Teaching and Learning at McMaster University

Congratulations on your appointment and welcome to the McMaster teaching and learning community!

McMaster University is a diverse and vibrant post-secondary institution with over 33,000 students and 1,500 full-time faculty across six Faculties and the Arts and Science Program. McMaster is known for educational innovations like problem-based learning and is home to many nationally recognized professors. With its deep commitment to student-centered learning, all instructors at McMaster (e.g., sessional faculty, Contractually Limited Appointment instructors, teaching-track or permanent professors, tenure-track or tenured professors) play a vital role in creating and maintaining an exceptional student learning experience.

At present, four areas of impact are the foci of the institution’s teaching and learning objectives:

• partnered and interdisciplinary learning,
• inclusive and scholarly teaching,
• active and flexible learning spaces, and
• holistic and personalized student experience.

You can read all about these in McMaster’s Teaching and Learning Strategy. For a more in depth understanding of the McMaster teaching and learning context, consider reviewing the information and resources (e.g., Digital Learning Strategic Framework) provided on the Teaching & Learning tab on McMaster’s Academic Excellence website.

McMaster instructors have access to a wide variety of tools and resources to support them in their teaching (e.g., Microsoft Office 365, MOSAIC, Avenue to Learn). This handbook, created by The Paul R. MacPherson Institute for Leadership, Innovation and Excellence in Teaching, will review these tools and resources, serving as a quick reference for most things teaching and learning at McMaster.