Program

2019 Symposium on Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Detailed Symposium Program



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ENGAGING STUDENTS, ENGAGING FACULTY

Thursday, November 7, 2019

8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Hotel Lobby Registration Open
PRE-SYMPOSIUM WORKSHOPS
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 Noon Lynx Working With Students as Partners in SoTL: Introducing a (New) Model of Co-inquiry
Cherie Woolmer, PhD
McMaster University

What happens when we move from a model of conducting SoTL on students to conducting it with them? What happens when we conceive of students as partners in our SoTL work? Why might we want to do this and what are the opportunities and challenges of adopting this approach?

This workshop will introduce the foundational ideas of student-faculty partnerships in SoTL (Healey et al., 2014; Cook-Sather et al. 2014; Felten et al, 2013), inviting you to critically explore these questions and consider opportunities and possibilities for adopting or adapting this approach in your context. Discussion will be informed by examples of practice drawn from the literature as well the facilitator’s own experiences of conducting SoTL in partnership with students (Woolmer et al., 2016; Bovill & Woolmer, in press), paying attention to issues of inclusivity, power, ethics, and joint-ownership. The workshop will be of relevance to new and experienced SoTL scholars who are new to working in partnership with students.

Cherie Woolmer, PhD is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the MacPherson Institute at McMaster University, Canada, and is an ISSOTL Fellow. She supports the university’s Student Partners Program, involving 200 faculty, staff, and students a year on projects that enhance teaching and learning at McMaster. She works with students in her current research on pedagogical partnerships and change and is Editorial Manager of International Journal for Students as Partners.

9:00 a.m. – 12:00 Noon Black Bear Inter-Views: A Glimpse Into Small Qualitative Interview Skills That Make Big Research Connections
Sonya L. Jakubec, RN, PhD
Mount Royal University
Genevieve Currie, RN, MN
Mount Royal University

Knowledge generation depends on a deeper view into, across, above and beyond the superficial. Small, slow, sometimes overwhelming, and often un-glamourous interview work enables the researcher to enter spaces between the knower and known - and to make deep analytic connections. Only in relationship and with a willingness to view into the unknown can researchers tap into what informants have to say, their experiences, knowledge of the everyday, or understanding of social or educational concerns. Your skills as an interviewer can serve to explore these spaces that may otherwise be hidden from view. Through the following objectives, this workshop will build your skills as a View-Master, primed for the Inter-View process and the exciting connections to be made.

  1. Preparing and planning for openness and exchange in your qualitative interviews
  2. Rigorous and relational techniques for individual and group interviews with diverse participants
  3. Addressing common pitfalls and challenges – getting out of your way, staying present to the Inter-View…and welcoming the surprises that may come into view for your analytic project and yourself!
Sonya L. Jakubec RN, PhD is a community mental health nurse and nurse educator. Her research is focused on the connection of physical, social and political environments and lifespan health and wellbeing, as well as research literacy education for health and community practitioners. Sonya employs critical, participatory and mixed method approaches to qualitative inquiry and is a sought-after presenter, author, educator, and investigator with numerous community and educational projects.

Genevieve Currie RN, MN is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Her background is paediatric nursing, community health, and family health. She is currently undergoing a plan of research using interpretive inquiry exploring the parent's experience of having a child with complex health needs. Genevieve is a presenter, educator, author and investigator with several qualitative research projects.

10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. First Floor Hallway Coffee
12:00 noon – 1:30 p.m. La Terrazza Lounge
Main Floor
Lunch (Provided to all Workshop Participants)
1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Lynx From Idea to Inquiry: Refining SoTL Research Questions
Erika Smith, PhD
Mount Royal University
Hannah Storrs
Mount Royal University

In our everyday experiences, we often notice aspects of teaching and learning that spark new ideas. How can these ideas, observations, or intuitions be effectively translated into research? In this session, participants will explore ways to take these inspirations and turn them into a focused question that provides a strong foundation for SoTL inquiry. Facilitated by a SoTL researcher and an undergraduate research partner, this workshop engages with the theme of "engaging students, engaging faculty" by providing strategies for researchers and student partners throughout the SoTL inquiry process. Discussion will focus on techniques to refine a research problem statement and related question(s) in ways that address a particular area of need or an observed opportunity, ultimately guiding and informing subsequent designs for a SoTL study.

Erika Smith is an Assistant Professor and Faculty Development Consultant in the Academic Development Centre at Mount Royal University. She holds a PhD in Adult, Community, and Higher Education from the University of Alberta. As a researcher-practitioner, Erika builds evidence-informed understandings of undergraduate education in ways that connect scholarship and practice. Her research interests include digital literacies, social media, and learning design. With 15 years of experience, Erika's professional practice focuses on faculty development, undergraduate learning, and educational technologies within higher education settings.

Hannah Storrs is a Research Assistant at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Canada. She holds a BA in Psychology (Honours) from Mount Royal University. Her research interests include abnormal psychology with a focus on anxiety and depression. Hannah has experience working within professor-student partnerships in a variety of disciplines.

1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Black Bear Asking the Right Questions: Using Surveys in SoTL
April McGrath, PhD
Associate Professor of Psychology
Mount Royal University

Surveys are an incredibly popular tool to gather data about people’s behavior, attitudes, knowledge, and characteristics. Given the wide variety of data you could collect about teaching and learning through surveys, you may want to use surveys in your SoTL work. In this workshop, we will consider the purpose of surveys in SoTL and the types of outcomes a scholar can expect from using this method. We will review some established questionnaires and discuss the principles of good question writing. We will also discuss different question types, response options, and issues to be aware of when collecting self-reported responses. Participants can expect a mix of facilitator presentation and exercises. This workshop will serve as an introduction to using surveys in SoTL; conference attendees with training or experience in survey delivery would benefit from attending an alternative workshop.

April McGrath is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Mount Royal University with a background in social psychology. Her work in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) focuses on developing practices to help students overcome statistics anxiety as well as providing feedback that improves student writing. Her participation in the Nexen Scholars Program at Mount Royal University and the Biennial International Seminar on the Teaching of Psychological Science have been influential in her understanding of SoTL. Recent articles of hers have been published in Teaching of Psychology and Teaching & Learning Inquiry. Before coming to Mount Royal University, McGrath completed her PhD and MA in Psychology at Carleton University. She also holds a BA in Psychology from St. Thomas University. She teaches courses in statistics, research methods, and environmental psychology.

3:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. First Floor Hallway Coffee
5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Glacier Salon Opening Reception

Please join us for an Informal gathering at the beginning of our ninth Symposium. This is a perfect time to reconnect with friends and colleagues, meet other scholars of teaching and learning, and enjoy the company of our participants.

Sponsored by the Academic Development Centre at Mount Royal University

6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Alpine Meadows/Castle/Assiniboine Opening Banquet

Experience has taught us that beginning with an opening banquet provides for an easy entrée into the community and good work of the Symposium. This is a chance to get acquainted with new colleagues and prepare for the rigor and excitement of the days to come.

