On June 11, 2013 C21 Canada presented Chris Whittaker of Dawson College with a Shifting Minds National Award for distinctive achievement in the field of 21st Century learning and innovation. C21 Canada’s Shifting Minds awards are presented to recognize the work of individuals and organizations in advancing 21st century models of learning in Canada consistent with C21 Canada’s vision and framework document, Shifting Minds (see wwww.c21canada.org). In presenting the award, C21 Canada’s President John Kershaw highlighted Chris Whittaker’s accomplishments in advancing 21st century models of learning and teaching in the field of physics, through the pursuit of creative and student-centred pedagogies and the design of innovative learning environments. The award was presented at the SALTISE conference at Dawson College, in front of a number of Chris Whittaker’s colleagues and peers.
Chris has been a physics teacher at Dawson College for over 15 years. According to his colleagues, what makes Chris special are 4 distinctive qualities:
- His ongoing efforts to improve his students’ learning.
- His continuing commitment to improving his teaching practice.
- His commitment to advance the field of physics education through research and innovation.
- His mentoring activities related to his colleagues.
The focus of Chris’s teaching is the creation of appropriate learning activities and environments. He designs activities to engage students from both a conceptual and problem solving perspective. He develops learning activities that keep the individual student in mind while leveraging the benefits of collaborative engagement of peers. He leaves room for his students to have fun and see the beauty in learning physics. His students say that by sharing his many personal experiences he makes his teaching meaningful to them while also making him more approachable.
Perhaps the most important testimonials come from Chris’s students:
- Chris cares that you do well as an individual. That you do well and succeed for yourself. He wants you to improve. It’s… the best feeling [for a student].
- Chris cares whether I pass or fail … He wants us to succeed as students. He doesn’t do all these examples in different ways and use all this technology… just for fun… I mean it is fun, but he does it so we can learn better, learn more and that’s great!
- I think Chris reinforces critical thinking. With the way he does problems and all the examples he shows. I think he wants you to actually think and figure out what is going on which is why I think we do a lot of the examples without actual numbers.
- Chris just goes home and [seems to] spend his time trying to improve stuff that we didn’t understand. … That makes you want to learn.
Chris has played a major leadership role in designing two Active Learning Classrooms that integrate technology with teaching and learning. A major consequence of his work has been to support his colleagues’ in engaging the Active learning Classroom model. In the process of doing so, Chris has been instrumental in creating a vibrant and growing community of practice among teachers who teach in these student centred and technology rich learning environments.
Chris’ reputation of being an exceptional teacher and innovator has spread beyond Quebec. Last summer he was asked to present his Active Learning Classroom initiative to students at the University of British Columbia. This fall he was recruited to prepare a series of workshops for the Engineering Faculty at McGill University who are promoting the use of active learning among their faculty members.
Chris Whittaker is clearly an innovator, a leader and a collaborator, three traits that have earned him recognition by others, and ones that C21 Canada also wished to acknowledge. C21 Canada is honoured to recognize a true leader and innovator in the field of education.
