President’s Award winner says best classrooms are in caves

A week in Iceland, a week in the classroom, a week in Kentucky, a week in the classroom.

For John Maclachlan, that’s an ideal month of teaching – and not for the reasons you might think.

“Students relate to what is practical around them, so I get them out there to see it,” he says. “It’s not a vacation for them, it’s a learning experience.”

It’s this innovative approach to teaching that has earned the assistant professor of geography and earth sciences a President’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teaching and Learning, to be presented this week at Convocation.

Martin Dooley, a professor of economics, Robert Fleisig, an assistant professor in the Walter G. Booth School of Engineering Practice, and Kimberly Dej, an assistant professor of biology will also be honoured with the award.

“There’s always going to be a place for lecturing, but students enjoy engaging with something, whether it be technology, online quizzes, etc.,” he says. “Whatever it is, I find that they like a way to reinforce what you talked about. That reinforcement is really helpful.”

Maclachlan uses a blend of experimental learning, field work, and hands-on tasks to help students visualize and apply concepts.

For the past two years he has arranged a popular field trip to Kentucky that allows students to research and explore caves.

He has also created online modules and 22 different courses for McMaster University, Brock University and the University of Guelph.

2014 President Teaching award recipients:

Dr. Kimberly Dej, Professor in the Department of Biology, and the Associate Dean of the Life Sciences Program

Dr. Martin Dooley, Professor in the Department of Economic

Dr. Robert Fleisig, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Engineering

Dr. John Maclachlan, Assistant Professor in the School of Geography and Earth Science