7:30 p.m. Opening Remarks
Michelle Yeo, PhD
Academic Director
Institute for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Welcome Remarks
Timothy Rahilly, PhD
President and Vice-Chancellor
Mount Royal University

Opening Plenary Keynote Presentation:
Elizabeth Marquis, PhD
McMaster University

Engaging as Partners: Student-Faculty Partnership and the Promise of More Equitable Institutions

A growing body of scholarship demonstrates the benefits of student-faculty/staff partnership in teaching, learning, and SoTL. When students and faculty or staff collaborate actively on teaching and learning projects, opportunities for mutual learning and growth are established, and curricula, scholarship, and teaching and learning practices are often enhanced. This interactive keynote address will explore the ways in which such partnership approaches interface with issues of equity and inclusion in postsecondary education. In particular, I will consider the increasingly common claim that engaging as partners can contribute to redressing entrenched inequities in colleges and universities, illustrating the real potential of partnership in this regard while also articulating some cautions and potential complications.

Drawing on a range of research that documents the perspectives and experiences of university students, faculty, and staff who occupy a variety of institutional positions and social locations, I will propose a series of principles that might enhance our capacity to contribute to educational equity via student-faculty/staff partnership. Participants will be invited to consider the ways in which they engage (or do not engage) in partnership in their own work, to critique and build on these proposed principles, and to collectively explore how we might (better) contribute to equity in our institutions through our teaching, learning, and SoTL endeavours.

Pop-Up Poetry

The Symposium will once again welcome Pop-Up Poetry as a part of this year’s Symposium activities. Armed with a typewriter and imagination, poets will provide delegates with the opportunity to have a personal poem written for them. Times will be announced at the Symposium.

Friday, November 8, 2019

7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Alpine Meadows/Castle/Assiniboine Breakfast Available until 9:00 a.m.
8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Hotel Lobby Registration Open
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
9:00 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. Aspen Research on Teaching and Learning

Teaching as Authentic Practice in the Graduate Student Supervisory Relationship

The presentation is the outcome of a co-inquiry with students, where shared interests about student learning, students as partners, and a hermeneutic lens shaped the main research questions:

— What are graduate students’ experiences of the supervisory relationship?
— What happens inside the relationship in terms of learning and student success?

Although the supervisory relationship deviates from the traditional classroom learning, we began our inquiry from the recognition that the individual pedagogy warrants attention in the SoTL literature, especially when considered within the students as partners framework. The team conducted 16 in-depth interviews with graduate students across programs at the University of Calgary between October 2018 and April 2019.

Using hermeneutic analytical approaches and framing the analysis around the emerging question of what constitutes teaching and learning in a supervisory relationship, we found that it may be more appropriate to speak of the pedagogy as mentoring; what Kreber (2015) described as authentic practice for SoTL. This is relevant to SoTL because it allowed us to think of the nuances in the word teaching, and how supervisory relationships in higher education may need to expand the way we talk about teaching and learning in higher education.

Galicia Blackman, University of Calgary
James Field, University of Calgary
Kaitlyn Francois, University of Calgary

9:00 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. Birch Research on Teaching and Learning

The Influence of Fieldwork Design on Students’ Perceptions of Employability-Enhancing Skills Development

Fieldwork is a signature pedagogy of environmental subjects including biosciences, geography and geology. As well as providing an opportunity for students to engage with subject-specific content, fieldwork can develop a wide range of employability-enhancing technical and transferable skills. However, students can have difficulty identifying the skills they develop both during fieldwork and throughout their degree programmes. We investigated whether giving students autonomy to design and undertake a fieldwork investigation influenced the skills they developed and identified compared with when they participated in staff-led fieldwork investigations. We also explored whether students recognised the potential enhancement to their employability that skills developed through fieldwork might provide. Most previous research assessing students’ perceptions of skills development through fieldwork has focused on post-course reflections. However, our students completed short daily reflections throughout a field course. Overall, students recognised technical skills more frequently than transferable skills and many were able to link their skills development to their future employability. However, during staff-led fieldwork students recognised more technical skills, but during autonomous student-designed investigations, they recognised more transferable skills. This presentation will discuss the implications of these findings for designing learning opportunities that maximise graduate employability through the delivery of subject-specific content.

Emma Peasland, University of Hull

9:00 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. Black Bear Research on Teaching and Learning

Development and Validation of a New Measure of Gut Feeling in Practicum Nursing Education

Clinical instructors are expected to objectively appraise students using subjective tools such as anecdotal notes, unstructured observations and feedback from patients and colleagues. Placing a student on a learning plan is affected by personal, professional and institutional variables swaying evaluation towards subjectivity. We conducted a sequential explanatory mixed methods design where a quantitative research study, focusing on identifying factors that determine clinical instructors’ decision to put students on learning contracts, followed a qualitative inquiry. Data was collected and analyzed in two phase. In phase two we quantitatively pilot tested a tool constructed from data generated qualitatively in phase one. We computed the reliability and consistency of the tool using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Cronbach alpha. Clinical instructors teaching nursing students in practicum courses in all four years of a BN program were recruited to use the tool on students. Findings from pilot testing the tool established its validity and reliability. It is expected the tool will be integrated into the BN program as an evaluation tool in practicum courses. Findings will support educators to create guidelines and standards for use in clinical education to aid in the decision making process of placing students on learning contracts.

Mohamed EL Hussein, Mount Royal University
Olive Fast, Mount Royal University

9:00 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. Cedar Research on Teaching and Learning

Successful Translation of Theory to Practice: Factors Affecting Registered Nurse Preparedness for High Acuity Clinical Learning

Registered Nurses who wish to transition to high acuity clinical practice areas such as the intensive care unit or emergency department require additional theoretical knowledge and clinical experiential learning to be able to successfully and safely practice. While previous research has defined the skills, attitudes and practices that pertain to an ideal clinical educator, less attention has been paid to the role of the adult learner in terms of preparation for returning to clinical learning. This presentation will highlight findings from a pilot study that examined factors that most influence RN student preparedness and self perception of preparedness for success in the clinical learning environment in high acuity practice areas. This presentation is intended for educators who teach adult learners, particularly those with a clinical or practical component to their courses.

