Opening Plenary
Connecting, Inspiring, Motivating: Can Statistics Help Us Understand Student Engagement?
Dr. Christopher Evans, Vice Provost, Academic
Dr. Arne Kislenko, Department of History, National 3M Teaching Fellow
With assistance from Ryerson’s teaching chairs, University Planning, and the LTO
The National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE) provides interesting and timely data about the efforts students make to engage with their education and the efforts institutions make to create an environment that supports student learning. Universities in Ontario participate in this process and results are compared across institutions. Ryerson’s results, while generally positive, provide us with insights into how students view us as an engaging institution. However, like any tool, the NSSE must be interpreted and this interpretation must be done with care. Statistics, such as those provided by NSSE, are helpful but do not provide the entire story. In this plenary, Dr. Evans will discuss Ryerson’s NSSE results around student engagement. Dr. Reed, the LTO director, will offer some qualitative insights about student engagement, provided by the university teaching chairs, Ryerson faculty, and based on scholarly research. Dr. Kislenko then will offer insights into his unique style of engagement inside and outside of the classroom.
Dr. Christopher Evans
As vice provost, academic, Dr. Evans plays a lead role in planning and implementing key academic initiatives at Ryerson, and provides strategic advice and recommendations on academic issues affecting the university. He is a key contributor to curriculum development at Ryerson and works to ensure that the curriculum engages students to learn effectively through his work with the LTO, the Academic Integrity Office and the Experiential Learning Office. Previously, he was associate dean in the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Science (FEAS) where he worked on new initiatives that cut across traditional faculty boundaries, such as the MA in Photographic Preservation and Collections Management. In addition Dr. Evans served as the chair of the Council of Ontario Deans of Arts and Science.
Dr. Arne Kislenko
Dr. Kislenko received the honour of becoming a 3M National Teaching Fellow in 2011. In addition, he was inducted as an honorary member of the Golden Key International Honour Society (along with such notables as Eli Weisel, Roberta Bondar, Bill Clinton and The Most Reverend Desmond Tutu), was named in the MacLean’s survey as one of Ryerson’s top professors on four occasions, was chosen as TVOntario’s Best Lecturer in 2005, and, in 2007, was nominated for the OCUFA Teaching Award, and won both the Ontario government’s student nominated LIFT Awards and Ryerson University’s Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching. Kislenko says in his own statement of teaching philosophy that engaging students means making them understand that they are a part of history, that history shapes the present, that history lives, and that history is a geography of both time and space. In this regard he has excelled. He is founder, fundraiser and chair of the History Travel Award, a scholarship he started with money awarded as part of the TVO Best Lecturer series that sends students to the Freie Universität Berlin International Summer Program for course credit and travel in Europe. On campus he has created and manages the International Issues Discussion Series, and create/works with several student groups that are “experiential” in design. He created and serves as the faculty advisor for the Alternative Spring Break, which sends Ryerson students to work abroad with non-governmental organizations. He has worked tirelessly to develop the strategy underlying the program, as well as write proposals and fundraise in support of the program. Dr. Kislenko continues to inspire student learning.
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