STLHE 2016 SAPES: Full Schedule

11:15 EDT

CON01.01b - 'What Interests You?' Working Together for Authentic Inquiry Learning in Undergraduate Anatomy

What does it look like when learning is authentic? This research presentation will report upon a study investigating students' experiences of an inquiry-based anatomy curriculum and the exploration of such experiences as authentic in nature. Findings from this study explore how students worked collaboratively to foster inquiry-based learning as centred upon one another's interests and curiosities, and in doing so, how their learning came to both reflect and inform notions of authentic learning. At the outset of this presentation, the research study will be explained and research findings will be summarized. Toward the end of the presentation, broader questions relating to student-centred curricula, authentic learning, and student learning experiences will be posed for discussion such that, by the end of the session, participants will be able to discuss potential implications of authentic and student-centred curricular design.

Presenters

Lauren Anstey

eLearning & Curriculum Specialist, Western University

Lauren Anstey is an eLearning and Curriculum Specialist in the Teaching Support Centre at Western University. Her doctoral research (Queen's University, 2016) focused on Authentic Inquiry Learning. She is particularly passionate about alignment in curricular design and the meaningful... Read More →

Wednesday June 22, 2016 11:15 - 12:15 EDT
UCC 37

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Research Presentation (15 minutes)
Tags inquiry-based learning, authentic learning, student-centred curricula

11:15 EDT

CON01.01c - Scaffolding expert habits in novices: A think-aloud study in an introductory social science course

Every field has its characteristic Ways of Thinking (Middendorf & Pace, 2004). A foundational WoT in Linguistics is applying scientific, empirical reasoning to language phenomena. Our Think-Aloud study investigated novice students' mental representations as they approached the threshold to thinking scientifically about language (Meyer & Land, 2003). We asked students to report their thoughts while analyzing a set of data and drawing conclusions about it. The resulting data revealed novice habits of mind that differ from expert-like thinking:

Nearly all students jumped into a solution strategy without taking time to set up a mental representation of the problem. In contrast, experts tends to devote a proportionately greater amount of time to representing a problem and less time to working through the solution process (Wismath, Orr, & MacKay, 2015).

Many students had difficulty distinguishing between the tools for observing data and the conclusions that can be drawn from the observations.

Some students who reached a technically correct solution made comments that revealed misunderstandings at the conceptual level, a finding that is paralleled in the physical sciences (Cracolice, Deming, & Ehlert, 2008).

We made some changes to our introductory course in response to these findings. Our findings and the discussion will interest instructors of introductory courses in any science or social science discipline.

Learning Outcomes -- Participants will:

learn a research method for observing students' thinking;

consider how novices' Ways of Thinking differ from experts' in a social science discipline;

discuss how introductory courses can support the development of discipline-specific thinking.

Presenters

Catherine Anderson

Teaching Professor, McMaster University

Catherine Anderson is a Teaching Professor at McMaster University. She teaches courses in Linguistics, Psycholinguistics and Child Language Acquisition. Her SoTL research investigates blended learning, disciplinary thinking, and the development of leadership skills.

Wednesday June 22, 2016 11:15 - 12:15 EDT
UCC 37

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Research Presentation (15 minutes)
Tags think-aloud, disciplinary thinking, threshold concept, problem solving

11:15 EDT

CON01.02c - Scale Up or Change Your Teaching? Analysis of Large Classes in Biology

How exactly can we make a large class feel small? How can a statistical model help us navigate this problem? This two-part study surveyed student and instructor perspectives on class size and engagement in an undergraduate biology curriculum, then quantified the resources and teaching structure of these classes using a multivariate statistical analysis. In part one, the survey-results indicated both students and instructors identified large classes as being impersonal and classified using extrinsic qualifiers. Conversely, small classes were classified in terms of the students personal learning experience and relationships fostered through the class, suggesting that these experiences are lacking in larger ones. Survey results also indicate that the perceived threshold of a large class is beyond 250 students. But does our teaching and resource allocation change significantly beyond this enrollment level?

In part two, we will explain how exactly a principal components analysis organizes data of this type, then visually demonstrate how classes around this 250-student threshold are managed differently. The results provide a detailed map of institutional change in teaching structure and resource allocation as class sizes rose between 2010 - 2014 at a Canadian university. In general, some classes rearranged their teaching strategies and resources at this 250-student mark, while others inflated the same resources. But is one method more effective at reaching and engaging students?

Student presenter Ceilidh Barlow Cash will ask you to Think, Pair, Share and surprise you with 100 year-old data about university teaching. The session provides an up-to-date view of student engagement and empowerment in undergraduate biology classes, and validates the use of a principal components analysis for even more exciting questions in higher education.

Presenters

Ceilidh Barlow Cash

Ceilidh Barlow Cash is a graduate of the Bio-Medical Sciences program at the University of Guelph. She was a nominee for the 2013 3M National Student Fellowship and is currently a higher education blogger with OOHLALA Mobile in Montreal.

Steffen Graether

Steffen Graether is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Guelph. His education research revolves around finding effective ways to teach large classes and how to evaluate successful learning. His biochemistry research centers... Read More →

Shoshanah Jacobs

Dr. Shoshanah Jacobs is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph. Her research focuses on knowledge translation and transfer.

Additional Authors

Jessa Letargo

Jessa Letargo is a graduate from the University of Guelph. She is currently studying in the Physicians Assistant Education Program at McMaster University.

Wednesday June 22, 2016 11:15 - 12:15 EDT
UCC 54A

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Research Presentation (15 minutes)
Tags class size, instructional method, large class, principal components analysis, survey

11:15 EDT

CON01.05a - Impacts des formations suivies en formation continue sur les pratiques pédagogiques des formateurs universitaires

Depuis quelques années, les institutions accordent de plus en plus d’importance aux compétences pédagogiques des formateurs universitaires, soutenant ainsi qu’elles ont un impact sur la qualité de l’enseignement et sur la réussite des étudiants. Ainsi, dans un contexte d’approche par compétences de plus en plus répandue, la perception de la pédagogie universitaire a évolué auprès des enseignants universitaires; la formation continue apparaît comme essentielle et même nécessaire (Demougeot-Lebel et Perret, 2011), d’où l’importance de mettre en place des formations pour les enseignants universitaires (Luzeckyj et Badger, 2008). Il importe donc de valider la pertinence de ces formations tout en s’assurant de répondre aux besoins du milieu universitaire. Comme le soutiennent Bachy, Lebrun et Smidts (2010), il n’est pas simple d’estimer l’impact de la formation sur le développement professionnel des enseignants, néanmoins il importe de s’y intéresser et de vérifier les perceptions des enseignants formés. La communication vise à rendre compte des premiers résultats d’une recherche évaluative qui mesure l’impact des formations offertes par le Centre de Formation en Soutien à l’académique sur les pratiques pédagogiques des enseignants de l’Université du Québec à Montréal ainsi que sur la motivation et l'engagement des étudiants (Hattie, 2009). Elle s'appuiera sur les réponses obtenues à un questionnaire ainsi que sur les propos recueillis lors d'entrevues individuelles qui seront présentées sous la forme de capsules vidéo. Nous présenterons les perceptions des participants dans le but de démontrer que les formations répondent à des conditions qui leur permettent d’acquérir et de parfaire des compétences pédagogiques en matière d’enseignement et d’apprentissage (Stes et van Petegem, 2011).

Presenters

Helene Meunier

Conseillère pédagogique, UQAM

Chargée de cours au département d’éducation et pédagogie ainsi qu’au département de didactique à l’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Hélène Meunier est aussi conseillère pédagogique à l’UQAM depuis février 2014 et termine un doctorat en évaluation des... Read More →

Wednesday June 22, 2016 11:15 - 12:15 EDT
UCC 58

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Research Presentation (15 minutes)
Tags formation, développement professionnel, pratiques pédagogiques, stratégies d'enseignement, autoefficacité

11:15 EDT

CON01.12a - The Effects of an Argumentation and Debate Course on Students’ Impromptu Speaking Competence in English as a Foreign Language: An Empirical Investigation

This study explores the effectiveness of an argumentation and debate training course in comparison with traditional speaking course in improving university students’ speaking ability in English as a foreign language. An empirical study was conducted in a research university to compare students’ impromptu speeches before and after one semester’s course of Argumentation and Debate with those of a control group in a traditional English speaking class. The results show that argumentation and debate training achieves a more noticeable progress in students’ impromptu English speaking ability in terms of lexical richness and syntactic complexity. This research confirms the Cognitive Content Engagement Theory by proving that with intellectually challenging and interrelated academic knowledge and depth of cognitive processing, an argumentation course is an ideal interface for both academic content and foreign language learning. Pedagogically speaking, argumentation as a course focus deserves to be adopted into university curricula to facilitate language acquisition even more efficiently than traditional English speaking classes.

Presenters

Jing HE

Lecturer, Fudan University

Dr. HE Jing teaches English Public Speaking and Argumentation and Advocacy courses at Fudan University. She adjudicated many national English debate tournaments including FLTRP Cup and China Open, and international tournaments including North East Asia Open and WUDC. Her research... Read More →

Wednesday June 22, 2016 11:15 - 12:15 EDT
UCC 146

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Research Presentation (15 minutes)
Tags argumentation, cognitive content engagement, content-based language teaching

11:15 EDT

CON01.12b - The development, delivery, and evaluation of an interdisciplinary research course for first-year international science students

Three important goals of an undergraduate science education are for students to (a) learn to think like scientists, (b) develop an understanding of how scientific knowledge is constructed, and (c) enhance their professional skills in communicating and critiquing scientific ideas (Fox et al., 2014; Russell, Hancock & McCullough, 2007). Undergraduate research experiences have been shown to be effective in achieving these goals (Thiry, Laursen & Hunter, 2011; Watkins & Mazur, 2013). In a new, innovative, first-year program for international students at the University of British Columbia, a large, research-oriented, public university, an interdisciplinary team of five instructors developed a course sequence specifically designed to provide an authentic research experience for first-year Science students. Each student in the course sequence is mentored over three terms by one of the instructors. In the first term, the students worked on discipline-specific modules that introduced them to scientific research. In the second term, the students chose a topic that is relevant to an academic community, conducted a literature review, and wrote a formal research proposal. In the third term, the students completed the research outlined in their proposal and presented their work at a student-led conference. In the first iteration of this course sequence, student projects ranged from measuring the effects of climate change on radiocarbon dating techniques to multivariable optimizations of tin can construction. Developing this course sequence in the context of our new program for international students posed specific challenges and opportunities.

In this session, we will detail course activities and present our findings from a course evaluation conducted through instructor reflections, student survey responses, and student-generated work. Session participants will gain insights from our mistakes and successes and will learn how this type of research experience can be adapted to broader contexts.