Heather McLellan, Mount Royal University
Tricia Bray, Mount Royal University
Nicole Tailby, Mount Royal University

9:00 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. Maple Teaching and Learning with Technology

Fostering a Growth Mindset in Utilization of Educational Technologies with Traditional Lecture-Based Courses

Technological advancements are changing the way our students consume information, but adoption of technology is often slow in university lecture halls. We educators worry about the adverse effects on attendance, engagement, and learning that new methods may bring. Unfortunately, this uncertainty can lead instructors into a fixed-mindset, unwilling to adopt new teaching methods and educational technologies, depriving students of the proven benefits of effective new pedagogy. This session will share my experiences in putting students first by adopting multiple teaching technologies (including student response systems, social media, digital whiteboarding, lecture recording and asynchronous delivery) to develop an educational technology toolkit. The way that multiple technologies are stacked together with a proactive and growth-mindset will be discussed and demonstrated to help instructors avoid technological pitfalls and adopt best practices. The overall goals of this session are:

  • To encourage reflective teaching and a growth mindset to bring student’s educational needs to the forefront of your pedagogy
  • To demonstrate how building an educational technology toolkit enhances student engagement and learning, increases flexibility, and saves instructor time outside of class
  • To allow instructors to assess teaching effectiveness and student learning more readily by harnessing data analytics
Kyle Anderson, University of Saskatchewan

9:00 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. Pine Research on Teaching and Learning

Benefits of Collaborative Testing: How Faculty Can Make Test-Taking More Useful and Beneficial for Student Learning (SoTL Project)

Test-taking is a widely adopted practice for assessing student learning. Many universities and colleges rely heavily on test-taking as the main indicator of student performance. We see test-taking as the normative assessment tool across disciplines and programs. Traditionally student learning is assessed independently. Students receive little to no feedback other than a numeric grade. In some incidents, students may be shown correct answers, but rarely do students debrief their strategies for determining the correct answer or the logic they applied. An alternative pedagogical approach to testing is collaborative testing (CT). Bloom (2009) explained collaborative testing as an educational strategy that engages groups of students in formative assessments designed to both assess and enhance student learning. Zimbardo et al. (2003) found benefits of CT to include: reduced test anxiety, elevated confidence in materials, irrelevance of cheating and an increase in the enjoyment of testing. In the session, I will also speak about wide adoption at the University of this approach, across disciplines and decanal units, since approach to test-taking reduces marking load and expedites student feedback.

This session presents how collaborative testing can be incorporated into large undergraduate courses and will discuss quantitative and qualitative results (student and instructor perspectives).

Robyne-Hanley-Dafoe, Trent University

9:00 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. Willow Research on Teaching and Learning

Healer, Mage, or Warrior? Engage Your Students with Game-Based Learning Technologies

Want your students to be present, engaged, and motivated? In our SoTL project, we integrated game-based learning technologies in an applied criminal justice English course. We customized Classcraft, an online role-playing game, to meet the needs of the course outcomes, content, and adult learners. Initially, it was determined more research was required to understand the potential of tools, like Classcraft, in increasing student engagement in a variety of settings, especially in higher education contexts (Papadakis & Kalogiannakis, 2017). In addition, prior research purported Classcraft encouraged teamwork, cooperative problem-solving, and interaction (Sanchez, Young, & Jouneau-Sion, 2017; Papadakis & Kalogiannakis, 2017). Our students created avatars, earned points from random challenges, and were rewarded for their efforts with prizes, badges, and avatar upgrades. We assessed the effectiveness of Classcraft using a self-report survey completed by our students. Quantitative, descriptive data was gathered and analyzed, with the assistance of a student researcher, to determine the impact this instructional technique had on our students’ experiences. Join us as we share how we worked collaboratively to learn about the functions, powers, rules, and other features Classcraft offers to create gamified learning environments that span one semester and reflect scholarly teaching principles.

Kristen Fantazir, Lethbridge College
Murray Bartley, Lethbridge College

9:00 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. Lynx Teaching and Learning with Technology

Transforming the Lecture and Student Experience by Implementing Pen-Enabled Cloud-Based Methodologies (PECM) in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

STEM educators have to deliver complex information to large cohorts of students in challenging learning spaces, resulting in surface learning or low engagement. Cognitive research tells us that intentional engagement and active-learning pedagogies enhance the learning process.(1) Active participation in the learning process, which encourages talking, listening, writing and reflecting, is important for the development of students’ cognitive skills, allowing them to clarify, question, consolidate and develop new knowledge.(2)

Teaching and learning with technology using Pen-Enabled Cloud-Based Methodologies (PECM) was implemented to transform the lecture experience for students and teachers. Existing research shows that digital-inking can increase students’ ability to make accurate inferences about information, learning through note-taking and knowledge creation.(3) For STEM subjects, a pen-interface supports human expression and spatial content (3-4), with deeper learning resulting from inclusion of pictorial information.(5) The focus of this project was to explore this using a portable digital device, enabling live-text annotations and classroom mobility. Harnessing the flexibility of the PECM, short screencast videos can also be created to supplement lecture content, enabling a flipped classroom approach.

This paper will report findings from an on-going multi-methodological project exploring and explaining the impact of PECMs on the teaching and learning experience in STEM subjects.

Sylvia Urban, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
Natasha Taylor, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology

9:45 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. Aspen Research on Teaching and Learning

Explicit Content: Curricular Interventions that Cultivate Academic Integrity

Academic honesty remains an urgent issue for higher education. More recent approaches to this issue focus on cultivating a “culture of integrity” (Eaton and Edino 2018) and supporting student learning of this foundational aptitude. As both an administrator and an instructor, I gained insight into student (mis)understandings of academic integrity that has led to a three-year project to develop and assess enhanced and explicit instruction in academic integrity in first-year writing courses. We asked: What could we do differently so that our students know how to meet the expectations of academic integrity, but also why they should care to do so? How could we engage both faculty and students to change the conversation from one of fear and punishment to one of knowledge and aspiration?

This presentation shares key findings and recommendations from this project, and outlines next steps in research and practice that these findings suggest. Drawing on the qualitative and quantitative data from students and faculty, including surveys, focus groups, and interviews, I illustrate the improved uptake by students (and instructors) of academic integrity, as well as new insights we’ve gained about the place of academic integrity in larger conversations about student belonging, wellness, and access.

Laurie McNeill, The University of British Columbia

9:45 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. Birch Teaching and Learning with Technology

OnTask: A Learning Analytics Tool to Provide Personalized Feedback to Increase Student Motivation and Success

With increasing class size and student diversity in many higher education institutions, personalized feedback to students can be difficult to provide due to limited time and resources available to instructors. Based on nudge theory, Fritz (2017) claims we can use learning analytic data to help nudge students to take responsibility for their learning. The goals of this session are to 1) describe a learning analytic tool that can be used for mass personalization of course feedback, 2) present student perceptions of the usefulness of this tool in terms of strengthening the instructor-student relationship, increasing motivation to participate and further engage with the course materials and improve performance as well as 3) discuss student responses to the mass personalization messages.

Sylvia Bartolic, The University of British Columbia
Sandra Brown, The University of British Columbia

9:45 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. Cedar Teaching and Learning with Technology

Use of Adaptive Release Case Studies to Increase Realism in Distance Learning

Effectively engaging adult learners in a distance environment is challenging for educators. Case studies are an exceptional way to engage learners and develop critical thinking skills however static case studies can lack realism. One solution for this is the use of the adaptive release, unfolding case study. In this presentation you will learn about how this effective active learning strategy for increasing realism was used to engage registered nurses learning online. We will also discuss how the strategy can be applied in other disciplines. This presentation will be helpful for those teaching in either face to face or distance learning environments where there is a need for students to translate theoretical learning into practical situations.

