Teaching and learning for new futures and better lives

The journey of McMaster Continuing Education from 2016–2021

Abstract

The purpose of McMaster Continuing Education (MCE) is to serve non-traditional learners—often called adult learners—as they seek ways to advance their careers and pursue their love of lifelong learning. Like others who attend university, these learners deserve the best we have to offer. Recognizing this goal, the reader is invited to learn about themes that characterize continuing education in Canada and the earliest days of continuing education at McMaster University. The reader is also invited to reflect on how MCE has advanced learning for adults since 2016 when new leadership and a new strategic plan guided its development. Last, this chapter positions MCE as a leader in the use of innovative learning strategies and explores how it was well equipped when the global pandemic of 2020 challenged educational institutions around the world. How MCE navigated its transition to remote learning for students and educators prior to the pandemic and its plans for teaching and learning in post-pandemic times may be helpful to other units wanting to nurture some of the practices MCE discovered during the pandemic.