Presenters

Meghan Allen

Instructor - Computer Science and Vantage College, UBC

Meghan Allen is a faculty member in the Department of Computer Science at UBC. She studied human computer interaction in graduate school before starting her teaching career. She is currently teaching in the Vantage international program and her current research interests are in the... Read More →

Fok-Shuen Leung

Fok-Shuen Leung is a faculty member in the Department of Mathematics at UBC. He studied Mathematics and Music at Queen's University before doing his doctoral work at Oxford with Roger Heath-Brown. His research interests are primarily in number theory. He is currently Chair of Science... Read More →

Additional Authors

Anka Lekhi

Anka Lekhi is a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry at UBC. She studied Chemical Oceanography. She has facilitated Instructional Skills Workshops (ISWs) for the last 10 years and in 2013, enrolled in a PhD program in Science Education to further her current research interests... Read More →

Wednesday June 22, 2016 11:15 - 12:15 EDT
UCC 146

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Research Presentation (15 minutes)
Tags course evaluation, first-year science students, international students, research experience course

11:15 EDT

CON01.12c - Empowering Learners to Bridge the 'Articulation of Skills' Gap through ePortfolio Reflections

Graduates who are best equipped to succeed in this rapidly changing world can adapt and apply their skills to new and unpredictable contexts. But how and when do we actually give them the opportunity to do this kind of learning in the classroom?

This question belies a deep prejudice within our current teaching system: faculty and students tend to focus exclusively on academic content because that is what officially "counts." Moreover, faculty generally feel ill-equipped to make visible to students the ways in which their coursework provides the context for learning and mastering professional skills including communication, teamwork, decision-making, problem-solving, and leadership, skills they will require in their professional and civic lives (Dela Harpe & Radloff, 2012). Shea et al (2014) postulate that, as a result, our graduates cannot present the full range of their skills and learning to employers, often their most important next-stage stakeholders, and calls this gap in learning an ‘articulation of skills’ gap.

Our research project tested whether students who engaged in specific, guided, and focused eportfolio reflections about the learning associated with their course project work were better prepared to articulate their professional skills to employers, six months after course completion than were students in the control cohort who were not assigned the reflection activity.

During our session, we’ll share our findings related to the impact eportfolio reflection activities had on students’ ability to bridge the ‘articulation of skills’ gap. In addition, we’ll share the details of the structured eportfolio reflection activity. At the end of the session, participants will consider how they might incorporate opportunities and guidance to help their students identify and articulate these tacit, professional skills.

Dela Harpe, B., & Radloff, A. (2012). Lessons learned from three projects to design learning environments that support 'generic' skill development. Journal of Learning Design, 1(2), 21-34.

Shea, R. (2014, May ). A national call to action: Do we need a new discourse on learning? Keynote presentation at Exploring Partnerships in Teaching and Learning. Integrated and Engaged Learning Conference, Sir Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON.

Presenters

Jill Tomasson Goodwin

Associate Professor, University of Waterloo

Jill Tomasson Goodwin is an Associate Professor in the Digital Arts Communication program at the University of Waterloo. Her research interests include experiential education, ePortfolios, and skills-based learning and assessment.

Katherine Lithgow

Katherine Lithgow- is a Senior Instructional Developer, Integrative Learning with the Centre of Teaching Excellence at the University of Waterloo. Katherine facilitates eportfolio and integrative learning initiatives, supporting instructors across campus with the design and implementation... Read More →

Additional Authors

Joslin Goh

Joslin Goh is the Associate Director of the Statistical Consulting and Collaborative Research Unit in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science at the University of Waterloo. Her research revolves around the development of new theoretical and algorithmic methodology for applied... Read More →

Wednesday June 22, 2016 11:15 - 12:15 EDT
UCC 146

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Research Presentation (15 minutes)
Tags ' transferable professional skills', eportfolio, reflection, skills-gap

11:15 EDT

CON01.13a - Engagement and Belongingness: Yorke’s Model in a Canadian University

How can we foster student engagement, belongingness, and self-confidence? What impact does each have on student learning outcomes – both student perceptions and measured grades?

This project uses Yorke’s (2014) instrument, which was developed for the UK “What Works” initiative (Thomas, 2012). We are motivated by changes to our student mix: more diversity, more students struggling to get established.

For our study, we work with high impact teaching practices (Kuh, 2008). We examine the experiences of new university students, and their perspectives on outcomes – using start and end of term surveys along with quantitative data from the student database. We examine:

Student characteristics (age, nationality, gender, language skills)
Academic preparedness (high school average, autonomous learning and writing skills)
Engagement, belongingness and self confidence – the Yorke scale
Learniing outcomes: Student perceptions and measured grades.

We used means comparison, regression and anovas to analyze the data. As expected, the most important determinants of engagement and belongingness are instructor and student efforts, and both are strong predictors of student perceived learning outcomes. Academic preparedness and student characteristics are not a factor in determining engagement or belongingness.

The surprise is that we did not find a strong relationship between engagement & belongingness and grades. Social inclusion, instructor and student effort were relatively weak predictors. Academic preparedness and student characteristics are the only strong predictors of grades.

What Factors Best Predict Grades? We took a look - the data comparison is attached in a presentation file.

The data raises a big question, which we will examine next round of our study: If the Yorke scale variables (engagement and belongingness) don’t predict grades, are we measuring and focusing on the right things? Should we shift away from engagement and belongingness and back to performance basics?

So what should we be doing in our classrooms? Join us – let’s take a look at the research – and let’s discuss what it means.

References:

Kuh, G. (2008). High-Impact Educational Practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Association of American Colleges and Universities, Washington.

Thomas, L. (2012). Building student engagement and belonging in Higher Education at a time of change: final report from the What Works? Student Retention & Success programme.

Yorke, M. (2014). Student ‘belongingness’, engagement and self-confidence in UK higher education. Proceedings from EAIR 36th Annual Forum, Essen, Germany, 29 August 2014.

Presenters

Wallace Lockhart

University of Regina

Wallace Lockhart is an associate professor with the Paul J. Hill School of Business at the University of Regina. He became a SOTL scholar out of necessity – growing student diversity and the challenges it presents mean we all have to better understand our students and our roles... Read More →

Wednesday June 22, 2016 11:15 - 12:15 EDT
UCC 315 (Council Chambers)

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Research Presentation (15 minutes)
Tags belongingness, engagement, high impact, outcomes

13:30 EDT

CON02.14 - At the Intersection of Cognitive Science and Education: Gamifying 2nd Year Neuroscience Course to Encourage Retrieval-Based Learning

Latest research suggests that what we traditionally consider as “learning” - the “encoding or acquisition of new information” (Karpicke & Nunes, 2015), is only one half of the equation. The other, arguably more important half, consists of retrieval processes, those “involved in using available cues to actively reconstruct knowledge” (Karpicke, 2012). Recent findings in cognitive psychology tell us that practicing active retrieval enhances long-term, meaningful learning in significant ways, and that it could be a more active and effective learning strategy than many currently popular “active learning” strategies (Blunt & Karpicke, 2011).

As instructors and instructional designers we are faced with three big challenges: 1) How to design retrieval-based activities; 2) How to raise awareness about the importance and effects of this learning strategy that “too many students lack metacognitive awareness of” (Karpicke, 2012); and 3) How to promote and encourage students to engage in learning activities that require significant effort but produce longer-lasting results.

To tackle these challenges posed by leading researchers in the field, we have incorporated online activities that balance retrieval difficulty and retrieval success, in a traditionally challenging second year, high-enrollment, core Neuroscience course (“Biological Foundations of Behaviour”), designed in a blended format. To motivate students to engage with the activities, some gamification principles were utilized. Apart from formative and summative assessment spread throughout the course, students are also required to take a final, live, cumulative exam. In this presentation we will discuss the potential relationship between student success and some engagement patterns with online retrieval-based activities, and their success in a final exam.

The main audience for this presentation is instructors and instructional designers. The participants will leave the session with the awareness of the latest research in the field, and with possible strategies for designing activities which promote and encourage retrieval-based learning.

References

Blunt, J.R., & Karpicke, J. D. (2011). Retrieval Practice Produces More Learning than Elaborative Studying with Concept Mapping. Science 331, 772 (2011); DOI: 10.1126/science.1199327

Karpicke, J. D. (2012). Retrieval-based learning: Active retrieval promotes meaningful learning. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21, 157-163.

Karpicke, J. D., & Nunes, L.D. (2015). Retrieval-based learning: Research at the interface between cognitive science and education. In R. A. Scott & S. M. Kosslyn (Eds.), Emerging Trends in the Social and Behavioral Sciences (pp. 1-16). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Presenters

Kim Hellemans

Instructor, Carleton University

Kim Hellemans, PhD is the Undergraduate Chair at the Department of Neuroscience at Carleton University, Ottawa. Dr. Hellemans has an extensive experience teaching courses in face-to-face, blended and distance format, for which she has received several prestigious teaching awards including... Read More →

Maristela Petrovic-Dzerdz

Instructional Design Coordinator, Carleton University

Maristela Petrovic-Dzerdz, MEng, BEd, PBDID designs online and blended courses and advises faculty on best teaching and learning practices grounded in theory and research. Passionate about education, Maristela is also a graduate student of Distance Education at Athabasca University... Read More →

Wednesday June 22, 2016 13:30 - 14:20 EDT
Weldon Library 258

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Interactive Session (50 minutes)
Tags retrieval-based learning, quizzes, gamification, motivation

14:45 EDT

CON03.10 - Empowering Learners with ePortfolios: Harnessing the “Evidence of Experience” to Illuminate Learner Pathways

Learners in the 21st century are expected to acquire disciplinary (and even interdisciplinary) knowledge, skills, and abilities and to integrate their learning in different situations and across their learning careers. Yet often the curriculum does not provide opportunities for learners to document what they know, understand, and are able to do beyond traditional disciplinary concepts and skills, neglecting the learning that happens outside the classroom. Electronic portfolios (ePortfolios), when applied as a pedagogy (Catalyst for Learning), provide learners with opportunities to create different representations of their various learning experiences (academic, workplace, community), and make visible the authentic “evidence of [their] experience” (Scott, 1991). Empowering learners to reflect on their various learning experiences to discover their own pathway (Penny Light et. al, 2012; Penny Light, 2015) is at the heart of this pedagogy and allows them to become adept at managing complexity, tolerating ambiguity, and valuing others (Kuh, 2009) as they develop their intellectual identities. In this workshop, participants will be introduced to ePortfolio initiatives and learning activities that highlight the affordances of this pedagogical approach and to an ePortfolio Implementation Framework (Penny Light et. al., 2012) that has been used internationally to effect curricular change. Participants will leave with resources to enable them to continue to reflect on this approach for implementation on their own campuses.

This session has been designed so that participants will have an opportunity to:

Identify the benefits of ePortfolio pedagogy and extrapolate ways to use the ePortfolio Implementation Framework in their own context;

Identify opportunities in their curriculum where ePortfolio activities can enable learners to make connections between their various learning experiences;

Reflect on ways to effect change in higher education curriculum and assessment design using ePortfolios.

Presenters

Tracy Penny Light

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.

