Abstract

If North American society is to continue to thrive, it requires active and engaged citizens who have an enthusiasm for learning. In order for our youth to make significant societal contributions, an enthusiasm for learning must extend beyond their formal education. A positive predisposition to learning is dependent on many factors that include a faculty that understands the nature of the modern learner and how to engage that learner in meaningful and lasting ways. Engagement of a growing range of learners requires the thoughtful design of exemplary teaching environments. At the core of this challenge lies a reconsideration of curriculum; a concerted effort to encourage inquiry in the context of socially-important questions. In this age, the leaders of post-secondary institutions recognise that institutional change must be responsive, responsible and rapid in order to meet the increasing demands of the knowledge economy. In such a setting, how do institutional leaders encourage and support pedagogical and curricular change so that it is embraced and advanced by faculty who, for the most part have been encouraged to value research over teaching? This paper introduces the topic of institutional change. Using lessons learned from the introduction of a notebook computer initiative close to a decade ago, the authors provide a retrospective of the successes and challenges that an institution has faced as it implemented change.