Heather McLellan, Mount Royal University

9:45 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. Maple Teaching and Learning with Technology

Building and Using Mapping Skills in an Introductory Statistics Class

As the marginal cost of gathering, processing, and visualizing spatial data has decreased dramatically, developing spatial visualization and spatial analysis skills has become accessible for undergraduate students with majors other than geography. My presentation will focus on a mapping assignment for an introductory statistics course for undergraduate policy studies students at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Canada. Introductory economics and political science courses are prerequisites for this required statistics course, but the students have no formal cartographic skills. The assignment asked them to choose variables from the City of Calgary census, produce choropleth maps, and analyze them. Using a geographic information system (GIS) allows students to visualize and analyze patterns and trends, inquire why certain things happen where they do, and what can be done about it from a policy perspective. Students’ level of engagement increases once they visualize spatial data, and this assignment provides a GIS foundation that can be expanded in future courses or after graduation.

Lavinia Moldovan, Mount Royal University

9:45 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. Pine Research on Teaching and Learning

Conceptualizing the Roles and Activities of Clinical Instructors in Undergraduate Nursing Education

In undergraduate nursing education clinical instructors are responsible for supporting student nurses’ development of practical knowledge. One of the goals for clinical instructors is to use strategies that provide students with opportunities to effectively merge the “knowing that” with the “knowing how”. To facilitate this merge it is important to understand the specific work completed by clinical instructors. While there are research studies that outline effective teaching strategies for clinical practice, there is a gap in knowing the actual strategies used by instructors to support experiential learning. The objectives of this study are to make the work of clinical instructors visible and to provide better understanding of the work of clinical nursing instructors who facilitate experiential learning for students in the Bachelor of Nursing program at Mount Royal University. Understanding the work of clinical instructors may offer the Bachelor of Nursing program an opportunity to assess for gaps in clinical teaching and to create more effective methods to support students in applying theory to practice. This study will inform a future research project that will explore how to address identified gaps in experiential teaching and inform professional development opportunities implemented to enhance the teaching completed by clinical instructors.

Maggie Quance, Mount Royal University
Giuliana Harvey, Mount Royal University
Mohamed EL Hussein, Mount Royal University

9:45 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. Willow Involving Undergraduate Students in SoTL

Collaborative Theatre: Creating Questions for Inquiry into Instructor-Student Engagement

Transmission-based learning may take us away from the opportunity for empathetic and engaged learning. One aim of this session is to attempt to regain insight into a less performative and more communicative teaching style; the second is to create SoTL questions to study impact on engagement for students and the instructor. While theatre may be called performance art, an engaged audience is understood to be a product of the actors’ engagement with the material, their co-actors, and their audience (Fancy, 2007) on a level that transcends a declarative performance style.

We focus on a “relational perspective” (Trigwell, Prosser, & Waterhouse, 1999, p. 409) to generate SoTL questions about interactions between instructor and students. Our thesis: that the instructor’s authentic ‘activity’ or engagement moves passive students to become active learners. We will apply three principles from dramatic arts theory (Murray, 2010) and through a process of “defining the issue, agitating the inquiry, and discerning the questions” (authors, forthcoming), we help you hone the SoTL questions that get at issues of engagement in the classroom. We hope you experience greater insight about your limitless capacity to develop and inquiry into engagement: with your students, the material, and with yourself.

Kit Simmons, Humber College
Nicola Simmons, Brock University

9:45 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. Lynx Teaching and Learning with Technology

An Easy Entrance into Educational VR

VR, AR, MR, XR, what does it all mean? Educational Virtual Reality (VR) is on the cutting-edge of innovative teaching techniques but many educators don’t know what it is, what is possible, or how to begin incorporating it into their classroom.

During this session, participants will be introduced to the current landscape of educational VR through understanding of terminology, levels of immersion, and easy ways to bring VR into the classroom today by using free and open source tools while leveraging student smart devices. It is important to not use this technology just for wow factor but to support curriculum in a hands-on way that engages student empathy, critical thinking, and innovation.

Tanya Weder, Lethbridge College

9:45 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. Black Bear Research on Teaching and Learning

Taking Writing Offline. Requiring Students to Use Research Notebooks in a Humanities Course

What happens when students are required to write out their thoughts, questions, and research notes in a notebook rather than on a computer? This project presents the first findings from a study of student learning in two sections of a research methods seminar in which the students used notebooks rather than technology to manage their research, formulate questions, and present preliminary findings.

Mills Kelly, George Mason University

10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Alpine Meadows Coffee
CRACKER BARREL PRESENTATIONS

The CRACKER BARREL is a short session repeated three times in 90 minutes. The presenter usually provides a brief introduction to the topic and participants are invited to comment and ask questions. After 25 minutes, when the bell rings, participants will move on to another table, and the presenter will repeat the presentation to a new group. Three groups will pass by each table in a 90 minute period.

CRACKER BARREL presentations will take place in both the Lynx and Black Bear Rooms, Banff Park Lodge.

We ask that you be in your presentation room 10 minutes before the session starts at 11:00 a.m. At that time you will receive procedural information and have an opportunity to meet fellow presenters and get settled at your table. We hope you will provide a handout that states the key points of your presentation, activity or exercise material and any additional information (references) you think would be valuable to your session attendees.

ROOM SETUP
Your three consecutive presentations will take place between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Friday, November 8th. Please note that technical provisions such as audio/video systems, laptops and screens will not be available. If you are using your own laptop, please be reminded to charge it prior to your session. Wi-Fi is available.
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Lynx Research on Teaching and Learning

Reporting Academic Dishonesty in Post-Secondary Institutions – A Case Study of the University of Lethbridge

Recent developments around the world shows that academic dishonesty is becoming an issue that should be tackled and discouraged in post-secondary institutions. Several post-secondary institutions in the United States of America have researched and confirmed an increasing rate of academic dishonesty in their schools and have adopted severe measures as a deterrent. The University of Lethbridge’s (UofL) academic calendar addresses academic offences on pages 67-72, and this is comparable with the definitions provided by other post-secondary institutions worldwide. For example, the University of Colorado, Denver defines academic dishonesty or academic misconduct as any type of cheating that occurs in relation to a formal academic exercise. It includes but not limited to plagiarism (adoption or reproduction of another person’s distinct words or ideas without given due acknowledgment), student’s use of unauthorized assistance with intent to deceive an instructor in meeting course and degree requirement, fabrication and falsification of information, etc. In this presentation, we will use reports from other similar research studies completed on students’ perception about academic dishonesty as our reference point. we hope that this project will provide necessary evidence, giving the university administrators clear paths to encouraging a sustainable and high-quality of graduates being produced from our institution.

Olu Awosoga, University of Lethbridge
Jeff Meadows, University of Lethbridge
Randall Barley, University of Lethbridge

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Lynx Collaborating Beyond the Single Classroom

Collaborative Faculty and Spaces: Blended Course Design in an Undergraduate Arts Course

Increasing enrollments and increasing demand on limited classroom space especially for introductory large enrollment courses in the Department of Sociology are forcing instructors to turn away students or schedule classes in ways that make learning more challenging. At the same time, we hope these entry level courses will draw high caliber and highly motivated students to our discipline.