Wednesday June 22, 2016 14:45 - 15:35 EDT
UCC 65

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Interactive Session (50 minutes)
Tags ePortfolios, curriculum design, assessment, learner pathways

14:45 EDT

CON03.14 - Putting Student Learning First: Strategies for Librarian-Faculty Collaboration

Canadian universities are emphasizing degree-level learning outcomes, with the goal of student lifelong learning and success. As a result, collaborating with others is increasingly important: rather than having to ‘do it all’, working together lets us have an (even more) significant impact on student learning. This workshop re-defines a common campus partnership: that of librarians and teaching faculty. Historically, faculty might invite librarians into class for a database demonstration or to discuss the dangers of plagiarism. While such sessions have their place, new opportunities place student learning at the centre of the conversation. For example, have you developed a new definition of information literacy or is media literacy embedded in your curriculum? How has the development of degree-level learning outcomes led to stronger ties between the library and academic departments? What advice do you have for those who want to spark new relationships? Through a discussion-based approach, participants will generate ideas for successful collaborations, whether in individual lessons or courses, across modules or entire degrees, as well as in our students’ co-curricular opportunities. Come to this workshop prepared to collaborate and create an artifact of exciting and potential partnerships between faculty and librarians - all with the goal of placing student success first.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:
a. Identify existing and potential partnership opportunities between librarians and faculty on their campuses
b. Articulate how collaboration between librarians and faculty is beneficial for our students’ learning and lifelong success

Presenters

Heather Campbell

Heather Campbell has been with Brescia University College, the all-women's university affiliated with Western, for the past ten years. She previously served as their Learning and Curriculum Support Librarian and now holds the role of Associate Director of Brescia’s Advanced Learning... Read More →

Kim McPhee

Head, Teaching and Learning, Western University

Kim McPhee is Head, Teaching & Learning at Western Libraries at Western University where she leads a newly-formed team of Librarians and Library Assistants. Together, they are developing an intentional campus-wide information literacy (IL) program that will connect students to the... Read More →

Wednesday June 22, 2016 14:45 - 15:35 EDT
Weldon Library 258

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Interactive Session (50 minutes)
Tags Student Success, Faculty-Librarian Collaboration, Curriculum, Partnerships, Teaching Librarians

15:45 EDT

CON04.02 - ePortfolio rubrics: A multidisciplinary, student-centred, faculty developed, open education resource (whew!)

In recent years, ePortfolios have been identified as a student-centred learning tool that can facilitate high impact pedagogical practices (Kuh, 2008). ePortfolio implementation has the potential to encourage learners to reflect on their learning and make connections between and across various experiences and knowledge. For teachers, ePortfolios are a tool they can use to enhance students’ development of the skills, attitudes, and knowledge that form the learning outcomes of specific courses or programs while assessing the degree to which students have met those learning outcomes.

At Carleton, one of the challenges instructors faced when implementing ePortfolios at the course level was the question of how to evaluate the work students produced. Because ePortfolios enable students to demonstrate their learning using unique, multimodal artifacts, the instructors found it difficult to reliably assess the variety of unique expressions of learning found in their students’ portfolios. The instructors found that already available rubrics were either designed for program level portfolios, included too much course-specific content, or were not open access. In response, our ePortfolio Faculty Learning community drafted an interactive, modifiable rubric that faculty from multiple disciplines can easily adapt to grade their students’ portfolios. The structure and content of the rubric was drawn from existing resources, ePortfolio research, and instructors’ personal insights from using ePortfolios in their courses. Faculty have applied these rubrics successfully adapting them to their particular courses and educational needs.

Participants in this session will work in small groups to apply the rubric to examples of student ePortfolios from different disciplines and levels of study. The rubrics will be shared as an open education resource (OER).

References
American Association of Colleges and Universities (2009). VALUE Rubrics. Retrieved from https://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics

Chen, H. L., & Mazow, C. (2002). Electronic learning portfolios and student affairs. NASPA NetResults.

Connect to Learning (2014). Catalyst for learning. Retrieved from: http://c2l.mcnrc.org/g

Kuh, G. D. (2008). Excerpt from High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter. Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Light, T. P., Chen, H. L., & Ittelson, J. C. (2011). Documenting learning with ePortfolios: A guide for college instructors. John Wiley & Sons.

Presenters

Allie Davidson

EdTech Development Coordinator, Carleton University

Allie Davidson is a EdTech development coordinator at Carleton University’s Educational Development Centre. She is leading the project of ePortfolio adoption at the University and working closely with faculty and students to identify the impediments to ePortfolio adoption, the benefits... Read More →

Peggy Hartwick

Instructor, Carleton University

Peggy was a recipient of the 2015 Brightspace Innovation Award in Teaching and Learning. She is an Instructor and PhD student in the School of Linguistics and Language Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa. As a passionate educator who cares deeply about her students’ learning... Read More →

Beth Hughes

Beth Hughes is an Instructor in the Centre for Initiatives at Carleton University. She teaches at-risk students in the Enriched Support Program in their first year. She uses pedagogically sound and innovative strategies for encouraging students’ engagement, such as coordinating... Read More →

Samah Sabra

Samah is an educational developer and contract instructor at Carleton University. Her areas of interest are inclusive educational practices, experiential education, and communities of practice. In a past life, her research focused on feminist, queer, and anti-racist theories and methodologies... Read More →

Rachelle Thibodeau

Coordinator, Academic Support, Program Evaluation, and Research, Carleton University

Rachelle Thibodeau works as a staff member in Carleton University’s Centre for Initiatives in Education and as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology. Since 1998, she has developed and led peer-learning programs focused on access and success for underprepared and marginalized... Read More →

Additional Authors

Eva Kartchava

Eva Kartchava is Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics and TESL at Carleton University. Her research interests include technology use in language learning and higher education, effective assessment strategies, teacher cognition, and the role of instruction in second language... Read More →

Sarah Todd

Sarah Todd is an associate professor in the school of social work at Carleton University. Her areas of study are social work education, youth and gender and sexuality. Her current research explores the impact of new managerialism on social work education.

Wednesday June 22, 2016 15:45 - 16:35 EDT
UCC 54A

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Interactive Session (50 minutes)
Tags ePortfolios, faculty learning communities, open educational resources, rubrics, student engagement

15:45 EDT

CON04.08 - Dodging the disciplinary divide: Blending people, concepts and learning

Traditionally, students learn concepts and principles in a disciplinary manner that can limit their ability to see and make important connections between disciplines. Integrative, rather than siloed, thinking is essential for exploring larger, societal problems that transcend disciplinary boundaries, and for understanding how different disciplines work together to solve these problems. Integrative thinking must be learned, practiced, and applied by students to change the way students approach societal issues (Spelt, Biemans, Tobi, Luning & Mulder, 2009). To help students develop this way of thinking, we need to design curricula differently. At York University, a dynamic, inter-departmental team is designing a first-year integrated science experience where students are introduced to the same traditional concepts, but in an integrated and team-based manner (Michaelson & Sweet, 2008). While the process has been informed by a backwards design approach, additional elements have been required to reflect the integrative approach to teaching and learning (McTighe & Wiggins, 2012). These elements include developing overarching learning outcomes that are not specific to any one discipline, making connections between disciplinary concepts, identifying central themes that encompass all relevant disciplines, finding appropriate classroom space, and deciding on supportive pedagogical approaches. These instructional approaches include a flipped and blended classroom approach to minimize in-class didactic teaching and make space for higher-order activities; simultaneous team teaching to model how disciplinarians interact and approach a particular topic or issue; and team-based learning in an active learning classroom to develop students’ collaborative skills and promote their active exploration of material (Faculty Focus, 2014). In this workshop session, participants will work with the facilitators and each other to achieve the following outcomes: develop interdisciplinary learning outcomes, identify strategies for making disciplinary connections, and consider how to implement a team-based approach for supporting integrated curricula using small- and large-group discussions, and guided handouts.

References:

1. Spelt, E.J.H., Biemans, H.J.A., Tobi, H., Luning, P.A., & Mulder, M. (2009). Teaching and learning in interdisciplinary higher education: A systematic review. Educ Psychol Rev, 21, 365-378.

2. Michaelson, L.K. & Sweet, M. (2008). The essential elements of team-based learning. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 116, 7-27.

3. McTighe, J. & Wiggins, G. (2012). Understanding by Design® framework. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/siteASCD/publications/UbD_WhitePaper0312.pdf.

4. Faculty Focus. (2014). Blended and flipped: Exploring new models for effective teaching & learning. Madison, WI: Magna Publications.

Presenters

Tamara Kelly

York University

I'm interested in teaching methods that support and promote inclusion and equity in STEM; promote collaboration and community in both large and smaller classrooms; help students improve their communication skills; and promote metacognition and reflection.

Lauren Wallar

Lauren Wallar is a PhD candidate in Population Medicine at the University of Guelph and an Educational Development Specialist in the Faculty of Science at York University. Lauren is a co-recipients of the 2015-16 Career and Teaching Development Fellowship at the University of Gue... Read More →

Wednesday June 22, 2016 15:45 - 16:35 EDT
UCC 61

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Interactive Session (50 minutes)
Tags integrative, blended, interdisciplinary, team-based

15:45 EDT

CON04.14 - Let’s be Direct about Information Literacy Assessment: Using Quick Writes to Capture Direct Evidence of Student Learning

As direct assessment methods gain increasing attention in higher education, this presentation will introduce quick writes as an engaging authentic assessment technique for capturing evidence of learning and measuring information literacy student learning outcomes Quick writes are commonly used in middle school and high school classes. Students are given a short passage and assigned to quickly write a response about the passage. The presenter has adapted the quick write technique and applied it to information literacy assessment. In this context, the prompt is based on a real-world scenario, course topic or assignment. The librarian introduces the quick write as a research activity to reinforce concepts and skills presented during the session. Students work independently and complete the task in 15 minutes. Quick writes embrace problem-based learning and inquiry-based learning pedagogies. They can be designed to encourage the application of higher order thinking skills such as situational competence, essential for problem-solving in real-world situations. The presentation will accentuate how direct assessment techniques such as quick writes empower students to demonstrate knowledge, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities, especially as these relate to information literacy. The presenter will highlight how California Lutheran University implemented the quick write in its information literacy instruction plan and will share practical ways to design quick writes and scoring rubrics around lesson plans and learning outcomes. Examples will emphasize the new ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education. Participants will work in small groups and create a quick write and scoring rubric. Participants will be encouraged to share their quick writes and rubrics and briefly discuss how these can be used in courses or information literacy sessions. After completion of this workshop, attendees will be able to describe the steps involved in planning, designing, and incorporating a quick write and rubric in a 50-minute information literacy session.

Presenters

Henri Mondschein

Librarian, California Lutheran University

My interests are in graduate information literacy and international students.

Wednesday June 22, 2016 15:45 - 16:35 EDT
Weldon Library 258

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Interactive Session (50 minutes)
Tags Assessment, Direct Assessment, Information Literacy, Quick Writes, Student Learning Outcomes

16:45 EDT

POSTER.40 - Online Course Evaluation - A Tool for Effective Teaching

Course evaluations provide students an opportunity to give faculty student feedback on teaching effectiveness. In addition, faculty can, and should, use course evaluations to improve their teaching. Though there are techniques for doing so in productive ways. In 2014, the University at Buffalo (UB) transitioned from over 15 disparate systems to a university-wide online evaluation process. This poster will review the process for making this transition from the initial committee formed to consider this potential outcome, through identifying the core questions that promote developmental teaching effectiveness, to identifying a system to manage the administration and meet varying needs, to how the university encourages faculty to utilize course evaluation data to improve teaching. Initial feedback from several studies and follow-ups of progress will be presented, as well as adaptations of administrations. These studies will share important learnings suggesting best practices for faculty and departments to use and maximize online course evaluation product features to better evaluate courses and report back to faculty in a timely manner so that changes can be made in teaching practices. This poster will highlight the impact that online course evaluations can have on improving teaching, when used effectively. In addition, a short discussion on the culture of course evaluation at the campus-level will be included as it impacts not only response rates, but also for improving teaching and in promotion and tenure discourse. Participants will gain an understanding of the complexities of the uses of course evaluations from multiple stakeholder’s perspectives (including their influences and concerns). Finally, the poster will present effective ways of using course evaluations for improving teaching effectiveness based on theory and research (i.e., Davidovitch and Soen, 2006).

