The Task Force is mandated to re-examine the UAP Priority on 21st Century Learning broadly, and to consider in particular:
- the future shape and role of in-person learning as a core element of what York University offers
- how to support the growth of high-quality technology enhanced learning to create additional flexibility for students, while protecting instructor time and energy for the most pedagogically valuable activities
- advancing decolonization, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the design of future pedagogy
- how to continue growing experiential learning opportunities, including work-integrated learning, to meet our UAP goal of offering this to every student regardless of program
- incorporating attention to the UN Sustainable Development Goals or sustainability education more broadly
- preserving academic integrity in an era of technological disruption and the implications for assessment of learning
The deliverables for the Task Force are:
- to foster pan-University collegial discussion of the future of pedagogy including in Senate and its Committees
- to recommend actions that the University should prioritize in order to scale up successful pedagogical adaptations that enhance the quality of learning experiences for York’s diverse students as technology becomes ubiquitous in higher education.
The Task Force will be asked to undertake the following actions in fulfillment of its mandate:
- review relevant scholarly and other research literature, student and faculty surveys, and institutional comparator data, and prepare a summary environmental scan on material insights and information relevant to York’s consideration of its own future directions; consider how best to make this research available to the University community as an archive of resources for future use
- assemble information from Faculty Councils on successful innovations and how they are approaching post-pandemic pedagogical design, at a course, program, unit, and Faculty level
- map current supports for pedagogical innovation at York, and compare to peers to identify gaps and distinctive strengths
- hold consultations to share early research results with the academic community focusing specifically on sector trends and how Faculties are approaching these questions at York to date; potentially use an interactive online platform such as Padlet to gather input on key questions surfaced by the Task Force and recommendations going forward.
Research, administrative and project management support will be provided to the Task Force to assist with its work.