McMaster hosts Symposium on Student-Centred Learning

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/MDCL_entrance.jpg” caption=”The Symposium on Student-Centred Learning in the Life and Health Sciences: Beyond the Small Class Setting will be held on June 15 and 16 at the MDCL. File photo.”]There will be no plenaries, PowerPoint presentations or posters at the Symposium on Student-Centred Learning in the Life and Health Sciences: Beyond the Small Class Setting on June 15 and 16 at the MDCL.

The student-run Symposium will focus on three major issues in education: content, process and outcomes.

Undergraduate and graduate students were asked to identify what elements either enhanced or hindered their learning at McMaster. Using this list of enhancers and hindrances, students have framed cases, scenarios and problems that will be used to spark discussion.

All participants (faculty, staff, post-doctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students) will be divided into groups chaired by two students (undergraduate or graduate) who will act as tutors. These students have been drawn from diverse programs, including Bachelor of Health Sciences (Hons), Biochemistry, Biology, Biology-Pharmacology and Medical Sciences. All sessions will be organized in a problem-based format.

Each group will have invited faculty who will provide expert comments when needed. These invitees have been drawn from a number of countries (Australia, Denmark, Finland, Spain, the U.K., the U.S. and Venezuela) and include physiologists, pharmacologists, neuroscientists, biologists and physicians.

All of them have considerable experience in promoting active learning in the classroom, especially large classroom settings, which are becoming more prevalent at universities while small group learning is rapidly becoming a luxury. The invitees have written popular texts in their own disciplines, serve on editorial boards of educational journals and have enviable publication records in the scholarship of teaching.

Following the deliberations, a wrap-up session will be held, again chaired by an undergraduate student where the participants will summarize their learning experiences.

The Symposium has been funded by the Office of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic), Office of the Dean, Faculty of Science, Office of the Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Health Sciences, the Bachelor of Health Sciences (Hons) program and the Centre for Leadership and Learning.

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[img_inline align="right" src="http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/MDCL_entrance.jpg" caption="The Symposium on Student-Centred Learning in the Life and Health Sciences: Beyond the Small Class Setting will be held on June 15 and 16 at the MDCL. File photo."]There will be no plenaries, PowerPoint presentations or posters at the Symposium on Student-Centred Learning in the Life and Health Sciences: Beyond the Small Class Setting on June 15 and 16 at the MDCL. <br />
 <br />
<p>The student-run Symposium will focus on three major issues in education:  content, process and outcomes. <br />
<br />
<p>Undergraduate and graduate students were asked to identify what elements either enhanced or hindered their learning at McMaster. Using this list of enhancers and hindrances, students have framed cases, scenarios and problems that will be used to spark discussion.  <br />
<br />
<p>All participants (faculty, staff, post-doctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students) will be divided into groups chaired by two students (undergraduate or graduate) who will act as tutors. These students have been drawn from diverse programs, including Bachelor of Health Sciences (Hons), Biochemistry, Biology, Biology-Pharmacology and Medical Sciences. All sessions will be organized in a problem-based format. <br />
 <br />
<P>Each group will have invited faculty who will provide expert comments when needed.  These invitees have been drawn from a number of countries (Australia, Denmark, Finland, Spain, the U.K., the U.S. and Venezuela) and include physiologists, pharmacologists, neuroscientists, biologists and physicians. <br />
<br />
<p>All of them have considerable experience in promoting active learning in the classroom, especially large classroom settings, which are becoming more prevalent at universities while small group learning is rapidly becoming a luxury. The invitees have written popular texts in their own disciplines, serve on editorial boards of educational journals and have enviable publication records in the scholarship of teaching. <br />
 <br />
<p>Following the deliberations, a wrap-up session will be held, again chaired by an undergraduate student where the participants will summarize their learning experiences.<br />
<br />
<p>The Symposium has been funded by the Office of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic), Office of the Dean, Faculty of Science, Office of the Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Health Sciences, the Bachelor of Health Sciences (Hons) program and the Centre for Leadership and Learning.<br />

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