Presenters

Monica Carter

Monica Carter works with the Communication, Engagement and Dissemination team in the University at Buffalo’s Center for Educational Innovation. She helps advance innovative teaching practice and improving student success by managing events and engages faculty and staff in the Scholarship... Read More →

Cathleen Morreale

Cathleen Morreale, PhD focuses on assessment, course evaluation, curriculum and program development, experiential learning (including internships and service-learning), counseling and advising, assessment, and career development. She currently serves as a curriculum and evaluation... Read More →

Wednesday June 22, 2016 16:45 - 18:00 EDT
Atrium, Physics & Astronomy Building Western University

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Poster Discussion
Tags teaching, evaluation, improvement, summative, assessment

16:45 EDT

POSTER.41 - Scaffolding Project-based Learning through Professional Project Management Best Practices

This poster outlines professional project management strategies that instructors can use to support project-based learning (PBL).

PBL is a student-centered instructional strategy. Depending on the instructional context, a project can be initiated by an instructor, proposed by a group of students, or sponsored by an outside organization. Students collaborate on a project team (Alves et al., 2012). They co-plan their learning with the support of the instructor, leading to the creation of a final product that answers a driving question they have posed. The final product is presented to a public audience beyond a project team’s instructor and classroom peers. The formative assessment of learning is ongoing. Students monitor and regularly report on their individual and project team's progress which allows instructors to track student learning on an ongoing basis.

Designed by a certified project management professional, the poster highlights best practices related to planning projects, mitigating project risks, communicating with project stakeholders, managing/monitoring/modifying projects, and closing projects by focusing on lessons learned. Planning for ongoing assessment throughout all phases of the project lifecycle is emphasized. The PBL research shows that these elements are key to project success (Harmer and Stokes, 2014).

Attendees will: become familiar with the project management body of knowledge, including where to learn more; discuss concrete project management best practices that can scaffold student project work; identify the ways project management best practices can be integrated into their own teaching practice.

References

Alves, A. C., Mesquita, D., Moreira, F. and Fernandes, S. (2012). Teamwork in project-based learning: Engineering students’ perceptions of strengths and weaknesses. In Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium on Project Approaches in Engineering Education., pp. 23-32.

Harmer, N. and Stokes, A. (2014). The Benefits and Challenges of Project-based Learning: A Review of the Literature. Plymouth, UK: PedRIO/Plymouth University.

Presenters

David Hutchison

David Hutchison, PhD, PMP is Director of the Centre for Digital Humanities, Brock University where he is also cross-appointed to the Department of Teacher Education. A 2015 recipient of the Brock University Chancellor’s Chair for Teaching Excellence, David is the author of six books... Read More →

Wednesday June 22, 2016 16:45 - 18:00 EDT
Atrium, Physics & Astronomy Building Western University

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Poster Discussion
Tags project-based learning, project management, inquiry learning

16:45 EDT

POSTER.42 - Impact of Co-Teaching on Professional Practice of Bachelor of Nursing Students

In higher education, co-teaching is not common place. In a professional program such as Nursing, it is a relatively new phenomenon that has emerged from a context relevant, integrated curriculum. As a new phenomenon, what impact does co-teaching have on student learning and the development of their professional practice? For the purpose of this study, co-teaching is defined as involving two instructors who collaboratively design, and simultaneously teach and assess student work within a semester. In this pedagogical relationship, instructors model a collaborative approach to teaching, similar to the collaborative approach observed in professional practice within health care settings.

This poster presentation will outline the background, findings, and implications of a two-year mixed-method research project that investigated co-teaching in a Nurse as Educator course at one western Canadian university’s undergraduate Nursing program. The course focused on having senior students explore the principles of teaching and learning in relation to their evolving nursing practice. The goal of the research was to explore the impact of co-teaching on nursing students’ learning and how this ultimately informs their understanding of their role as nurse educators in professional practice, as well as to further examine the benefits and challenges of co-teaching in higher education. Findings from the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from three cohorts shed insight into the positive influence co-teaching is having on student learning and their future professional practice. Strengths and challenges associated with co-teaching will also be shared and recommendations will be offered for the practice of co-teaching in professional programs.

.

Presenters

Jennifer Lock

Professor, University of Calgary

Jennifer Lock is the Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning and specialization chair for the Learning Sciences in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. Her area of specialization is in Educational Technology.

Additional Authors

Carla Ferreira

Carla Ferreira is an Instructor in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary. She holds a Master’s degree in nursing with a focus on nursing education.

Jacqueline Rainsbury

Jacqueline Rainsbury is a research consultant and evaluator with international experience in health services research, evidence-based medicine, and public health. She has over 20 years of experience in research and teaching for the federal and provincial government, UK and Canadian... Read More →

Patricia Rosenau

Patricia Rosenau is a Senior Instructor and past Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary. Pat’s research is focused on reflective practice and peer mentorship in nursing education.

Tracy Clancy

Tracey Clancy is an Instructor in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary. As chair of the Community of Scholarship in Teaching & Learning in the Faculty of Nursing, Tracey has a vested interest in cultivating an understanding of collaborative teaching practice or team... Read More →

Wednesday June 22, 2016 16:45 - 18:00 EDT
Atrium, Physics & Astronomy Building Western University

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Poster Discussion
Tags co-teaching, professional practice, scholarship of teaching and learning

16:45 EDT

POSTER.43 - Best Practices in Learning Outcome Development- Creating specific, informed learning outcomes for an established graduate program

As described by Kuh and colleagues (2005) establishing clear pathways to success is an important factor in creating effective learning environments, and specific learning outcomes can guide and empower students along this pathway. Learning outcomes provide tangible goals for students to work towards and can be applied at a lesson, course, academic program or institution level. Following the implementation of the Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) by the government of Ontario in 2010, the development of learning outcomes has become an important goal for post-secondary institutions to guide student learning and faculty teaching practices. The Master in Biomedical Science (MBS) Program at the University of Guelph is a unique 3-semester course-based graduate program, which enables students with diverse backgrounds in biological science to conduct traditional and non-traditional laboratory-based research in differing areas within the sciences. Through review of current best practices in learning outcome development, alignment to institution-level outcomes and consultation with students, faculty and program graduates, learning outcomes are currently being developed for the MBS program. This poster presentation will contextualize the importance of learning outcomes within the institutional QAF for Ontario and demonstrate the methodology required to create these outcomes. A summary handout of key ideas will be provided for future reference.

To this end, by engaging with this poster participants will be able to:

Recognize the importance and role of learning outcomes in the Ontario Post-Secondary context
Summarize best practices in learning outcome development
Explain the concept of constructive alignment
Evaluate the quality of written learning outcomes
Begin constructing learning outcomes for their own programs, courses and lessons

Presenters

Tayler Bailey

Current Master of Biomedical Science (MBS) student in the department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Guelph. Graduate work focus is on teaching and learning in higher education. Graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours, Bio-Medical Science) in June 2015 from the University... Read More →

Additional Authors

Kerry Ritchie

Associate Professor, University of Guelph

Dr. Kerry Ritchie is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Guelph. Her SoTL research focuses on Authentic Assessment and strategies for teaching critical thinking and communication skills, with special attention given... Read More →

Lisa Robertson

Assistant Professor in the department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Guelph.

Wednesday June 22, 2016 16:45 - 18:00 EDT
Atrium, Physics & Astronomy Building Western University

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Poster Discussion
Tags best practices, graduate level, learning outcome development

16:45 EDT

POSTER.44 - Exploratory Research on Themes found within Student Learning Portfolios developed during a First Year Undergraduate Business Course

Student Learning Portfolios (LPs) take many forms, depending on purpose and individual or programmatic design. This study suggests a simple LP model predicated on three fundamental components: 1) Reflection 2) Documentation and 3) Collaboration/Mentoring. Such an approach parallels successful models for professional teaching, course and administrative portfolios, and more specifically, the focus of this research, individual student portfolios (Jenson, 2011). LPs are beneficial in fostering deeper student learning and aiding skill development (Miller & Morgaine, 2009). A related concept referred to as metacognition (Bransford, Brown & Cocking, 2000) points to the positive impact of having an “internal conversation”, more specifically, an enhancement of student achievement and development in students’ ability to learn independently. The purpose of this exploratory research was to uncover themes within LPs written by 600 students in a mandatory first year Organizational Behavior course within an undergraduate business program. In their LPs, students reflected on their core competency building in the areas of stress management, time management and change management. While current research has shown that LPs foster deeper learning for students, this study goes one step further by suggesting even greater depth can be achieved by initiating LPs in first year, thus setting the baseline for further LP development and critical thinking during the years that follow. Early exposure to LP preparation allows for gradual learning of how to reflect and make progress on identified developmental areas, which ultimately fosters better awareness and understanding. Examples of baseline LP templates are provided along with how they integrate into the scaffolding of courses over a four-year program. Findings from qualitative data analyses provide a better understanding of issues being confronted by the sample of undergraduate business students, and with these challenges in mind, inform instructors on how to lay the necessary groundwork of critical leadership competency building going forward.

Presenters

Teal McAteer

Dr. McAteer is an Associate Professor at the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University. She teaches courses in organizational behaviour, human resource management, leadership, strategic change, and business ethics. She is also an independent business consultant who specializes... Read More →

Wednesday June 22, 2016 16:45 - 18:00 EDT
Atrium, Physics & Astronomy Building Western University

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Poster Discussion
Tags undergraduate student learning porfolios

16:45 EDT

POSTER.45 - Team-based learning: An application of constructivist learning theory in healthcare education.

Education requires students to develop critical thinking and effective team-work abilities. In constructivist learning theory the teacher is a guide to facilitate learning and learning should be active using relevant problems and group interaction. Teaching involves providing opportunities to expose inconsistencies between current understandings and new experiences therefore developing new mental schemes. Team-based learning (TBL) is a method that provides this opportunity.1

Research has shown positive outcomes with TBL including the development of critical thinking skills, team work enhancement, and increased quality of in class discussion and optimal learning outcomes.2 There is a significant increase in the students’ estimation of their “understanding of the principles of group work” over time. Studies have shown that TBL improves student performance on assessments especially for the academically weaker students.3

In TBL large classes taught by a single instructor are divided into teams. The instructor sets the learning objectives and designs the course into modules to address each objective. The modules consist of three phases. The first phase involves a prior learning assignment where the students study background material a week before of the learning session. In the second phase the students take a test as individuals and then again in their team using an Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique (IF-AT). The IF-AT is a scratch card that contains the correct answer for each question. Outstanding misconceptions around the factual content are then addressed. In the third phase of the process the students work in the teams to solve problems with multiple solutions that allow for debate of the correct answer. The instructor facilitates the discussion between teams as they debate.4

Conference participants will interact with the presenter who has used TBL in 8 offerings. Attendees will be able to recognize the components of TBL and appraise the method for usefulness in their own context.

Hrynchak P., Batty H. (2012). The educational theory basis of team-based learning. Med Teach, 34 (10), 796-801.

McInerney M.J., Fink L.D. (2003). Team-based learning enhances long-term retention and critical thinking in an undergraduate microbial physiology course. Microbiol Educ, 4, 3-12.

