In 2013, UBC launched the Flexible Learning Initiative, which aims to provide a coherent and agile yet deliberate approach to transforming and enhancing student learning experience. Flexible Learning is about enabling pedagogical and logistical flexibility in higher education, often facilitated by technology.
With the rapid advancement of technology, Flexible Learning has emerged as a new facet of teaching and learning. Within ever-changing, multimodal, and dynamic learning environments, it is critical and timely for higher education to revisit necessary elements of student success and approaches to improve pedagogical practices. UBC has a long history of innovation in pedagogy with appropriate use of technology.
Goals of the Flexible Learning Initiative
- Enhance educational outcomes for students, building on existing UBC expertise and strengths;
- Enable greater access to UBC learning;
- Improve university operating effectiveness through new learning models.
Sharing evidence on best practices
There are various opportunities to share best practices and resources on Flexible Learning within the UBC community:
In the Flexible Learning Showcase, UBC faculty members talk about how they were developing their courses and what challenges they encountered.
The CTLT Institute offers an opportunity to network with colleagues and share practice and experiences around teaching, learning, and technology.
The Flipped Lab learning community is supported and led by a nucleus of instructors who have their own experiences and approaches that they can bring to bear in the workshops, which is held every couple of months.
Edubytes (a free e-newsletter)
Edubytes is a free e-newsletter distributed approximately once a week to the teaching and learning community. The newsletter features articles on emerging trends in higher education.