Guardian Life Limited (GLL) and Guardian Holdings Limited (GHL) in conjunction with the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, held its 2nd Premium Teaching Lecture at the Mona Visitors Lodge, UWI, recently. The lecture which alternates yearly with the Premium Teaching Award are both administered through the Instructional Development Unit (IDU) of the university and aims at enhancing the teaching process at the UWI while offering recognition of the outstanding accomplishments of academic staff.
A STELLAR ACHIEVEMENT: Mr. Earl Moore, President & CEO, Guardian Life Limited (GLL), presents a plaque to Dr. Beryl Allen, former Director, Instructional Development Unit (IDU), University of the West Indies at the Premium Teaching Lecture held recently at the Mona Visitors’ Lodge UWI, Mona. Guardian Life is recognizing Dr. Allen for her outstanding contribution to the Premium Teaching/Lecture Series from its inception in 2003.
The Premium Teaching/Award Lecture Programme which is now in its 7th year at the St. Augustine Campus, had its scope expanded to include the 3 campuses including Cave Hill, Barbados which hosted its 2nd such event on October 6, 2006. The programme is testimony to the achievements possible through partnerships between educational institutions and the private sector.
This year’s lecture at the Mona Campus was presented by Dr. Joy Mighty, President, Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE) and Director, Centre for Teaching and Learning Queen’s University, Canada. The topic of her presentation was “Breaking Down the Town and Gown Syndrome: Educational Reform in the 21st Century.” The presentation explored how the realities of the 21st century are breaking down the town-and-gown syndrome and transforming educational practice throughout the world. It also identified specific political, economic, and socio-cultural trends and features of the new millennium that require new ways of thinking about education and about the relationships between educational institutions and their communities.
The town-and-gown syndrome also represents a traditional paradigm of post-secondary education that is characterized by somewhat esoteric curricula and transmission-based pedagogies whose relevance to the needs of the external, non-academic community sometimes appears distant and far removed. The new paradigm offers insights into how to engage learners with their own life experiences by providing academically-based community service to real external communities. In contrast to traditional information-dissemination models of teaching, community service learning has the potential to transform classrooms into learning sites that depart from individualistic learning into collaborative learning experiences that promote civic engagement, build communities, and bridge the gaps between educational institution and their surrounding communities.
A CONTRIBUTION TO EDUCATION: (From left) Joseph Pereira, Deputy Principal, University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona, Professor Nigel Harris, Vice Chancellor, UWI Mona, Dr. Joy Mighty, Director, Centre for Learning and Teaching, Queen’s University, Canada, Earl Moore, President & CEO, Guardian Life Limited (GLL) and Dr. Mervin Chisholm, Programme Director, Instructional Development Unit (IDU) UWI, Mona. The occasion was the Premium Teaching Lecture held recently at the Mona Visitors’ Lodge UWI, Mona. The lecture which alternates yearly with the Premium Teaching Award is a collaborative effort among Guardian Holdings Limited (GHL), GLL and UWI aimed at enhancing the teaching process at the UWI while offering recognition of the outstanding accomplishments of academic staff.
Speaking at the function, Earl Moore, President and CEO, Guardian Life noted that Dr Mighty’s topic was also instructive to the business sector, “as we cannot afford to be disjuncted from the communities or societies within which our profits are made. The case for, and benefits of social and community involvement, have long been established. Hence, setting policies, objectives and activities to contribute to our business environment, is a strategic imperative of any forward thinking corporation.” He went further to mention that, “we at Guardian Life are committed to social development primarily through support of activities which improve or are related to, education, the natural environment, youth and community initiated activities. We are mindful of the current rounds of consultations which should result in the 2009 publication of the international standards on social responsibility, namely, the ISO 26000. This will further put business practices in the spotlight and provide a benchmark by which stakeholders can measure our performance and activities.”