Koles P.G., Stolfi A., Borges N.J., Nelson S., Parmelee D.X. (2010). The impact of team-based learning on medical students' academic performance. Acad Med, 85 (11), 1739-1745.

Michaelsen L., Parmelee D., McMahon K., Levine R. (2008). Team-based learning for health professions education: A guide to using small groups to improving learning. Sterling Verginia: Stylus.

Presenters

Patricia Hrynchak

Patricia Hrynchak is a clinical professor at the University of Waterloo, School of Optometry and Vision Science. She is an optometrist and holds a Master’s degree in Health Practitioner Teacher Education from the University of Toronto. She is the recipient of an Excellence in Science... Read More →

Wednesday June 22, 2016 16:45 - 18:00 EDT
Atrium, Physics & Astronomy Building Western University

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Poster Discussion
Tags team-based learning, constructivism, active learning, critical thinking

16:45 EDT

POSTER.46 - Curriculum Design: Findings and Best Practices from an Educational Intervention to Enhance Listening Skill Development of Clinicians

Listening and communication form a large part of every clinical and interprofessional encounter impacting clinical practice, the quality of health care, and client outcomes. Being able to listen mindfully, sensitively and with authentic intent enables clinicians to understand clients’ worldviews, needs, priorities, concerns and hopes; thus establishing a common ground that assists clients in making informed decisions and moving forward (King et al., 2012). Despite being a core competency across disciplines, there is a lack of training of these skills in University-level curricula.

We present research findings from a mixed-methods pilot study that focused on assessing the impact and procedures of a comprehensive listening skill educational intervention for service providers. We highlight the key features of the intervention that contributed to learning and share our work developing a listening curriculum for pre-service students. This innovative intervention exemplifies current best practices in knowledge mobilization, including multifaceted learning opportunities (e.g., self-evaluation, feedback on performance, interdisciplinary group discussion, simulation and experiential learning, self and guided critical reflection) to enhance listening skills.

Clinicians participated in: group observation and discussion of 6 inter-professional video simulations of clinical listening scenarios, 2 individual solution-focused coaching sessions on personal listening goals, and 3 live clinical simulations with standardized clients who were trained in giving feedback. The Effective Listening and Interactive Communication Scale (ELICS, King, et al., 2012) was administered pre- and post-intervention. The intervention was found to significantly impact participants’ listening behaviours. Participants described the intervention as an intense learning experience that resulted in immediate changes to their clinical and inter-professional practice.

Attendees will have an opportunity to assess their own listening behaviours and learn about how they can use the Complexity Rating Scale for Clinical Simulation Situations (King, et al., 2014) to determine the level of complexity of simulations they create for developing student learning.

References
King, G., Servais, M., Bolack, L., Shepherd, T., & Willoughby C. (2012). Development of a measure to assess effective listening and interactive communication skills in the delivery of children’s rehabilitation service. Disability and Rehabilitation, 34(6), 459-469. doi:10.3109/09638288.2011.608143

King, G., Shepherd, T. A., Servais, M., Willoughby, C., Bolack, L., Strachan, D., Moodie, S., Baldwin, P., Knickle, K., Parker, K., Savage, D., & McNaughton, N. (2014). Developing authentic clinical simulations for effective listening and communication in pediatric rehabilitation service delivery. Developmental Neurorehabilitation (Early online). doi: 10.3109/17518423.2014.989461

Presenters

Michelle Servais

Michelle Servais, PhD, is a Researcher and Educator on Thames Valley Children’s Centre’s Quality Management Team who focuses on enhancing service delivery and the development of professional expertise. Michelle’s research interests include: knowledge exchange and mobilization... Read More →

Additional Authors

Colleen Willoughby

Thames Valley Children's Centre

Debbie Strachan

Independent Consultants

Diane Savage

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Gillian King

Bloorview Research InstituteWestern UniversityUniversity of Toronto

Kathryn Parker

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Kerry Knickle

University of Toronto

Linda Bolack

Independent Consultants

Madhu Pinto

Bloorview Research Institute

Nancy McNaughton

University of Toronto

Patricia Baldwin

Thames Valley Children's Centre

Sheila Moodie

Western University

Tracy Shepherd

Thames Valley Children's CentreCentralized Equipment Pool

Wednesday June 22, 2016 16:45 - 18:00 EDT
Atrium, Physics & Astronomy Building Western University

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Poster Discussion
Tags interprofessional educational intervention, interprofessional group discussion, listening and communication skills, mixed methods pilot study, simulation

16:45 EDT

POSTER.47 - Fostering classroom communities through circling with teacher-candidates [CANCELLED]

Classroom circles have been recognized as a valuable pedagogical approach to develop K-12 students’ social emotional learning and to establish a sense of community within a classroom (Cefai et al., 2014). There has been little consideration that teachers, themselves, may benefit from circling experiences in order to reflect on their own professional and personal well-being, and to successfully implement circling practices in their classrooms (Boyes-Watson & Pranis, 2010). To garner a deeper understanding of circling use for teachers, this study examined teacher-candidates' experiences with circling in a teacher-education course. The online and in-person focus groups with former teacher-candidates procured three themes: a) learning through circling; b) navigating tensions, and c) establishing congruence. The results suggest that circling should be similarly used with educators, in addition to with K-12 students. The authors conclude with recommendations for practice, suggesting that circling pedagogies should be embedded in current teacher-education programming.

Inspired by these results, the authors also call on instructors of higher education courses to consider the value of circling in fostering supportive learning communities across multiple disciplines. Specifically, the authors propose that developing students’ social-emotional competencies, at all levels of education, alongside the more traditional academic learning goals, can promote inclusive classroom communities that help to facilitate learning. Visitors to this poster will leave with an understanding of the potential benefits of circling specifically for teachers and teacher-candidates, drawing from the results of this current study. Visitors will also be encouraged to reflect on how the practice and impact of circling (and developing students’ social-emotional competencies and promoting inclusive classrooms, more generally) relate to their own teaching/learning contexts.

Presenters

Karen Bouchard

Karen Bouchard is a Ph.D. Candidate and Part-time Professor in the Teaching, Learning and Evaluation stream at the Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa. Her research and teaching interests focus on children’s social-emotional experiences at school, including teacher-student... Read More →

Additional Authors

Trista Hollweck

Trista Hollweck is a Ph.D. student at the University of Ottawa in the department of Education, Teaching, Learning and Evaluation. She has been a school administrator, teacher leader, and school board consultant. She is actively engaged with and training others in Restorative Practice... Read More →

Wednesday June 22, 2016 16:45 - 18:00 EDT
Atrium, Physics & Astronomy Building Western University

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Poster Discussion
Tags circling, learning communities, pedagogy, social-emotional learning, teacher-candidates

16:45 EDT

POSTER.48 - Re-development of an upper-level electrodynamics course using evidence-based teaching methodologies

Electrodynamics is a fundamental subject in physics, but the combination of two features: students having to learn many key concepts, as well as to master the use of mathematical techniques in order to understand the applications, makes this course challenging both for the student and the instructor. We present a redesign of the learning environment in this challenging, upper-level Physics course using several evidence-based teaching methodologies such as constructive alignment, scaffolding of problem-solving, and active learning. Course outcomes indicate that these strategies enable deeper learning in all students. Instructors from all disciplines can adapt our methodologies into courses with multiple, high-level learning outcomes.

Presenters

Chitra Rangan

Dr. Chitra Rangan is Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Windsor, and is one of the inaugural cohort of Teaching Leadership Chairs at the University. She chairs the Community of Practice named PEARL (Promoters of Experiential and Active, Research-based Learning), and... Read More →

Wednesday June 22, 2016 16:45 - 18:00 EDT
Atrium, Physics & Astronomy Building Western University

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Poster Discussion
Tags evidence-based teaching methodologies, constructive alignment, scaffolding, active learning

10:30 EDT

CON05.04 - Trends, Issues and Common Challenges in Program Review and Development

Increasingly, academic programs in institutions of higher education across Canada and the Western world are required to demonstrate and substantiate quality assurance standards set by governments and accreditation agencies. In all provinces, post-secondary programs now undergo some form of cyclical review (Universities Canada, 2015).

As a result, growing numbers of faculty members are called upon to take leadership roles in the program review process, and Teaching and Learning Centres are called upon to support faculty leaders and academic programs. At any time, programs are preparing for review, under review, or implementing recommendations following review (Emil & Cress, 2014).

This work involves challenges such as developing credibility, gaining departmental faculty buy-in, collecting and analyzing data, and the greater challenge of promoting a constructive departmental and institutional culture of enhancement (Kuh et.al. 2014, Harvey & Stensaker 2008).

Following a framing of global outcomes and trends in program review, this interactive session will have groups of participants identify current challenges and concerns, corroborate or refute the global findings with local observation and experience, and review the relevance of the global trends in the local program review context.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Discuss research outcomes from other jurisdictions and global trends moving forward;

Identify issues of concern regarding program review and describe strategies shared;

Situate their own institution’s issues and trajectory relative to other participants as they network with national and international colleagues.

The session will be facilitated in English; however, questions and discussion in French are encouraged. All documents and materials will be available in both English and French.

Presenters

Paola Borin

Curriculum Development Specialist, Ryerson University

Paola is a specialist in curriculum development with over 20 years of experience. She has worked extensively with departments and faculty members engaged in diverse curriculum projects. With a focus in program development, Paola is interested in helping others develop skills to build... Read More →

Jovan Groen

Jovan provides strategic and operational leadership in the design, development and implementation of a wide variety of teaching and learning support initiatives at the University of Ottawa. With a background in curriculum design, he teaches course design and works with departments... Read More →

Thursday June 23, 2016 10:30 - 11:20 EDT
UCC 56

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Interactive Session (50 minutes)
Tags program review, program development, quality assurance, curriculum

10:30 EDT

CON05.14 - “Did I do good?”: The teaching and learning of ethics.

Did I do good?”: The teaching and learning of ethics.

We often assume that students will simply understand specific ethical requirements as they progress, but in reality such “learning by ‘osmosis’” (Bicknell, 1985, p. 25) does not happen. Students need instruction in ethics. With adherence to the Tri-Council’s ethics policy now mandatory for university research with human participants, understanding of ethics is a necessity (The Expert Panel on Research Integrity, 2010). We need students to be empowered to understand and appreciate ethics.

Workshop Structure:
In this reflective-practice workshop based on teaching experience, after a brief introduction to the issues there will be an interactive session with students from past Ethics for Psychology courses who will discuss their course experiences and their progress from basic intrinsic ethical thinking to more explicit, fuller understanding. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions; e.g., what the students think students need, or what works to facilitate understanding of ethics.

Participants then themselves engage in a classroom-type interactive discussion of a situation/scenario and applicable ethical principles. Participants first break out into small groups to discuss a specific scenario, then engage again as whole group for further discussion.

Finally, participants collaborate to design a similar scenario which could be used in their own classes.

Learning Objectives:
As outcomes of this workshop, participants should be able to:

describe concepts underlying ethics and relate these to teaching.
review with students necessity for concepts of ethics and codes.
discuss a student perspective of ethics.
describe benefits of an active learning approach to ethics.
develop their own in-class exercises to discuss ethics with students.