The goals of this session are to:

  1. describe a redesign of a large enrollment lecture course using a blended course design model in order to:
    a) reduce the need for classroom space,
    b) reduce the size of the classroom needed for the course without reducing the number of enrolled students and
    c) better meet the diverse learning needs and situations of our students;
  2. discuss student evaluations of learning in this blended format;
  3. describe faculty collaboration in the development/teaching of the redesign.
Silvia Bartolic, The University of British Columbia

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Lynx Teaching and Learning with Technology

Using Technology to Create and Execute an Educationally Purposeful Scavenger Hunt to Meet Learning Outcomes

This presentation focuses on an activity that engages student critical thinking and leverages the university-wide learning management system (LMS) along with multiple technology tools. Through the use of Canvas, the university LMS, the internet, QR code readers, Zoom, photoshop, and other tools, students engaged in an interactive scavenger hunt created to enhance the critical thinking and active learning that was specifically designed to meet the course learning outcomes. Analysis of these pilot data will be described including results of student survey responses as well as student grades.

Kelly Treece, Chaminade University of Honolulu

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Lynx Calls for Collaboration, Triangulation, and Development

Using Teaching Competencies to Engage Faculty in Scholarly Teaching and SoTL at a Community College

In the Fall of 2018, the Educational Development Team at [COLLEGE] began to develop teaching competencies for all instructors. Jardim (2007), notes that the concept of competencies is multidimensional and corresponds to individual instructors' knowledge, skill, and attitudes in real and concrete situations. Tigelaar et al. (2004) state that teaching is a complex activity that requires the identification of teaching competencies. We are using the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) as an approach to help frame the development process. Auten and Twigg (2013) espouse that higher education must focus on preparing faculty as teachers and encouraging faculty to have a stake in their own teaching and further learning.

In this cracker barrel session will share what we have completed on the project so far and discuss our next steps over the 2019-2020 academic year. We will share insights about how we engaged faculty in the project development and reflect on some surprise we encountered. We will engage participants in conversations about the benefits and challenges of implementing a teaching competency program. We hope to gain insight and advice on how we can support faculty transition into teaching competencies program that is scholarly, self-reflective, and self-directed.

Melanie Hamilton, Lethbridge College
Erin Howard, Lethbridge College

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Black Bear Research on Teaching and Learning

Aristotle on Teaching and Learning

In this paper I investigate how well Aristotle’s theory of causation explains the activities of teaching and learning. Aristotle sees the natural world as full of objects possessing potentials which, if actualized, make their possessors actually what they were only potentially. Thus educational processes should also be explicable in terms of actuality and potentiality, and Aristotle makes some comments in the Metaphysics and elsewhere about how teachers and students actualize potentials through educational acts. One of the interesting results of Aristotle’s metaphysics of education is that the teacher’s activity of teaching turns out to be identical to the student’s activity of learning. Some may find this appealing, since Aristotle thinks the learning process is more intimately connected to the activity of the teacher than can be expressed by a contemporary Humean regularity theory of causation. On the other hand, I indicate some problems about conceiving education as the actualization of pre-existing potentials.

Duncan Maclean, Mount Royal University

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Black Bear Involving Undergraduate Students in SoTL

From Experiential Teaching to Experiential Learning: Faculty and Student Self-Reflections

In Western Canada, opportunities for social practices in French remain limited for FSL students. However, French for the Future (FFTF), a national non-profit organization promoting linguistic duality in Canada, overcomes this lack by holding the FFTF forum, usually every other year. This forum puts the emphasis on the social and career benefits of bilingualism by primarily encouraging camaraderie among FSL and Immersion high-school students. This year, the FFTF forum was held in Cochrane and brought together nearly 300 grade 8-12 FSL and Immersion students. The main objective of the forum was twofold: presenting students with options concerning their continuation of French while experiencing artistic, cultural, and outdoor activities in French. Having the opportunity to facilitate a workshop for this gathering event, I envisioned a workshop that could integrate experiential teaching and learning practices involving my own students. Therefore, a group of seven university students was created with the goal of providing learning activities to high-school students in the form of a workshop. This workshop was collaboratively constructed, facilitated and debriefed. Our self-reflections included comments and feedbacks on the relevance of experiential learning, the need for flexibility, and the bridging between experiential learning activities in high-school and undergraduate students.

Fanny Macé, University of Calgary
Samantha Carron, University of Calgary
Alejandra Vivas, University of Calgary
Mackenzie Whicker, University of Calgary

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Black Bear Calls for Collaboration, Triangulation, and Development

Novices? Experts? Leaders?: Investigating the Role of Postdoctoral Fellows in Teaching and Learning Centres in Canada

Scholarship on educational development has explored the multiple pathways for practitioners into the field (McDonald & Stockley, 2008), where educational developers represent a vast array of disciplinary identities, staff and faculty roles, and career motivations (Land, 2004). The same holds true for the increasing number of postdoctoral fellows based in Canadian teaching and learning (T&L) centres. These postdoctoral researchers are frequently engaged in their own Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research, and play an important role in building capacity for conducting SoTL within their institutions. Postdocs in T&L centres can occupy a liminal professional space (Burke et al., 2017; Nowell, Grant, & Mikita, in press) in that they are not students, faculty, nor educational developers. As a result, their experiences and contributions as a growing group of professionals in the SoTL community are not fully understood, nor is the variety of ways in which they enhance the field of SoTL.

The authors, all of whom are SoTL postdocs, invite discussion and debate for an emerging research project, exploring such topics as motivations for hiring postdocs in T&L centres, how positions of novice and expert intersect for SoTL-focused postdocs, as well as the implications for their professional development and identity.

Cherie Woolmer, McMaster University
Michael Agnew, McMaster University
Alice Kim, York University
Brian Nairn, York University

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Black Bear Calls for Collaboration, Triangulation, and Development

Using "The SoTL Scaffold" to Measure the Impact of Teaching on Learning, to Engage New Research(ers), and to Advance a Culture of SoTL on Campus

Last year, "The SoTL Scaffold: Supporting Evidence‐Based Teaching Practice in Educational Development" was published, providing a framework for educational developers to advance not only a culture of teaching and learning, but of original research on the impact of teaching on learning. In the union of these two objectives exists a compelling foundation for positively framing, validating, and supporting SoTL research in university settings historically less inclined to do so. By positioning SoTL as an evidence-based approach to measuring instructional impact, one can speak and appeal to the research disposition of faculty, foster a generative culture of SoTL in "hard to reach places", and generate new knowledge into student learning and success. The educational developer can further shift the discussion from following best practices to generating best practices, from dividing research and teaching to unifying them in a manner that results in a more diverse array of scholarship and a measurable impact of instructional innovation on campus. This paper shares strategies used to positively affect a culture of SoTL, teaching, and learning in a research university setting.

