A Selection of Testimonials from
Past and Current Colleagues and Learners
2006
Over the past several
months, the Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition
has been enaged in a process of significant change to our
undergraduate program. Specifically, we have replaced the
Gerontology major with a new major called Adult Development,
Families and Well-Being and have introduced several new
courses to accompany this new major.
Early on in the
process we were very fortunate to engage your services. I
am writing to express my appreciation for the enormous contribution
you brought to the process. I was impressed at the outset
by the sensitivity you brought to this kind of curriculum
change: you were able to share with us some effective strategies
for staying focussed on pedagogical issues, thereby minimizing
the inevitable resistance that often accompanies these changes.
you brought us useful curriculum frameworks and shared with
us experiences from other units on campus. You led focus groups
with students and community partners and facilitated roundtable
discussions at our department meetings. You challenged us
to consider options that we ourselves had not thought of.
You offered excellent suggestions about other resources on
campus. In all of these activities, you provided leadership
and fostered a deeper sense of confidence among colleagues
as they moved forward with these important changes. I admire
the depth of our expertise and have nothing but praise for
your enthusiasm, professionalism and sense of humour.
We are now ready
to more our new major forward for approval. The process was
engaging and challenging and we are deeply satisfied with
the product. I wanted to acknowledge the important role that
you played in both.
Professor
Kerry Daly
Chair,
Family Relations and Applied Nutrition
University of Guelph
2006
As
you remember, I came to you last summer in search of aid facing
some challenges in my teaching. You spent many constructive
hours with me discussing various aspects of my undergraduate
teaching. With your help I revised my approach and started
the year with a better understanding of these cahllenges and
possible solutions. I worked hard to implement the nexessary
cahnges and was anxiously awaiting to see the results.
I am
happy to inform you that after receiving my evaluation reports
for my courses in 2005-2005, all my undergraduate courses
were ranked by the students at least 4.05/5, a substantial
improvement over the past.
I am
writing to express my deep appreciation and gratitidue for
your valuable help. I also would like to let you know that
this result has not made me complacent, and that I will be
vigilant in identifying and addressing new challenges in my
teaching, for which I hope to be able to count on your assistance
in the future
Assistant
Professor
University of Guelph
2006
I write
this brief but sincere note to express my appreciation for
the work you do at Teaching Support Service and in particular
for the work you hvae done with the Bachelor of Arts &
Sciences program over the past 8 months or so.
Not
only do I learn a great deal from your expertise, but I am
inspired and rejuvenated by the passion and commitment that
you bring to the academic enterprise.
Last
but not least, I really really appreciate how you have embraced
the experiment that the BAS program represents, in facilitating
the curriculum assessment exercise, the fruits of which we
presented to VPAC in July of this year. I look forward to
continuing to work with you as the process unfolds and as
the program moves forward. Of course, I also look forward
to working with you on any other projects that might bring
our offices together.
Thanks
for being so very, very good.
Professor
Donna Palmateer Pennee, PhD
Chair, Bachelor of Arts and Science
Associate
Dean, College of Arts
University of Guelph
2005
Peter,
I greatly appreciate your contributions over the past year.
I am particularly grateful for your enthusiasm, organization,
commitment to challenging and continuously improving our own
practice, and for the very effective connections you have
made with instructors and administrators from across the campus.
You have done much to help achieve TSS' goals and improve
the quality of teaching and learning at the University of
Guelph and beyond.
Julia
Christensen Hughes, PhD
Director, Teaching Support Services
University of Guelph
2004
This
note is to acknowledge Peter Wolf's support to my graduate
course. Peter has been a solid support to me in the design
and re-design of the course. In addition, yesterday he came
to class to lead a session for the students on how to develop
learning objectives. His session was excellent, just what
we were hoping for. I am sure you know what a great professional
he is, but I wanted you to hear it from the 'front-lines'...thank
you Peter!!!
Ricardo
Ramirez, PhD
Assistant Professor
School of Environmental Design and Rural Development
University of Guelph
2003
I had been teaching
at the university for 15 years when I first started to work
with Peter. He has not only taught me a great deal about teaching
and learning, but he genuinely renewed my enthusiasm for teaching.
He is extremely knowledgeable, and he has a knack for sharing
his knowledge with others.
Professor
Iain Murray, PhD
School
of Hotel and Tourism Management
University of Guelph
2002
Peter's
embrace of the tried and true principles of adult education
- encouraging interaction, engagement and inclusion, respecting
diversity, and creating active learning environments and opportunities
- underpin all of his teaching assignments and course development
projects. He fervently believes in this approach and is constantly
trying to demonstrate to students and teachers alike that
deep, meaningful and transformative learning can and must
go beyond the mere transmission of information. It must engage
the learner at a much more visceral level, where concepts
and theories can become personally relevant and meaningful.
Rick
Nigol
Manager, Distance Education
Office of Open Learning
University of Guelph
2002
I find Peter to
be a warm and personable individual who is able to help solve
conflict in a proactive manner moving both sides to a better
understanding of relevant issues.
Marina
Smith-Kulba
Graduate MBA Participant
University of Guelph
2002
Peter Wolf has a
deep commitment to, and passion for, high quality teaching
and learning.
His contributions
to the field have been significant, and I know that these
contributions will continue to be so in the future.
Virginia
Gray
Director, Office of Open learning
University of Guelph
1999
The
result of Peter's employment with us is that we now have a
sound academic, and consistent delivery model for our distance
learning courses over the Internet, and a learning culture
with our staff and other programs.
John
Walker
Director, HRT Alliance
Humber College
1997
Congratulations!
George Brown College students have identified you as one of
the best! Recent survey results (fall 1996 and Winter 1997)
indicated that your students appreciate the knowledge of the
subject you bring to the class; they value your presentation
skills; and they enjoy the helpful, respectful approach that
makes the learning experience a pleasant one. Thanks you for
your fine work. You are making a very important difference!
Maureen
Callahan
Vice-President, Academic and Student Affairs
George Brown College
2000-present
Peter is amazing
- easy to learn from, happy and inviting.
The course was clearly
laid out. The expectations were clear and fair. The evaluation
allowed you to perform over time rather that all at once.
I was amazed at
the organization of the course. Originally I thought distance
education would be difficult to get used to, but it was surprisingly
easy. I was so impressed!
Peter's energy kept
me awake, which is tough on weeknights after work.
It is obvious that
he enjoys what he does, which make the course more enjoyable.
Anonymous
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