Teaching of ethics can be lecture-based, but discussion of situations and application of principles leads to fuller engagement and deeper understanding by students (Plante, 1998). This workshop illustrates the discussion and engagement model of application of ethics to aid student understanding of ethical principles and codes.

Presenters

Anne Barnfield

Associate Professor, Psychology, Brescia University College

Anne Barnfield, BSc, DPhil. Associate Professor, Psychology, School of Behavioural and Social Sciences, Brescia University College at Western. Interests: 1. Behavioural and Cognitive effects of sport participation. (i) Application of Psychological theory to research indicating... Read More →

Thursday June 23, 2016 10:30 - 11:20 EDT
Weldon Library 258

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Interactive Session (50 minutes)
Tags ethics, experiential, principles, student perspective

11:30 EDT

CON06.09 - Innovation in Case-based Pedagogy: How to teach for the complexities of the real-world

This session is designed to deliver "transformative learning", which is defined as learning centered on strengthening leadership attributes to generate enlightened change within health professionals. Much of public health practice is driven through competency-based skills. Public health practitioners are challenged to apply often numerous and complex competencies to even more complex decision making and problem solving. This session will explore how our approach to public health education and training prepares students for the complexities of real-world decision making and is appropriate for anyone teaching in a dynamic and interactive setting. Based on our experience with a case-based and competency-based education model that integrates large group (classroom) and small group (learning team) approaches, we will demonstrate the effectiveness and flexibility of our program through an interactive demonstration. We will discuss the synthesis of public health curriculum by focusing on practice and experience based learning through an application of case-based pedagogy derived from a Canadian context. This workshop will also compare, contrast, appraise and propose new types of educational offerings for their relevance and ability to meet current and future public health challenges.

Delegates will be better equipped to both use and understand competency-based approaches to problem-solving. Delegates will also learn about the evidence behind learning and working in teams, and be able to apply this to their daily work. By experiencing the case-method in action, delegates will learn to identify and comprehend ambiguous problems, become more comfortable dealing with uncertainty, enhance written and verbal communication skills, rapidly react to a changing environment and build on leadership and team collaboration skills. We will also have case books for our delegates to take with them, to use in their own practice. Case learning can be an excellent format for brown bag/seminar series on the job and can act as a continuing education for public health staff.

We will also spend time discussing our current evaluation project and use this workshop as an opportunity to engage interested educators in a discussion around how best to evaluate this type of learning.

Some of the critical scholarship questions we are beginning to explore are:

What are the appropriate teaching skills for case method learning?

What effective facilitation skills are required?

What are the ideal methods of student and program evaluation of this format?

Presenters

Gerald McKinley

Assistant Professor, Western University

Dr. McKinley is a medical anthropologist who specializes in the social determinants of mental health and Indigenous youth suicide prevention in Ontario, Canada. He is Assistant Professor in the Schulich Interfaculty Program in Public Health where he teaches Social and Cultural Determinants... Read More →

Shannon Sibbald

Assistant Professor, Western University

Shannon Sibbald is an Assistant Professor in Family Medicine, School of Health Studies (Faculty of Health Sciences) and Schulich Interfaculty Program in Public Health. As a health systems researcher, her interests span the health care continuum. Her research focuses on process, outcomes... Read More →

Mark Speechley

Mark Speechley is a Professor in the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics and Schulich Interfaculty Program in Public Health at Western University. Dr Speechley has been teaching for over 25 years using a variety of approaches and styles. He is the inaugural co-editor of the... Read More →

Thursday June 23, 2016 11:30 - 12:20 EDT
UCC 63

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Interactive Session (50 minutes)
Tags case-based, competencies, engaged learning, evaluation, public health

13:45 EDT

CON07.06a - Using Large Group Projects to Foster Learning and Understanding across Diverse Student Populations

What are some of the ways educators can get diverse students to work together on LGBT topics across differences of identity, lived experience, and relationship to the subject? In particular, how can we encourage students to form effective learning communities? In this paper, the authors explore the use of large group/whole class projects to increase student engagement with each other and to bridge differences in student knowledge and experience. Both of the authors teach courses with LGBTQ content, including one course in Women’s Studies called “Contemporary Queer Topics” and one in Media Studies called “HIV/AIDS: Representation, Cultural Production and Activism.” Wendy Pearson has used large group projects (groups of 10-12) for a variety of pedagogical reasons, including encouraging students of different genders, sexualities, races, classes and abilities to work together. Susan Knabe has created whole-class group projects that promote interaction between all members of the class.

In this paper, we will discuss the practical and pedagogical problems involved in getting students to work productively in large groups; these include teaching interpersonal relationship skills, negotiation and moderation skills, and the ability to assess and divide up work to make the most of a diverse range of abilities, knowledges, and interests. Both of us use peer and self-assessment methods to ensure that quality work is rewarded, to keep students accountable, and to promote self-reflexivity. In addition, these assessments require students to reflect on the assignment itself and provide us with useful feedback in terms of teaching strategies for working with diverse student populations, student-driven curriculum design and assessment, changing pedagogy to empower students, student response to self-assessment itself, and promoting student creativity and collaborative learning. We will provide specific examples of the issues we have encountered and will invite discussion of methods for inspiring excellent student engagement and creating worthwhile results.

Presenters

Susan Knabe

Susan Knabe is an Associate Professor cross-appointed between Women's Studies and Feminist Research and the Faculty of Information and Media Studies. She is also Associate Dean, Undergraduate at FIMS. Recent publications include the edited collection Reverse Shots: Indigenous Film... Read More →

Wendy Pearson

Wendy Gay Pearson is an Associate Professor and also Undergraduate Chair of the Department of Women's Studies and Feminist Research. She is the co-editor of Reverse Shots: Indigenous Film and Media in an International Context (2014) and co-wrote the book Zero Patience (2011). She... Read More →

Thursday June 23, 2016 13:45 - 14:45 EDT
UCC 59

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Research Presentation (15 minutes)
Tags collaboration, diversity, group work, lgbtq, peer assessment

13:45 EDT

CON07.06b - Innovative Information Literacy Instruction: Possible in one large class but not one university?

The paper addresses a multi-year effort of collaborative instruction, which was embedded into the curriculum, and delivered consistently throughout an entire course. The collaboration was between a librarian and a political scientist in a 100+ person class. We describe the process of collaboration and the efforts to embed instruction. Findings are based on 1200 Project SAILS surveys administered at the beginning and the end of one academic year; pre- and post-instruction competence tests tracking the (old) ACRL ILI standards; and class-level surveys performed at the start and end of the course. The results indicate students have significant information literacy shortcomings that can be successfully addressed by collaborative, embedded, consistent information literacy instruction. Despite these hopeful findings, we conclude with a discussion regarding the challenges of replicability and scalability, finding them to be substantial obstacles to implementing such an approach across an individual program, much less a wider university setting.

Presenters

Peter Ferguson

Peter A. Ferguson, PhD. Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Western University

Bruce Fyfe

User Experience and User Services, Western University

Bruce Fyfe, Head, User Experience & User Services at Western University

Thursday June 23, 2016 13:45 - 14:45 EDT
UCC 59

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Research Presentation (15 minutes)
Tags collaborative instruction, information literacy instruction

13:45 EDT

PK07.11d - Teaching project management while boosting students’ involvement and creativity: The example of a medium-size French university.

Historically, higher education in France has always been very discipline-centered with an early specialization. Therefore French students hardly ever have the opportunity to develop skills in fields that are far from their discipline, especially in the sciences which are focused on the acquisition of highly specific knowledge and competences. Yet France’s competence framework for the diplomas of Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees issued in January 2015 insists on the necessity to develop the professional, transversal, and linguistic skills of French students. To satisfy the demands of the French Ministry of Research and Higher Education, the faculty of sciences of the University of Poitiers decided to set up a training program in Project management for its third year students. The choice was deliberately made to avoid the formal top-down format of traditional lectures followed by tutorial classes which is still the rule in the French educational system. Another paradigm that had to be taken into account is the French national context of a monolingual country whose students are being faced with the necessity to master the English language. That’s why students are now asked to manage a project over their third year, usually in groups of three to six students, and to present it orally at the end of the year. The idea was to set-up a socio-constructivist approach to teaching and learning based on the use of an online training platform explaining the basics of project management, students being assisted throughout the year by a tutor for the actual management of their own projects, and by an English-speaking coach for the final presentation. After three years of experimenting this new approach, we will analyze its benefits for our students as well as the improvements that could be implemented in the future years.

Presenters

Isabelle Lucet

University of Poitiers, France

Isabelle Lucet qualified as an English teacher and specialized in teaching English to science university students twenty years ago. She first graduated in English studies and later in Education sciences and has always been interested in innovative teaching methods. She currently heads... Read More →

James Robert

James Robert spent more than ten years teaching secondary school pupils. He has developed skills in career management and now teaches at university level and has specialized in the promotion of students’ employability. He co-heads the Languages and career services of the faculty... Read More →

Thursday June 23, 2016 13:45 - 14:45 EDT
UCC 67

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Pecha Kucha (7 minutes)
Tags teaching methods, project management, fab lab, creativity, entrepreneurship

13:45 EDT

PK07.14a - The [Not So] Hidden Language of Power and Exclusion

As teachers we do a lot of talking. Whatever our contexts we explain, describe, clarify, explicate, present, and rationalize. For many of us, we learn our ‘teacher talk’ from the modeling of teachers who guided us through our own educational paths. As innocuous as this may be we need to consider several interrelated issues. Firstly, this process may have been so commonsense and seamless that we may not reflect on the ramifications of teaching the way we were taught. Secondly, commonsense practices might also reflect deeply rooted assumptions that sustain relationships that do not serve the educative process or thriving human encounters. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, normative language can function as coded language that appears inclusive and yet serves to exclude.

Pedagogical engagements that disconnect us from acts of humanity and grace and the development of self, fuel ideological aims that ensure competition, domination, and superiority. To be sure, this also suggests an interrogation of pedagogical engagements that have been, as Arendt (1998) suggests, “uncritically and slavishly accepted” (p. 179). Progressive tenets, for instance, such as “student-centered learning” can also serve to cloak instructional strategies that in actuality control and isolate the learner from the development of self by denying plurality and the space of appearance.

In this lightning talk I will address the ways in which our words as teachers are too often used to “veil intentions [rather than] to disclose realities,” and our engagements with students too often used to “violate and destroy [rather than] to establish relations and create new realities” (Arendt, 1958, p. 200). With the goal of using this format to represent, confront, and shift ideological discourse, I will incorporate images and texts that represent ways of teaching that are striking in their banality and strategies that uncover and shift the epistemological space.

Presenters

Cathy Benedict

Director of Research Don Wright Faculty of Music, University of Western Ontario

Cathy Benedict's (Assistant Professor and Director of Research Don Wright Faculty of Music at UWO) scholarly interests lay in facilitating educative environments in which students take on the perspective of a justice-oriented citizen. To this end her research agenda focuses on the... Read More →

Thursday June 23, 2016 13:45 - 14:45 EDT
Weldon Library 258

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Pecha Kucha (7 minutes)
Tags power, exclusion, normative practices, pedagogy

13:45 EDT

PK07.14b - Why “Assigned Seating” for exams is the best thing since sliced bread

An assigned seating scheme for exams, particularly in large class settings, has many benefits both administratively for the instructor and pedagogically for the student. Assurance of quality with respect to academic integrity is maintained as is the security of the exam. Teaching strategies like gameification or two-stage exams are aided and abetted by assigned seating. In just over six minutes you will be convinced that assigned seating for exams is indeed the best thing since sliced bread!