Brian Smentkowski, University of Idaho

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Black Bear Calls for Collaboration, Triangulation, and Development

Coming Full Circle: Engaging Students, Engaging Faculty Through the Scholarship of Educational Development (SOED)

While many teaching support units conduct research into their own practices, these analyses are rarely shared beyond the institution, thus limiting the scope of its influence on educational development (ED) as a profession, and on what has become known as the scholarship of educational development (SoED) as a unique field of inquiry within the broader domain of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL).

The intersection between ED practice, SoTL, and SoED occurs when “in-practice inquiry extends from studying educational development practice into studying impacts of specific teaching and learning strategies on student learning” (Kenny et al., 2017, p.9). EDs may thus be seen as the ‘crucial link’ bringing teaching and learning together, engaging both faculty and students.

In this session, participants will discuss ways to promote the SoED at their own institutions, as well as identify significant barriers to undergoing research and disseminating their work. The hope is to encourage an open dialogue around the opportunities for, and challenges to, conducting SoED. The ultimate aim is to build a community of practice around EDs who are engaging in, or wish to engage in SoED, by building and encouraging opportunities for collaboration across institutions and identifying potential avenues for dissemination.

Melanie Greene, University of Alberta

12:35 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Alpine Meadows/Castle/Assiniboine Lunch
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Alpine Meadows/Castle/Assiniboine ‘Getting Published in SoTL’ Plenary Panel
Moderator: Michelle Yeo, Academic Director
Institute for Scholarship of Teaching and
Learning, Mount Royal University

Are you new to SoTL, and wondering how to go about getting published? Finding the publishing norms and expectations for articles very different in the SoTL world from what you are used to? Or perhaps you have been working in SoTL for some time, have presented a lot, but are wondering how to break through to publications? Or maybe you are interested in doing more journal review or editing? If any of these sound familiar, this panel is for you!

Please join Michelle, Beth, Cherie, and Karen to discuss the ins and outs of SoTL publishing, and learn about an exciting new publishing opportunity stemming from the Symposium.

Beth Marquis has published in and reviewed for a number of SoTL journals, and currently serves as Senior Editor for the Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and Co-Editor of the International Journal for Students as Partners.

Cherie Woolmer is Editorial Manager of the International Journal for Students as Partners and supports faculty, staff, and students who are authors, editors, and reviewers of the journal. She has also published and reviewed in SoTL-focused journals.

Karen Manarin has facilitated writing residencies for people interested in publishing in SoTL journals. Karen has experience reviewing and writing for journals, writing a SoTL book, and organizing an edited collection.

2:35 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Aspen Collaborating Beyond the Single Classroom

SoTL and CISCO: Partner Catalysts for Transformational Change

“Change is required if education is to meet the rapidly changing needs of society today [however it] does not occur unless faculty become involved in leadership, including professional development and professional learning communities” (Smith, 2011, 1). So while “Change is about using external influences to modify actions to achieve desired results…Transformation is about modifying beliefs so that natural actions achieve the desired results” (Palinkas, 2013, para. 5)

This panel will discuss the individual reflections, experiences, and transformations of three CISCO Chair recipients from the Faculty of Business, and how their SoTL research has the opportunity to transform their own classrooms as well as their learners, their School and their Institution. Alongside these reflections will be a discussion of ways that the faculty at SAIT are supported in their SoTL work (via coaching/mentoring, professional development, and the strategic planning exercise underway at SAIT, moving the Institute into 2025). The panel will explore the opportunities and the challenges afforded by this CISCO ‘tipping point’ in the business school, the addition of a SoTL mentor to support and grow the SoTL conversation at SAIT, the potential shift at the institutional level for SoTL support, and how SAIT might sustain this shift.

Jacqueline Lyndon, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
Heramb Vadalkar, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
Steve Janz, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
Diane Janes, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
Bradley Ackroyd, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology

2:35 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Birch Research on Teaching and Learning

Concept Mapping in a Flipped Clinical: A Basic Qualitative Study

Despite recommendations for the use of flipped learning and concept mapping in nursing education, research is limited on the concurrent use of flipped learning and concept mapping in clinical teaching environments. The aim of this basic qualitative research study was to explore the experience of 12 baccalaureate-nursing students in a non-traditional medical surgical flipped clinical to understand students’ learning from an engagement perspective. Throughout the course, students completed reflective journals for review at course exit and participated in individual interviews to provide information connected to their learning. Thematic analysis revealed that students were actively engaged in critical thinking when they mapped out care in clinical practice. Participants also indicated that completing concept maps in a flipped clinical environment changed the ways they engaged with the course material, faculty, staff, and patients. The mapping process propelled students beyond simple participation to active engagement and resulted in improved motivation, stimulation of high-level thinking, increased critical thinking, and expansion of knowledge. Students also reported an increase in confidence in their knowledge, learning, and ability to “think like a nurse.” Findings from this hold implications for future application in clinical and classroom environments.

Juliet Onabadejo, Lethbridge College

2:35 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Cedar Research on Teaching and Learning

Drawing Connections Between Experiences, Theories, and Practices in Teacher Education

“How well do we know our students?” (Poole & Chick, 2014, p. 1). Often, students and instructors spend months together, only to walk away from a course knowing almost nothing about each other. When students enter a course, little is known about their perspectives, experiences, beliefs, values, or attitudes. Yet, these can play a crucial role in how students interpret course content and implement it in practice. In this SoTL study, we explored how creating representations (drawings) within a Bachelor of Education course about inclusive education can support preservice teachers connect their perspectives with theory and inform future practice. We used drawings encourage discourse among peers and to better connect course content with preservice teachers’ perspectives. Using data from 285 students we share themes and trends of preservice teachers’ representations and how their perspectives evolved over time.

Chris Ostrowski, University of Calgary
Man-Wai Chu, University of Calgary
Miwa Takeuchi, University of Calgary

2:35 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Maple Teaching and Learning with Technology

Stop Cheating in its Tracks: Use Features in Excel to Delete Stolen Data Before It Can Be Submitted

Cheating has long been a hide-and-seek game where the perpetrators attempt to hide their behavior and faculty seek to expose it. This paradigm relies on the threat of punishment to deter cheating. If your methods hands-on activities using digital tools, then you can change the game. This session will present methods available within Microsoft Office to combine simple meta-data, supplemental meta-data, hidden features of Microsoft Office, and a little ingenuity to expose cheating and even delete stolen work before it can be hijacked. Workshop participants will be able to examine a sample assignment file fully instrumented with these techniques.

Kurt Schmitz, Georgia State University

2:35 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Pine Teaching and Learning with Technology

Student Response Systems: Does the Question-Type Matter for Engagement and Learning?

