News Releases

Professor Stephen Brookfield speaks on Quality Teaching

For Release Upon Receipt - October 8, 2009

St. Augustine


Award-winning educator draws full house at UWI St Augustine

The University of the West Indies (UWI), in collaboration with Guardian Life of the Caribbean Limited, hosted a Premium Open Lecture themed “Reflective Practice: The Core of Quality Teaching”, presented by Dr Stephen Brookfield, Distinguished Professor, University of St Thomas, Minnesota. The open lecture, which took place on Friday 2nd October at 5:30 p.m. at the Daaga Auditorium, UWI St Augustine, attracted a full house of teachers, educators, students and specially invited guests.

Professor Brookfield is currently based at the University of St Thomas in Minneapolis, St Paul, where he recently won the university’s Diversity Leadership Teaching & Research Award and also the John Ireland Presidential Award for Outstanding Achievement as a Teacher/Scholar.

Professor Clement Sankat, UWI St Augustine Campus Principal opened the evening’s proceedings by reiterating the importance of Professor Brookfield’s lecture in the context of the University’s five-year Strategic Plan (2007-2012).

“Developing a culture of quality and service is very important to us at UWI St. Augustine.  As Campus Principal, I have been driving a process for continuous improvement not only in the areas of teaching, learning and research but also in administration, governance, physical infrastructure and facilities, and the range of other service areas that support the work of our Campus.  This transformation of culture and processes is central to the implementation of our Strategic Plan and to the achievement of our vision to be the university of first choice in the region,” said Professor Sankat.

Anand Pascal, Chief Finance Officer of Guardian Life, echoed Professor’s Sankat’s commitment to corporate social responsibility.

“The Guardian Holdings Group recognises the obligation we have to be a corporate exemplar in the region and to make meaningful contributions not only to the accumulation of wealth for our customers and shareholders, but also to the development of the societies in which we operate. We feel certain that with the continuation of creative collaborative ventures like this, particularly between our leading tertiary education institutions and private sector organizations that our region will (and continue to) produce global leaders of consistent excellence in every sphere of achievement,” Pascal said.

Now in its eleventh year, the Premium Open Lecture is alternated annually with the Premium Teaching Awards. The Premium Teaching Awards has featured some top educators from universities around the world, including Dr. Patricia Cross Professor Emerita of Higher Education, University of Berkley, California;  Professor Dan Pratt, Professor of Adult and Higher Education in the Department of Educational Studies and the Acting Director of Clinical Educator Fellowships in Medical Education in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia; and Professor Bridget Brereton, Professor of History, The Faculty of Humanities and Education, UWI St. Augustine. 

Caira Cudjoe, Corporate Communications Manager of Guardian Life, who delivered the Vote of Thanks at the Open Lecture, took the opportunity to remind lecturers to start pulling their portfolios together for the Premium Teaching Awards so that they can be ready for submission next year. 

“It is the only way you can have an opportunity to be part of the Premium Teaching Awards!” said Cudjoe.

For event photos, click http://www.flickr.com/photos/theuwi/sets/72157622397546473/show/. For more information, please contact the Instructional Development Unit (IDU) at (868) 663-9236 or 662-2002 Ext. 2611, or contact Guardian Life’s Corporate Communications Department at 632-5433 Ext. 2051 or 2058.

For more UWI News, click http://sta.uwi.edu/news. For UWI photos, click http://www.flickr.com/photos/theuwi.

 

About Stephen Brookfield

Stephen Brookfield is currently based at the University of St Thomas in Minneapolis-St Paul, where he recently won the university’s Diversity Leadership Teaching & Research Award and also the John Ireland Presidential Award for Outstanding Achievement as a Teacher/Scholar. Since beginning his teaching career in 1970, he has worked in Europe and North America, teaching in a variety of college settings. He as written twelve books on adult learning, teaching, critical thinking, discussion methods and critical theory, four of which have won the Cyril O. Houle World Award for Literature in Adult Education (in 1986, 1989, 1996 and 2005). For more information, please click www.stephenbrookfield.com.

 

About UWI

Over the last six decades, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest and most longstanding higher education provider in the English-speaking Caribbean, with main campuses in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and Centres in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Christopher (St Kitts) & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines. UWI recently launched its Open Campus, a virtual campus with over 50 physical site locations across the region, serving over 20 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. UWI is an international university with faculty and students from over 40 countries and collaborative links with over 60 universities around the world. Through its seven Faculties, UWI offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Pure & Applied Sciences, Science and Agriculture, and Social Sciences.

Contact

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