Presenters

Trent Tucker

Assistant Professor; College of Business & Economics, University of Guelph

I am the "Lockie and Promoli Professor of Transformational Learning" in the College of Business and Economics at the University of Guelph. Talk to me about teaching 'n' technology, innovative pedagogical practices, anything new & novel (and effective!) in the classroom...

Thursday June 23, 2016 13:45 - 14:45 EDT
Weldon Library 258

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Pecha Kucha (7 minutes)
Tags assigned seating, examinations, gameification, large classes, two-stage exams

13:45 EDT

PK07.14c - Supporting multiliterate students and rethinking teacher pedagogy in higher education

Multiliteracies and multimodal pedagogies in K-12 education are changing the way literacy is conceptualized beyond reading and writing printed text. These practices have shifted the focus onto a student-centered and student-as-designer pedagogy with the aim of improving the quality of education. The implications of this change in teacher literacy practices in schools is that teacher pedagogies in higher education will also need to evolve to meet the needs of the 21st century learner. Many graduate programs highlight the importance of originality, creativity, and thoroughness, however there appear to be few multiliteracy options available in higher education courses, even in online and blended learning spaces. Blogging, for example, is a multi-faceted digital space, which can draw upon one's multiple resources, while at the same time creating space(s) for a more fluid communication or expression. Using social media, e.g. Twitter, also has the potential to be an effective pedagogical tool, yet these technologies challenge the convential conception of teacher practice, social space, social practices, and schedules. Rooted in the current literature in graduate-level teacher professional learning in multiliteracies pedagogies in collaboration with research on the use of blogging in higher education, the aim of this presentation is to tell a story, in a multimodal format, about the need to engage our students with more expansive pedagogies. The session participants will gain an understanding of the ways in which educators can engage with multiliteracies and multimodality. This is with the aim to have programs designed which promote inclusive practices to create more equitable education programs for a diversity of students. Potential learning outcomes for this session include an introduction and initial understanding of multiliteracies and multimodality and its importance for offering more inclusive, student-centered programs and teaching practices in higher education and to offer examples of tools educators can use to engage with 21st century students.

Presenters

Joelle Nagle

Western University

Joelle Nagle is a PhD candidate at Western University in London, Ontario. Her research interests include the professional learning of teachers in graduate education, multiliteracies, and multimodalities in teaching and learning, as well as using social media as a venue for professional... Read More →

Annie Tran

Annie Tran is a doctoral student at the Faculty of Education at Western University in London, Ontario. Her research includes multiliteracies in higher education, in particular multimodal logic and alternative formats for academic dissertations. Her previous research focused on the... Read More →

Thursday June 23, 2016 13:45 - 14:45 EDT
Weldon Library 258

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Pecha Kucha (7 minutes)
Tags Multiliteracies, professional learning, teacher education, graduate education, multimodality, student diversity, inclusive pedagogies, blogging, social media

15:00 EDT

CON08.01a - The Learning Outcome Assessment Consortium: Multi-Institutional Collaboration for Learning Outcomes Assessment in Ontario

This session will discuss the ongoing facilitation of a consortium consisting of three colleges and three universities that was created by HEQCO to promote the assessment of higher-order cognitive skills (e.g., critical thinking and communication) at the institution level. In December 2012, Queen’s University, Durham College, Humber College, the University of Toronto, the University of Guelph and George Brown College set out to create, pilot and test various assessment tools across their institutions. The session will begin with an overview of why the consortium was created, followed by a short description of the six projects. Since none of the projects has been completed, the session will focus on common best practices, successes and challenges encountered thus far.

Attendees of this session will be able to identify common challenges in learning outcomes assessment. In addition, they will be able to describe effective assessment methods that could be used at their respective institutions. If you are interested in learning more about the learning outcomes assessment practices that are currently being used in Ontario colleges and universities, this is the session for you!

Presenters

Alexandra MacFarlane

Researcher, Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario

Alexandra is a Senior Researcher at the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario. She is the lead coordinator of the Learning Outcomes Assessment Consortium, and she organizes and moderates HEQCO’s learning outcomes assessment webinars. Alexandra has also worked as a college... Read More →

Thursday June 23, 2016 15:00 - 16:00 EDT
UCC 37

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Research Presentation (15 minutes)
Tags learning outcomes, quality, assessment, student success, multi-institutional collaboration

15:00 EDT

CON08.01b - A pedagogical intervention in first-year Calculus: An examination of structured writing using partially-populated notes

Pedagogical innovation in post-secondary mathematics has not progressed at the same rate as other disciplines. Recent poor results in international standardized testing by many countries (including Canada), and high numbers of students failing in post-secondary mathematics (Faridhan, 2013; Scerbina et al., 2013; Strother, Campen, & Grunow, 2013), has created an urgent need to examine post-secondary mathematics pedagogy and, indeed, innovations in student-centred curricula, assessment and teaching practices.

In this research, we explored the use of partially-populated notes (PPNs) in a first-year calculus course. PPNs are lecture notes prepared by the instructor that have strategically placed empty spaces for students to fill-in during the lecture. PPNs allow time savings on low-level concepts/definitions while allowing more time to be spent on high-level concepts and active learning. The concept was studied by Tonkes and colleagues (2009) who found that students’ preferred using PPNs for learning of mathematics; however, this research did not consider student-level outcomes or other variables that might explain student-level achievement. In fact, there is very little evidence that writing in mathematics improves student learning and consequently, one aim of this study was to explore this hypothesis. Student data (grades) were compared between two sections of the same calculus course (one control class and one where PPNs were used as a pedagogical intervention).

A mixed-methods analysis comparing the impact of the PPNs on course-level outcomes as well as the impact of other student-level predictor variables thought to impact achievement in first-year mathematics will be presented and discussed. We will also present results from a qualitative exit survey as well as share examples of PPNs, and discuss as a whole group writing in undergraduate mathematics courses.

Presenters

Donna Kotsopoulos

Dr. Donna Kotsopoulos is a Professor in Education, cross appointed to Mathematics at Wilfrid Laurier University where she directs the Mathematical Brains Lab. She is a former Associate Vice-President Research (acting), Graduate Coordinator, and Associate Dean, an Ontario Certified... Read More →

Chester Weatherby

Dr. Chester Weatherby is a tenure-track (Professional Teaching) Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Douglas Woolford

Dr. Douglas Woolford is an Associate Professor of Environmetrics in the Department of Statistical and Actuarial Sciences at Western University.

Thursday June 23, 2016 15:00 - 16:00 EDT
UCC 37

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Research Presentation (15 minutes)
Tags partially-populated notes, quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis

15:00 EDT

CON08.05c - Math Placement Testing for College-Bound Students

Students often come to college inadequately prepared to enter into mathematics curriculum beyond a remedial level; further, they self-select into math courses beyond their actual numeracy skills. Newly implemented placement testing has allowed our students to move from a 47% to a 13% drop/fail rate in 12C Math. In this session, participants will learn about the design, application, results, and future of Fanshawe College’s Math Placement Assessment for its General Arts & Science program.

Presenters

Jessica Bugorski

Jessica Bugorski is the Acting Chair of the School of Language & Liberal Studies at Fanshawe College.

Erin Kox

Erin Kox is the General Arts & Science Coordinator and a Math professor in the School of Language & Liberal Studies at Fanshawe College.

Thursday June 23, 2016 15:00 - 16:00 EDT
UCC 58

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Research Presentation (15 minutes)
Tags numeracy, post-admission testing and assessment, remediation, retention, student success

15:00 EDT

CON08.07b - Teaching to learn, learning to teach: a pedagogical course for undergraduates

By examining the development and reception of a fourth-year undergraduate course in pedagogy, this session will provide a high-impact, student-centred model for experiential learning that should appeal to faculty, educational developers, program chairs, and administrators. Medieval Studies 402 is a for-credit course that supplies outstanding undergraduate students (who must apply for the opportunity) with intensive pedagogical training delivered simultaneously with a practicum component where they serve as discussion leaders in a first-year course.

The session will first provide background on the rationale and development process of the course. Similar models at other institutions are often the work of individual instructors (Gordon, Henry, and Dempster, 2013, p. 104), but Medieval Studies 402 is embedded in the curriculum and delivered with support from our institution’s Educational Development office. The session will share survey data that explores student responses to the course’s formal assessment structure and to the informal methods of self/peer assessment that took shape within the classroom, as well as observations from the lived experience of the instructor within this unique classroom environment. Finally, we will discuss the logistics of a model focused on developing the student, rather than utilizing student labor; as Socha (1998) discusses in his evaluation of a similar program in a communication studies program, this type of model “should not be considered a means to save time and money… [it] is far too labor-intensive” (p.81). By the end of this session, attendees should have a clear understanding of how this model can provide senior undergraduates with a pedagogical role that will benefit them and enhance the first-year experience. They should also have generated ideas about how this model might be adapted in other programs and its strengths as a student recruitment tool.

Presenters

Alicia McKenzie

Alicia McKenzie is an instructor teaching in the Medieval Studies Program and the History Department at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Thursday June 23, 2016 15:00 - 16:00 EDT
UCC 60

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Research Presentation (15 minutes)
Tags undergraduate teaching assistants, pedagogical training, student-centered assessment, digital literacy

15:00 EDT

CON08.07c - Broadening Understanding: Students' perspectives on respecting all sexual orientations and gender identities in university classrooms

Awareness of LGBTQ+ issues is improving, but ensuring that university classrooms are free from marginalization remains a significant challenge. In November 2014, the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance conducted a 25-question online survey of students who do not conform to heterosexual and cisgender paradigms—this included those who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, or Questioning—within its membership with the goal of identifying the most persistent issues these students face and their preferred solutions. Among 311 valid responses, most respondents expressed that they felt welcome and comfortable in their campus life, however a sizable minority still indicated that they did not; roughly 20 percent of respondents felt excluded and uncomfortable. The findings suggested that campus communities can be especially unwelcoming and exclusionary for students whose gender identity does not correspond with their birth-assigned sex (non-cisgender students). In particular correlations between non-cisgender identity and negative interactions with faculty suggest a need to incorporate diverse perspectives about gender and sexual orientation into university classrooms. Session participants will be briefed on the survey’s findings, and the results of open-text, qualitative analysis that explores: the role of faculty members in creating welcoming and inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ students; the importance of student-faculty relationships in determining students’ overall feelings of inclusion; the impacts of heteronormativity and cisnormativity on students’ academic experience; and strategies for incorporating diverse perspectives about sexual orientation and gender into the classroom. Ultimately, this research presentation will communicate the LGBTQ+ community’s concerns and recommendations to those most immediately capable of improving their classroom experience: university teachers and administrators.