Student response systems (SRS) continue to evolve as bring your own device (BYOD) systems allow more question and answer types to be utilized. While users were once limited to a button press on a clicker selecting from a list of predetermined responses, students can now generate text and numerical responses on their personal devices. Question and response types are now limited only by software, and new features can be added without requiring overhaul of the existing system. Using two successive course offerings the effect of question type was evaluated specifically for novel calculations covered in the course using a crossover experimental design. Student use of the Top Hat BYOD system with multiple choice or numerical response in-class questions was evaluated on: time to in-class completion, in-class student success, success on tests, and additionally students were surveyed on overall preference of question types. Analysis shows that students take more time on numerical response questions and do better on examinations than when given the same questions as multiple choice. The findings from this study will be useful to instructors looking to formulate their own evidence-based best practices when incorporating SRS’s into their pedagogy.

Kyle Anderson, University of Saskatchewan

2:35 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Willow Research on Teaching and Learning

A Study of Graduate Students’ Perceptions of Engaged Learning Behaviors

This presentation focuses on the results of a study that asked graduate students to identify and describe their own behaviors indicative of engagement as they participated in learning tasks or activities. Students responded to 5 open ended questions on the Student Engagement Reflection questionnaire. The qualitative study used a phenomenological research design to ascertain engagement as perceived by graduate students in a classroom context. Based on the themes and concepts that emerged from the written responses, engaged learning involves: (1) communication and conversation, (2) expectations and accountability, (3) authentic and deeper learning, and (4) feelings of competence and understanding.

Don Beach, Tarleton State University – Texas A&M University System

2:35 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Lynx Teaching and Learning with Technology

Engagement: I Would Prefer Not Too

Disruption has become a buzzword of our times. It’s often characterized as the turbo-charged engine of progress—displacing the old with the new, the slow with the fast, the laborious with the effortless, and the sufficient with the exceptional. What’s not to like about disruption? For the purposes of this presentation, I’m going to assume "Absolutely nothing." In fact, I’m proposing disruption be practiced on another buzzword of our time: “engagement,” more commonly construed as “interaction.” For centuries, traditional “Mug & Jug” educators filled "passive" learners from pooled reservoirs of knowledge. These “banking” models were disrupted in the 60s by learners and teachers who demanded to participate in their education, to be engaged and to “interact” in their education. This presentation speaks to how the creative fervour of that engagement has been dissipated and domesticated by new communication technologies that maintain its veneer but subvert its substance. In drawing a distinction between “interactive” and “interpassive” forms of engagement, this presentation cautions educators to critically question technologies that promote and support current forms of engagement, making a case for their disruption and displacement.

Derek Briton, Athabasca University

2:35 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Black Bear Involving Undergraduate Students in SoTL

Pedagogical Partnerships and Equity in the Classroom: Insights from One Partnership Program

Student-faculty partnership is often framed as a boundary-crossing practice with the potential to contribute to transforming institutions into more equitable and egalitarian spaces (Matthews, Cook-Sather, & Healey, 2018). For example, partnership has been shown to contribute to valuing and foregrounding marginalized voices and knowledges, and to supporting the growth of students’ confidence, agency, and sense of belonging (Colón García 2017; de Bie et al., 2019; Cook-Sather & Agu, 2013). In light of these possibilities, this session will describe an initiative that sought to contribute to educational equity by facilitating partnerships between students who identify as members of equity-seeking groups and instructors interested in enhancing equity and inclusion in their courses/programs. This initiative, which was co-designed and co-researched by students, faculty, and staff, saw pairs of faculty and students work together, with support from a team of students and staff, to develop practices and projects focused on enhancing equity in the faculty members’ courses and programs. We will share preliminary findings from interviews with participants, drawing on these and on our own reflections to promote discussion of the possibilities and challenges of working toward equity through this type of partnership initiative.

Elizabeth Marquis, McMaster University
Emily Carrasco, McMaster University
Alise de Bie, McMaster University
Srikripa Krishna Prasad, McMaster University
Sneha Wadhwani, McMaster University
Cherie Woolmer, McMaster University

3:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Alpine Meadows Coffee
3:50 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Aspen Methodologies and Innovative Approaches to Data Gathering and Analysis

Exploring Methods for the Study of Learning Spaces

There is growing literature on the impact learning spaces can have on teaching and learning practices (Beichner, 2007; Brooks, 2011; Cotner et al, 2013; Chiu & Chang, 2016). As SOTL researchers explore their own research questions, they might want to consider how learning space design features influence their inquiry. In this presentation, we will explore some of the options available in the literature around methods and instruments that can be used to study learning spaces features, such as layout, furniture, and classroom technology. We will also have an opportunity for participants to add other instruments. Join us as we collaboratively create a repository of methods and instruments used to study this topic. The resulting repository can help SOTL scholars further understand the influence physical learning spaces have on their own teaching and learning practices.

Luciano da Rosa dos Santos, Mount Royal University
John Cheeseman, Mount Royal University

3:50 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Birch Research on Teaching and Learning

Space Exploration: Impacts of Active-Learning Classroom Design on Teaching and Learning

When course instructors use active learning strategies, students are more likely to achieve course learning objectives and succeed in the course (Freeman et al., 2014). Facilitating effective active learning in large classes can be challenging because the layout of large classrooms often hinders student-student collaborations and student-instructor interactions. At the Okanagan campus of UBC, we recently built a 400-seat active learning classroom (Talbert & Mor-Avi, 2018). To assess the impact of the design, we observed large introductory chemistry and physics classes taught by course instructors before and after they taught their courses in the new classroom. COPUS observations (Smith et al., 2013) reveal what teaching strategies are achievable in the new learning space, and the frequency of student collaboration and student-instructor interaction. Distributions of students’ grade and drop/fail/withdrawal rates show the impact of the design, and the teaching it permits, on student success. The results inform the instructional design of courses offered in the classroom and guide the professional development of course instructors scheduled for the classroom.

W. Stephen McNeil, The University of British Columbia (Okanagan)
Peter Newbury, The University of British Columbia (Okanagan)

3:50 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Cedar Research on Teaching and Learning

Bringing it to the Bedside Simulation Lab: “Stressful, but in a Good Way!”

Nursing students describe early clinical experiences as exciting, but also anxiety provoking, despite the many preparatory course and labs they have taken1,2. Capstone labs, simulation, and gaming have been used to assimilate prior learning in preparation for clinical3,4,5. Developed in response to students feeling uncertain, and unprepared for clinical, this innovative teaching strategy combined gaming and simulation in a capstone lab to create a fun, low-stakes, high impact learning environment. Scenarios challenged students to apply previous learning in a simulated environment that encouraged risk taking, critical thinking and reflection.

The study was designed to explore the following research questions:

What feelings do students have before their first clinical?
How well prepared do students feel for their first clinical?
Does a gaming simulation capstone lab reduce anxiety about clinical?
Does student confidence in knowledge increase after a gaming simulation capstone lab?

This presentation will explore the results of the qualitative self-report questionnaires, administered to students in the course before the lab, after the lab, and during their first clinical experience. Student perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the lab in consolidating their learning, reducing stress and preparing them to “bring it to the bedside” in the clinical setting will be discussed.

