Learning and knowledge practices are undergoing a redefinition as new opportunities, challenges and technologies change the “how, when and where” of education, knowledge mobilization, and research. SSHRC has asked, “What new knowledge, skills and delivery methods are required for Canada’s higher education system to serve as a catalyst for a more innovative society?” and “What new models are needed to enhance co-creation of knowledge across public, private and social sectors?” (SSHRC, 2013). We need to imagine new ways for Canada to thrive in the future through partnerships across higher education and other sectors of Canadian society that produce exemplary curriculum and educational resources.
This session provides an overview of a cross-sector collaboration in British Columbia that connects research and innovation in higher education with parallel developments in secondary education and with emerging learning and knowledge practices in workplaces/community organizations. With our workplace/community partners, we are exploring how ongoing Research and Innovation in Personal Pathways and Portfolios for Learners (RIPPPL) can lead to more effective formats for learners to develop their knowledge, competencies and mindsets, and have the resulting capabilities assessed and recognized in ways that move beyond traditional “soft skills” competencies ‒ in communication, critical thinking and problem-solving, quantitative reasoning, etc. ‒ to ensure graduates are prepared for emerging workplace and organizational needs such as Epistemic Fluency (Markauskaite and Goodyear 2016) and Innovation Readiness.
The research and innovation in progress focuses on two emerging learning practices: Personal Pathways to engage with learning and Personal Portfolios to document and recognize outcome capabilities (including attention to the new learning pathways for knowledge practices emerging in the secondary schools, in the workplace and in voluntary or community organizations). Here we focus on the ways that the partnership is developing new curricula that highlights the ways that knowledge practices in the liberal arts can be transferred between and amongst sectors to inspire discussion among participants about how curricular redesign might be possible on their own campuses.
Executive Director, Centre for Student Engagement and Learning Innovation, Thompson Rivers Universtity
Tracy Penny Light is Executive Director of the Centre for Student Engagement and Learning Innovation at Thompson Rivers University, and former Director of the Women's Studies program at the University of Waterloo.
