Education

C M Y K PAGE 4 4 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT • SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2020 EDUCATION GUIDE U N I V E R S I T É D E S A I N T - B O N I F A C E Façonner l'avenir par la formation de professionnels bilingues hautement qualifiés Building the future by shaping bilingual, highly qualified professionals. /ustboniface ustboniface.ca The next step in your education en français! IMAGE COURTESY OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM (LEFT)/ SUPPLIED PHOTO (RIGHT) A drawing of a London coffeehouse, c. 1690–1700 (left). Right, students role-play patrons at a Restoration coffeehouse for the course Literature of the Restoration and 18th Century at the University of Manitoba. BY SEAN MOORE Coffee. No fancy version of it — just coffee with grounds that stain mugs and teeth and tongues. Here's tea, if you prefer. There may be some chocolate on hand and tobacco, if you desire. Now gather 'round the large table and listen to something provocative and rabble-rousing. No need to be quiet. This is a raucous affair. You're in a Restoration coffee- house; act like it. O f course, you could just read about English coffee- houses that began open- ing up in the 1600s. Books can describe these bright, boister- ous dens that invited anyone and everyone to come and hear the local news and gossip told by travellers, and to engage in debate on any top- ic. But wouldn't it be more enrich- ing to live it? That's what Dr. Erin Keating thought. She's a professor in the de- partment of English, theatre, film & media at the University of Manitoba. In 2019 she inspired her students to organize their own pop-up Resto - ration coffeehouse. The students ea- gerly researched, planned and re-en- acted an event, inviting the public to join in. Based on their research, the students role-played as typical cof- feehouse patrons — quack doctors, snobbish aristocrats, authors, mer- chants — and performed debates, short skits and literature readings. "It's natural to ask why you are learning about something and why it is important," says Alexa Watson, a student in Keating's Literature of the Restoration and 18th Century course who helped organize the replica coffeehouse. "By making this pop-up coffee - house, we not only got to ask those questions but answer them our- selves. There are copious amounts of texts and documents that describe the coffeehouse, but just reading off of a page does not provide the multi- sensory, embodied experience that our re-creation allowed." This is what Professor Keating is after: empowering and inspiring stu - dents to make a deep connection to the material and to discover their untapped enthusiasm for learning and critical thinking. Her teaching approach immerses students in the worlds of the texts they are study - ing through Reacting to the Past, a role-playing, game-based method of researching and examining texts within their historical contexts. Her ability to inspire and connect is why she is one of many beloved instructors at UM. It's why she has received three teaching awards, in - cluding one of UM's highest teaching honours, the Olive Beatrice Stanton Award for Excellence in Teaching, which she won this year. Dr. Keating challenges students to step outside their comfort zones, and they love her for it. One of her former graduate students describes her as, "unparalleled in her passion for her work and her care for her students." "I love literature, and I love shar - ing that with my students, but what I really love about teaching is getting feedback from my students. I just love what they bring," Keating says. "Every class is so different, and they're bringing these different ideas and they're understanding mate - rial in different ways. I firmly believe that most professors are professors because they just want a lifetime of learning. And teaching brings you that, either from your students, or from scholarship, or from learning how to be a better professor. It's just a community of constant learning and interactivity." When public health lockdowns came into effect and classes moved online, Keating saw how hungry her students were for community. In response, she adapted her second- year Beyond High Fantasy course, based on a popular genre of story - telling that includes mythology and fairytales, and modern examples such as Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. Instead of only reading and discussing texts, students played a (virtual) fantasy game together and critically examined aspects of it. Suddenly moving online was a sig - nificant challenge, but not an unfa- miliar one for the University of Mani- toba. UM pioneered virtual learning by developing Massive Online Open Courses, or MOOCs, in 2008, and by 2012 renowned post-secondary in - stitutions followed, including Har- vard University and the Massachu- setts Institute of Technology. UM has long been a leader in creat- ing outstanding teaching and learn- ing spaces — online and in person — and in 2013 it opened its Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning to help instructors imple- ment new technologies and methods to motivate students to excel. As the province's premier re- search-based university and its only institution accredited to award Medical Doctoral degrees, the Uni- versity of Manitoba offers a vast ar- ray of learning and career opportu- nities for students. "Our dedicated faculty members are passionate about teaching and challenging students to expand their knowledge and worldviews," says Dr. Janice Ristock, Provost and Vice- President (Academic) at UM. "And in every one of our programs," she adds,"you will find inspired peo - ple sharing invigorating ideas and mentoring students to become inde- pendent thinkers and enlivened, ac- tive contributors to the health of our communities, our city and province. The University of Manitoba really is a special place." To learn more about how students can discover their own learning and career paths, visit UM Commons online. UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA Connection, passion drive teaching and learning at UM

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