The Council’s second workshop brought together representatives from all of Ontario’s 24 colleges of applied arts and technology to discuss learning quality. The HEQCO/College Dialogue on Learning Research – Present and Future was held on October 17, 2007 and focused on the current state of the colleges’ learning related data gathering and research, sharing of successful practices in college learning research and considered future research that could contribute to the enhancement of higher education.
Ultimately, feedback garnered from workshop participants was overwhelmingly positive. This outcome reflects the significant contributions of our moderator, Richard Hook, who organized the conference, chaired the proceedings and prepared the rapporteur’s report that forms part of this Web publication. His report is a succinct yet comprehensive account of the day’s presentations and discussion.
The workshop was organized around five questions:
- What do we think we know about learning in higher education and its measurement?
- What evidence confirms these conclusions?
- How have these findings been used by Ontario colleges?
- What else do we need to know about learning?
- What promising directions of future research should be pursued?
HEQCO wishes to thank Richard Hook for his valuable work, the panelists for their presentations, and all those who attended and participated in the dialogue.