Philip C. Abrami is Professor, Director, and Research Chair at the Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance (CSLP) at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. The CSLP is a provincially funded research centre of excellence and home to approximately forty researchers, tow dozen professional staff and about eighty graduate students from seen postsecondary institutions in Quebec.

My interests in postsecondary education date back to the 1970s when I was heavily involved in research on the evaluation of instruction, particularly using student ratings of teaching.  The studies I conducted explored the effects of teaching style and personality, grade influences, and the dimensionality of teaching. I remain an advocate of student input on teaching for both summative and formative purposes.

More recently, I have explored the use of cooperative learning as an instructional tool and become especially interested in the applications of technology for active and meaningful learning.  One of our research teams published a review on the effectiveness of distance education. My colleagues and I at Concordia are currently exploring ways faculty use technology to promote active learning. And we are in the middle of a multiyear review of instructional impacts on students’ critical thinking skills and dispositions.

I am especially excited to be a member of the SFU-McGill and Concordia team exploring learning centered approaches to faculty development. Especially with changes in teaching practices and the renewal of faculty, this is an important and timely area of inquiry. I’m honored to be part of such a strong team investigating the problem.