Today, the Centre for Leadership in Learning formally opens its new space on the fifth
floor of Mills Memorial Library, where all of its staff are now located in order to better
serve campus needs.

Previously, the centre was located in five different areas around campus. As a result, it
was often a challenge for McMaster faculty, graduate students and staff to access the
services and resources that the centre has to offer. According to Sue Vajoczki, the
director of CLL, the new office represents more than just a new home for those charged
with encouraging, supporting and collaborating with the teaching community in the
scholarly exploration, implementation, evaluation and dissemination of teaching and
learning practices.

“By bringing everyone under the same roof, we've been able to develop a one-stop
location for anyone seeking our assistance,” she said. “For example, if you've
encountered a challenge in your teaching you can visit the centre and explore a solution
with an education consultant, an instructional designer and a technology expert all in
one space, and all at one time.

The new space, called the “Teaching Commons”, allows faculty, teaching assistants and
staff to come together to learn and talk about teaching and learning. Within the area is a
flexible classroom where faculty, staff and teaching assistants can better understand
learning and experiment with learning technologies, such as Avenue to Learn, iClickers
and smartboards. The main office for the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher
Education and the university liaison librarians are also located within the Teaching
Commons.

“We've really tried to make teaching and learning very public,” said Vajoczki. “We are
making the resources needed to engage in evidence-informed pedagogy easily
accessible to the University community. It's a space in which we can value and celebrate
teaching and learning.”

The CLL open house is scheduled to run from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and will include welcome
remarks from Provost Ilene Busch-Vishniac, University Librarian Jeff Trzeciak and the
President of the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Arshad Ahmed,
as well as video presentations featuring McMaster's 3M National Teaching Fellows.