate methods and criteria of Educational Research
- Scholarly research and program assessment
- The promotion of these activities to the Faculty, and when appropriate, their adaptation to the commercial marketplace
- Providing professional development resources and programs to Science faculty and graduate students who are involved in teaching
The Project funds the Tomlinson Chair in University Science Teaching. It also has provision for a Visiting Professorship, for student and postdoctoral fellowships, and for technology support, as well as for supporting infrastructure.