Internationally renowned scholar to speak at Laurier about the impact of the pandemic on higher education and the future of teaching and learning

Aug. 15, 2022

Teaching and Learning at Wilfrid Laurier University is welcoming instructors back to campus this fall with an inspiring talk by Josh Eyler, an internationally recognized expert in post-secondary teaching and learning and the future of education.

Eyler will speak at a hybrid online and in-person event on Sept. 14 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. He will acknowledge the impacts of the pandemic on student, faculty and staff mental health and the ways the pandemic has permanently changed higher education. He will also highlight opportunities to reconsider traditional approaches to teaching and learning in favour of more research-informed, inclusive and student-centred approaches and the importance of moving forward supportively and compassionately.

“The upheavals of the past two years have been challenging for everyone in the university community, and we are all now looking ahead to the upcoming academic year with a mix of excitement and trepidation,” says Joseph Beer, director of Teaching, Learning and Development and the emcee for the event. “We have a unique opportunity right now to take stock and consider how teaching and learning at Laurier could be transformed moving forward. I hope Josh Eyler’s talk will bring our community together to join in these important discussions.”

“Ignite Your Teaching: Educational Development presents Josh Eyler” will be held simultaneously in person in Brantford in the Carnegie building, room CB100, in Waterloo in the Peters building, room P224, as well as online via Zoom. The event is free and open to all members of Laurier’s teaching community, including full-time faculty members, contract teaching faculty, and staff and students in teaching roles. Registration is required.

The talk will be followed by a question-and-answer period. Light refreshments will be served on both Waterloo and Brantford campuses. 

Eyler is a clinical assistant professor of Teacher Education at the University of Mississippi, where he is also the director of faculty development and the director of the Think Forward Quality Enhancement Plan. He is the author of How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories behind Effective College Teaching. His upcoming book, Scarlet Letters: How Grades are Harming Children and Young Adults, and What We Can Do About It, focuses on grades, student mental health and alternative assessments.

Eyler is a sought-after speaker on topics including the science of learning, evidence-based pedagogy, compassion in education, student mental health, grading and the future of education.

Eyler has worked on teaching and learning initiatives at Columbus State University, George Mason University and Rice University and spoken at universities across the United States, including Yale University, the University of Texas and Johns Hopkins University.