Sparking a life-long love for better engineering education

SPARK-ENG

The Scholarship of Pedagogy and Application of Research Knowledge — Engineering program (SPARK-ENG) uses evidence-based practices to improve instructional practice, classroom interactions, assessment and understanding of graduate attributes for faculty members and instructors in the Faculty of Engineering. 

Open to all faculty members and academic teaching staff interested in developing their teaching practice, the SPARK-ENG program is led by an instructional coach who helps participants develop learner-centred instructional strategies and enhance undergraduate engineering teaching skills. 

The program encourages active participation, collaboration and continuous reflection across one’s career through a mix of in-person workshops, one-on-one observation and an end-of-program engineering education symposium. 

“I registered in the SPARK-ENG program shortly after I joined the Mechanical Engineering Department as an assistant professor in 2022. I strongly believe that continued learning for educators is key to effective teaching, and the SPARK-ENG program is the ideal setting for sharing ideas between instructors, improving teaching skills and practices, and learning new teaching tools and strategies to develop engaging lessons for students. Throughout the SPARK-ENG program, participants realize that effective learning emerges from demonstrating your passion for teaching, preparing your lessons, receiving feedback from your peers, and most importantly, listening to feedback from your students.” 

SPARK-ENG TA

The Scholarship of pedagogy and application of research knowledge — Engineering teaching assistant instructional support program (SPARK-ENG TA) aims to enhance effective instruction, student interaction, assessment and understanding of educational practice as it relates to the laboratory/seminar environment in the Faculty of Engineering.

SPARK-ENG TA is open to graduate students interested in developing their teaching practice. Similar to the SPARK-ENG program, the SPARK ENG TA program uses evidence-based practices to encourage practical strategies of instruction based on active participation, collaboration and reflection across one’s career. The instructional coach helps participating graduate students enhance their instructional practice through weekly in-person community of practice meetings, observing and providing direction for lab and seminar teaching, and offering non-evaluative feedback of workplace learning tasks 

“My experience with the SPARK-ENG TA Program has been truly transformative. The program’s emphasis on evidence-based, student-centred teaching practices has taught me that catering only to students' preferred learning methods can limit their growth. Instead, I've learned to create a balanced approach that challenges students to develop adaptability and cognitive flexibility. This insight has empowered me to design more inclusive and engaging learning environments and enhanced my instructional skills and confidence in the classroom.”

- Noon Hussein, SPARK-ENG TA participant and PhD student in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department

Duncan Buchanan, SPARK-ENG instructional coach, has observed increased confidence and improved teaching skills in those who take the SPARK-ENG and SPARK-ENG TA programs: 

“As the SPARK-ENG instructional coach, it has been amazing to work with engineering faculty and graduate students who bring the same passion, brilliance and dedication that they demonstrate for their field and research into the classroom. Participants in the program clearly recognize the importance of providing engaging, relevant and meaningful engineering education for our undergraduate students. The future of engineering is literally in their lecture theatres and laboratories, and SPARK-ENG participants have shown they’re up to the challenge of stepping outside their comfort zones to examine, reflect on and improve their pedagogical practice. As a result, their students have been part of an educational experience that includes and values them as an active participant in their learning. I truly believe that the SPARK-ENG program is a fantastic resource that all instructors should access at some point in their engineering teaching career!” 

Looking to spark your own love for improved teaching? Email sparkeng@ualberta.ca to learn more and register for the next session.