Presenters

Lindsay D'Souza

Research Intern, Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance

Lindsay is currently completing an undergraduate degree in Honours English and History with a minor in Commerce from McMaster University. Her extra-curricular involvement and experiences working in large teams in mentorship and leadership capacities is what drives her determination... Read More →

Danielle Pierre

Research & Policy Analyst, Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance

Danielle has been working with the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance since October 2014. As Research & Policy Analyst, Danielle has authored policy papers about student health and wellness, the needs of mature students, and reforms to the tuition framework and student financial... Read More →

Thursday June 23, 2016 15:00 - 16:00 EDT
UCC 60

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Research Presentation (15 minutes)
Tags curriculum, gender, identity, sexual orientation, students

15:00 EDT

CON08.08b - Student Time Usage and Stress Management During Fall Reading Week

Our discussion focuses on student time usage before, during, and after Fall Reading Week (FRW), while considering student stress, academic workload and recreation. We are guided by prior studies as well as an unpublished work presented at STLHE/15 in Vancouver. We tracked student time usage before, during, and after FRW. Across 21 days, 420 students received 3 smartphone notifications asking students what they were doing, their stress and recreation levels, and university workload. We evaluated two hypotheses: whether students who chose to vacation during FRW were less stressed following the break; or whether students who chose to study more were less stressed following the break. A multiple regression analysis predicting student stress after FRW accounted for 49% of the variance, explaining factors contributing to stress after FRW. The second hypothesis was supported: Post-break stress was higher when students were stressed before and during FRW, had a high workload after FRW and recreated a lot during FRW. Tice and Baumeister (1997) found that procrastination caused less stress at the beginning of the semester, but higher levels as time went on, as well as lower grades. Similarly, Kennedy (2013) found that procrastination had positive effects on students’ social life but negatively affected the student's’ academic performance. Comparable to the present study, procrastination was positively correlated with stress. Häfner, Oberst, and Stock (2014) noted that short-term programs stressing self-regulatory skills could change study habits. In Häfner’s follow-up study in 2015, stress levels and the likelihood to procrastinate dropped in an intervention group. The findings of the present study can potentially empower and transform students into more productive and less stressed individuals. We propose that assessments be spaced out to deter procrastination. Moreover, a study week should be advertised as such, and instruction on effective time usage should be provided.

References

Häfner, A. (2015). Decreasing students’ stress through time management training: An intervention study. European journal of psychology of education, 30(1), 81-94.

Häfner, A., Oberst, V., & Stock, A. (2014). Avoiding procrastination through time management: An experimental intervention study. Educational Studies, 40(3), 352-360. doi:10.1080/03055698.2014.899487

Kennedy, G. (2013). An exploration into the influence of academic and social values, procrastination, and perceived school belongingness on academic performance. Social psychology of education, 16(3), 435-470.

Tice, D., & Baumeister, R. (1997). Longitudinal study of procrastination, performance, stress and health: The cost and benefits of dawdling. American Psychological Society, 8(6), 454-458.

Presenters

Ken Cramer

Professor of Psychology, University of Windsor

Ken Cramer is a full tenured faculty member in the Psychology Department at the University of Windsor; he is a 3M National Teaching Fellow, a University of Windsor Teaching Leadership Chair, and the recipient of several teaching awards and accolades.

Rebecca Pschibul

University of Manitoba

Rebecca Pschibul is a Dean’s Honour Roll student working towards a Bachelor of Honours in Psychology with Thesis and Minors in Modern Languages (Spanish) and Sociology. She has assisted with the research of Dr. Cramer in different areas of Psychology.

Nilo Tavares

Nilo Tavares is a psychology undergraduate at the University of Windsor

Thursday June 23, 2016 15:00 - 16:00 EDT
UCC 61

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Research Presentation (15 minutes)
Tags Fall Reading Week, Stress Management, Time Usage

15:00 EDT

CON08.09b - University contexts: Are we Meeting the Needs of Students with Learning Disabilities?

This study investigates how the needs of students with learning disabilities (LD) are currently being met at the post-secondary level in Canada by identifying potential barriers of access to support and accommodation. This study aims to understand the learning needs of students with LD in higher education settings, highlighting both students’ and faculty members’ perspectives of faculty preparedness to meet the needs of students with LD in today’s university contexts. Current research demonstrates that the learning process within postsecondary settings can present a number of challenges for students with LD, especially as this relates to obtaining appropriate support and accommodations for their learning needs (Freeman, Harrison, & Holtermann, 2012). The provision and implementation of support services in higher education appears to depend on factors such as: the individual’s ability to self-disclose their disability and self-advocate for their needs, disability documentation, faculty knowledge of legal requirements to provide accommodation, faculty and staff beliefs, attitudes and perceptions towards individuals with specific learning needs, and faculty knowledge of accommodation procedures (Harrison & Holmes, 2012; Murray, Wren, & Keys, 2008; Zhang et al., 2010). Essentially, this study aims to understand the effectiveness of various instructional practices and policies that are currently in place to support students’ overall inclusion into the higher education environment from the perspectives of those who experience these firsthand. Learning outcomes for this session include a deeper understanding of the challenges that students with LD face in postsecondary settings, an understanding of current teaching practices that are used to meet the needs of these students, and disparities between the two. Best practices in teaching and learning will be examined in relation to how instrucational practices at this level can be improved.

Presenters

Jacqueline Specht

Dr. Jacqueline Specht is the director of the Canadian Research Centre on Inclusive Education, and a professor in the Faculty of Education at Western University. Her research interests encompass pedagogical issues with the participation of children in the school system. Currently... Read More →

Sarah Copfer Terreberry

Sarah Copfer Terreberry is a PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Education at Western University and a sessional instructor in the Department of Teacher Education at Brock University. Her research interests lie in the field of educational psychology and special education, with her current... Read More →

Thursday June 23, 2016 15:00 - 16:00 EDT
UCC 63

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Research Presentation (15 minutes)
Tags Learning Disabilities, Postsecondary Education, Inclusion, Faculty Preparedness

15:00 EDT

CON08.09c - Meeting needs after graduation: a trans-disciplinary learning experience for undergraduate students

We present ICON, a unique academic model for creating a transdisciplinary, community-engaged research opportunity for all undergraduate students enrolled at the University of Guelph. Students acquired skills in knowledge translation and transfer that allowed them to work together on a shared community based project. Preliminary data suggest that this program attracts students who would otherwise not have participated in research and that they identified having acquired a larger network of contacts and skills necessary for entry-level job placements.

Additional Authors (not attending):
Jessica Nelson, Adam Sparks, Dan Gillis

Presenters

Shoshanah Jacobs

Dr. Shoshanah Jacobs is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Guelph. Her research focuses on knowledge translation and transfer.

Kerry Ritchie

Associate Professor, University of Guelph

Thursday June 23, 2016 15:00 - 16:00 EDT
UCC 63

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Research Presentation (15 minutes)
Tags knowledge translation and transfer, transdisciplinary education

15:00 EDT

CON08.10a - Understanding the State of the Curriculum through an Examination of Course Syllabi

Understanding the State of the Curriculum through an Examination of Course Syllabi
by Adam Goodwin, David M. Andrews, and Jess C. Dixon

A team composed of the department head, a faculty member, and a graduate student from a department of Kinesiology at an Ontario university recently conducted a review of its undergraduate curriculum and teaching practices. The project’s aim was to enact change within the department’s curriculum and its delivery that will provide more and better opportunities for students to learn, grow, and be successful both in and out of the classroom. The most recent course syllabi used for each course taught over the previous five years was retrieved from the department’s central syllabi database. Syllabi were coded using NVivo for: learning outcomes (e.g., Bloom & Krathwohl, 1956), experiential learning activities (e.g., guest speakers, field trips), forms of assessment (e.g., written assignments, examinations, presentations), teaching practices (e.g., case studies, laboratories, lectures), and congruence between departmental and course goals and policies. From the 87 syllabi examined during the project, 74% of courses offered a minimum of one experiential learning activity, there were a total of 492 learning outcomes listed across all syllabi reviewed (Understanding = 28.1%; Applying = 18.3%; Creating = 14.6%; Remembering = 14.4%; Analyzing = 12.6%; Evaluating = 11%; and Other = 1%), and 31% of the syllabi required slight modifications in content to align with updated departmental or university policies (e.g., a statement about teaching evaluations being conducted at the end of the term; a missed examination policy statement). The aim of the presentation is to highlight the rationale for the project, the methods used, and how the results are being used to inform a department-wide discussion about required changes to the curriculum and teaching practices.

Presenters

David M. Andrews

Dr. Andrews is the Department Head for and Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Windsor. In 2014, he transitioned from his position as a University of Windsor Research Leadership Chair to his current position as a Teaching Leadership Chair for the Faculty... Read More →

Jess C. Dixon

Dr. Dixon is a faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Windsor. Jess also teaches sport leadership at Johan Cruyff University in The Netherlands. As the Associate Editor of Case Studies in Sport Management, Dr. Dixon’s research and scholarly interests... Read More →

Adam Goodwin

Master of Human Kinetics Candidate, University of Windsor

Adam Goodwin is a Master of Human Kinetics Candidate in Sport Management at the University of Windsor. In addition to research interests about Canadians’ sport participation, he has a growing interest in teaching and learning pedagogy. He presented at and attended his first teaching... Read More →

Thursday June 23, 2016 15:00 - 16:00 EDT
UCC 65

Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices

Format Research Presentation (15 minutes)
Tags program review, curricular change, syllabi

15:00 EDT

CON08.10b - Flexible, student-driven curriculum design and progressive hybrid assessment to enhance competency development during early clinical exposure.

The medical radiation program co-delivered by Michener Institute and the University of Toronto was redesigned to include best practices in integrated program design, competency/student -driven curriculum design and assessment, early exposure to clinical practice, integration of case-based and simulation-based learning, and hybrid delivery (e.g. Cook et al., 2013; Thistlethwaite et al., 2012; Yardley et al., 2010). The redesign process produced a new educational framework and formalized embedded CQI process that ensures ongoing dynamic data collection for rapid-response pedagogy, course correction and peer learning. An online tool was developed to assess qualitatively, quantitatively and longitudinally student’s competency development through clinical exposure using best-practice principles of authentic evaluation (Ginsburg, McIlroy, Oulanova, Eva, & Regehr, 2010). Students reported feeling that the first year of courses had effectively enhanced their knowledge (91%), technical skills (100%), understanding of how course material relates to practice (96%), and reported high satisfaction with a high quality educational experience (88%). We are currently conducting the analysis of year two data. The impact of the integrated curriculum will be assessed following the first cohort of students completing the program in 2017.

Participants will have an opportunity to engage in facilitated discussion on successful change initiatives that cross institutional boundaries and discuss strategies for championing innovation and change in student-driven curriculum design and assessment.

Learning outcomes:

Gain insight about shifts in hybrid design, student-driven curriculum design and assessment, competency development and empowering pedagogies across a range of institutional contexts.
Discover and discuss examples of collaborative learning, educational change and innovative methods for documenting student achievement.

We invite participants to contribute their examples of initiatives of facilitating and leading innovation within and across their institutions, to deepen and broaden the collective understanding of Student-Centered Curricula Assessment and Teaching Practices and to explore the role of education as dynamic change agent in the current global educational landscape.

Presenters

Cathryne Palmer

Cathryne Palmer is the Director for the Medical Radiation Sciences (MRS) Program at the University of Toronto. The MRS program is an undergraduate professional program in the Faculty of Medicine consisting of three streams (radiation therapy, radiological technology and nuclear medicine... Read More →

Susan Weltz

Susan Weltz is the Academic Chair, Imaging Programs at the Michener Institute of Education at University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto, ON. Susan leads two program streams (Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Technology (NMMIT) and Radiological Technology) as part of the joint... Read More →

Additional Authors