About Us

The Centre’s mission is to develop and enhance teaching excellence at VIU, supporting inclusive, innovative, and engaging student-centered learning.

1. Respect – we listen actively to the needs of the University community, recognizing the diversity within our faculty and student bodies
2. Accessibility – we provide multiple routes in to the support we offer, and encourage the development of teaching practices that ensure that students can fully access the curriculum
3. Flexibility – we meet faculty where they are in their practice to help them accomplish their teaching goals, and we support a suite of tools that can expand teaching and learning opportunities for faculty and students
4. Collaboration – we seek to build meaningful and reciprocal relationships based on trust and shared goals within our VIU community, and to help members of our community share their accomplishments with one another
5. Innovation – we bring a forward thinking and creative approach to exploring teaching and learning challenges, and we lead by example in engaging with new tools and practices

1. Engage the VIU community in discussion, development, and scholarship of effective learning and teaching practices
2. Recognize and respond to the teaching and learning needs of individuals and the wider institution
3. Promote evidence-based teaching practices to ensure high quality learning experiences for all
4. Provide access to innovative and accessible learning technologies to support teaching and learning, where appropriate
5. Celebrate and share successes in teaching and learning practices, whether in the classroom or beyond

Engagement with faculty to help enhance courses and programs for optimal student learning through:

• Intensive Learning Institutes
• Course and Program Redesign Sessions
• Program Mapping and Gap Analysis Activities
• Learning Outcomes Development
• Program Review Self-Study Support
• Learning Series
• 1:1 Consultations

Institutional-wide events and resources on teaching, learning and pedagogies for post-secondary learning such as:

• Annual VIU Teaching and Learning Conference
• Faculty Teaching and Learning Handbook
• New Faculty Orientations
• Lending Library Resources

Management of the following learning technologies for students and faculty:

• VIULearn - Integrated Learning System for Blended, Fully Online and Web-enhanced Courses
• VIUBlogs- Blogging, ePortfolio and Website Platform
• VIUTube - Streaming Video Platform
• Online Rooms-  Synchronous / Virtual Classrooms
• Web Help Desk - Support / Request System

Support and knowledge for faculty on:

• Blended and Online Learning Consultations
• Finding, Using, Adapting and Creating Open Educational Resources
• Functions and Operations of VIULearn Online Course for Open Learning
• Classroom Response Systems (Clickers)
• 1:1 Consultations
• Resources: Videos, Handouts and Instructions for VIULearn and Other Technologies