Hello friends, I’m proud to say that I was recently a recipient of the MacLauchlan Prize for Effective Writing at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI)! This award has categories for student writing in their courses, student writing in the larger community (like drama, editorials, professional writing, etc.), and a category for faculty and staff who teach writing in the classroom or in our Writing Centre. I was pleased to win the faculty prize.
The MacLauchlan Prize for Effective Writing is awarded to UPEI faculty and staff who have shown exceptional leadership in the development of writing among students. While I teach other writing-intensive courses, I was nominated for my work in our foundation-year “Inquiry Studies” course.
I believe that University should be an encounter with big ideas and other people. As an educator, I curate a classroom environment for transformational experiences.
Our team at the Curiosity and Inquiry Research and Collaboration Lab (CIRCL) has developed an inquiry-based learning (IBL) framework for an experimental approach to teaching first-year critical thinking and writing. IBL reorients the roles of “teacher” and “student” by fostering a curiosity mindset through interactive, collaborative, and supportive student-centred learning. In this approach, we provide students with the opportunity, tools, and support to pose their own research questions, design their research methodologies, determine the best ways to share their learning, and reflect on the learning process. With the eight Fundamental Principles of IBL in Higher Education, we spend more time as teachers providing formative feedback, allowing us to teach “at the elbow,” resulting in greater differentiated learning opportunities in our increasingly diverse classrooms.
Besides the practical advantages of a student-centred, curiosity-driven model, IBL gives educators a tremendous amount of space to focus on our teaching strengths while getting support in our weaknesses. I love doing lectures and coming up with innovative ways to share content. However, by creating a culture of openness within the classroom where students are safe to explore and share, I have seen exponential growth in possibilities for student learning.
And I think the broader campus is starting to see the value of this approach.
The prize was founded by the Honourable Dr. Wade MacLauchlan, President Emeritus of UPEI, former Premier of Prince Edward Island, and recipient of the Order of Canada. The annual prizes recognize the importance of effective writing as a foundational skill for academic success and lifelong learning. The prize was established in 2011 by the MacLauchlan family to honour Wade MacLauchlan’s contributions to the University and his 12 years of service as president and vice-chancellor (from 1999-2011). Up to $30,000 are distributed annually in awards, which the guest speaker claimed was the most robust undergraduate prize of its kind in Canada.
That guest speaker was Paul MacNeill, publisher of community newspapers here in Prince Edward Island. He is an award-winning journalist (including Canada’s most prestigious award), and is a well know political commentator on CBC and other media. Paul never holds back, and he painted a stark view of press freedom and culture’s capacity for thinking with clear and logical approaches to well-established evidence. On a practical level, MacNeill said,
“The skills displayed will hold you, and our community, in good stead for many, many years to come. Use your writing skills to promote organizations you are involved with, write a letter to the editor, or a note of support to someone under troll attack on social media. . . . I’m not sure if the MacLauchlan family envisioned how important this prize would be in relation to the challenges we face today as a society. We are very fortunate it is here to challenge UPEI students because effective writing is a needed skill that will last your lifetime. Keep writing. Your words matter.
The family of Harry and Marjorie MacLauchlan created this substantial program of awards in order to encourage and recognize student writing achievement, and to honour H. Wade MacLauchlan’s 12 years of service as UPEI president and vice-chancellor. It is encouraging for me to be part of a cool initiative, even in a small way.
A Pilgrim in Narnia 
Congratulations and well done, you deserve it!
Owen
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Hi Owen, sorry for bombing you with my response and question. It was unfair and I appreciate the way you responded. Have you found that person to talk about Barfield, Lewis, (Coleridge) and Imagination?
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Congrats to you! Teachers are so vital.
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I believe so, too. I am a teacher and aim to be a teacher.
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Congratulations!
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Thanks!
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Congratulations! I’ve had you as an instructor only in an online course, but from that brief experience, it was evident that you are a gifted teacher. I especially appreciate your enthusiasm.
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Dear Allyson, thank you for the encouraging words. I am enthusiastic … but when it’s working best, I am effective at directing that enthusiasm;I ask toward student learning. Best to you.
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Congratulations! Words do matter, and it’s good to see that someone who thinks so is being acknowledged for his teaching.
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Brilliant Sharon, thank you
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Congratulations Brenton! It is no surprise to me that you’ve got this award since your pedagogy and your expertise in many fields is superb! Press on 🇲🇰
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Thanks brother, I teach, you preach
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Working with you on my thesis, I can speak first hand to your amazing ability to push and lead students to understand that effective writing is a foundational skill for academic success and lifelong learning. So excited you were recognized for your dedication to those you teach!
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Super sweet, Miriam. I was thrilled to be part of your project.
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Bravo, my friend.
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Thanks Rob!
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Congratulations – well deserved!
Dana
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Thanks Dana!
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Well done, Brenton. Despite the travails of teaching in higher education, your perseverance has allowed you to inspire other educators and I pray the students you continue to learn with and mentor.
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Hi Brian, thanks for the encouragement! I actually don’t mind teaching higher education students. It really is not the students that are. hard to endure. It is the system and the institutional violence that makes it a daily struggle for me. It is a struggle that I chose, knowing that there would be challenges and that I might fail. Thus, I make my metric for success and failure my ability to provide a space for students to grow.
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Well deserved! UPEI is so fortunate to have you on the team!
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Thank you so much, Sarah! It’s not clear to me if everyone knows this, and I’m not sure if it applies to all teachers, but one of the things that makes me a good teacher of effective writing is the library and our librarians. I mean this more broadly in the way that libraries work and librarians are part of a teaching institution, but I also mean it very specifically when it comes to our first-year foundation program, where librarians are a part of the curriculum.
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Congratulations – and good to read this about your librarians and library!
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Thanks David!
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Congrats!
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