Cheryl Besse, University of Saskatchewan

3:50 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Maple Research on Teaching and Learning

Authentic Task Design and Assessment: Engaging Students in Real World Learning

While there is a laudable emphasis on student engagement in higher education, instructors recognize a tension between incorporating innovative activities to enhance engagement and traditional modes of assessing students’ learning. The principles of authentic task design provide a theoretical framework to support instructors who want to include more intrinsically engaging activities that allow students to develop and demonstrate “real world” knowledge and skills. Importantly, these principles also support authentic assessment strategies which instructors can use to evaluate student learning and provide feedback that reflects the criteria and context of their field. In this session, we will introduce the literature of authentic task design and assessment and provide multidisciplinary examples of using these principles when working with undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty. We will also outline a study currently exploring the impact of authentic task design and assessment with graduate students and offer strategies to inform future SoTL research in this area.

Kimberley Grant, University of Calgary
Lisa Fedoruk, University of Calgary
Lorelli Nowell, University of Calgary

3:50 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Pine Research on Teaching and Learning

Engaging the “Canadian” Heroic: Students and Their Created Superheroes/Heroines

This case study is part of a continuing research project that explores how students engage with notions of national identities and representations of social difference in visual media. This study, borne of curricular work in an undergraduate writing and images course in 2019, elicited students’ responses to set questions about Canada, Canadian identity and representations thereof in Canadian and American comics. In this iteration of the project, we posed these questions in a unit focused on comic books and nationalist superheroes, nationalist superheroes being characters whose costumes and powers incorporate a nation’s flag or other national signifiers (Dittmer 2013). We examine the responses from two of several class projects, including one in which students were asked to create/draw their own superhero/ine and account for said creation’s presence in the Canadian comic universe. Working within a postmodern SoTL framework (Miller-Young and Yeo 2015), we use discourse analysis to frame student constructions of Canada and Canadian values as articulated in 12 written responses. Drawing on semiotic analysis and close reading we explore the extent to which these students engage with the dominant ideologies of Canadian nationalism and Canadian identity as they inflect their written responses to known superheroes and/or their individual creations.

Lee Easton, Mount Royal University
Kelly Hewson, Mount Royal University

3:50 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Willow Teaching and Learning with Technology

Being Brave Together: Engaging Both Faculty and Students Through Experiential Learning

This presentation explores the journey of a new Faculty member as she strives to find ways to be brave and take risks in the classroom. In doing so, an environment is created where students are also encouraged to be brave and take risks. The presentation highlights the necessity for both Faculty and students to participate if full engagement is to be accomplished, and the responsibilities and accountabilities of both are also explored. Situated within the context of leadership curriculum, E2-learning is presented as a critical solution for teaching content within the affective domain. Fusing the best of experiential and e-learning models, E2-learning is a paradigm shift to an integrated teaching model that results in innovative and dynamic learning for today’s digital savvy learners. The resulting SoTL research agenda will be presented to provide the new and exciting future of her practice.

Jacqueline Lyndon, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology

3:50 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Lynx Research on Teaching and Learning

The Tale of Three Studies: An Iterative Design and Research Approach to Teaching and Learning

Calculus I is one of the largest enrolled courses at New York University. Over a thousand undergraduate students take Calculus I each semester. In the past is was delivered in a traditional format but in 2014 faculty from Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences wanted to make a change to the course design in order to improve student outcomes. Since 2014 an iterative design and research approach has shaped the course. Three research studies evaluated design features of the new course format to determine the impacts on student learning. The results of each research study informed changes to the course design as well as roused new questions for continued research. This presentation aims to tell the story of the results of these research studies as well as how research continues to inform course design and scholarly work.

Elizabeth McAlpin, New York University

4:35 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. Birch Collaborating Beyond the Single Classroom

International, Cross-Institution Undergraduate Student Diversity Assignment

This presentation will report on an assignment in which students from a Canadian and U.S. university interacted via videochat technology to discuss their ideas about healthy relationships and explore diversity in attitudes, behaviors and beliefs between the two groups. In this presentation we will describe: our educational goals, pedagogical underpinnings of the assignment, the universities and students involved, the assignment itself, the evaluation of the assignment, and final reflections.

Learning Goals
An overarching goal of the assignment was to have an experience that would be informative, engaging for students and broaden their perspectives about relationships.

More specific goals included having students:

  • identify and articulate their own culture’s values, beliefs, norms and practices regarding close relationships;
  • similarly explore close relationships in a different culture;
  • compare the similarities and differences in close relationship in the two cultures; and
  • develop active listening and empathy skills.
Silvia Bartolic, The University of British Columbia

4:35 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. Cedar Involving Undergraduate Students in SoTL

Undergraduate Student Leadership in SoTL Research on Academic Stress and Drug Use

Engaging undergraduates in research has been shown to increase a number of outcomes, including student retention, particularly in underrepresented groups (Nagda, Gregerman, Jonides, Hippel, & Lerner, 1998). Scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) research can be empowering for our learners in that they may guide research projects that are personally relevant to them. By incorporating undergraduates in SoTL research, we can more accurately tap into questions relevant to the lives of students outside of the classroom that directly impact their ability to learn effectively at university.

Anxiety and stress are clearly health concerns, but also affect our students’ ability to study and learn effectively. I partnered with undergraduates to measure stress and anxiety as well as study habits in order to develop a profile of students at our institution. In addition, to further understand the use of drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism, we asked students about their drug use, including the use of study drugs (e.g., Ritalin, Adderall).

This SoTL project provided valuable research leadership experience to undergraduate students. It also helped shed light on factors outside of the classroom that directly affect our students’ ability to learn.

Suzanne Wood, University of Toronto

4:35 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. Maple Teaching and Learning with Technology

Student Peer Review on ComPAIR: Lessons for Integrating Editorial Metalanguage Into Instruction

We report on a project which investigates the effectiveness of the UBC-developed ComPAIR platform for peer review among students. ComPAIR's unique feature is that students first rank and then write feedback in a comparative layout that presents two drafts of other students' writing side by side. By coding the student and instructor texts, we assess the quality of students' peer feedback against the metalanguage (language about language or writing) used by the instructors in assignment setup (Ädel, 2017). Our project has direct implications for how instructors write their assignment descriptions and how students can be trained to employ metalanguage in the process of peer review. We argue that by integrating metalanguage that refers with precision to necessary elements of written assignments, instructors can help guide students’ development of their own repertoire of editorial metalanguage that is needed for ongoing and self-directed processes of writing and revision.

Katja Thieme, The University of British Columbia
Laila Ferreira, The University of British Columbia

4:35 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. Pine Collaborating Beyond the Single Classroom

University-Museum Collaboration to Support Pre-Service Teacher Education

This presentation describes a university-museum collaboration that was established to support the development of pre-service teachers. University students participated in a semester-long collaboration with a science/history museum in order to (1) build relationships with museum education staff, (2) develop familiarity with museum resources and (3) create teaching/learning materials for use in the K-5 classroom. This presentation will express the goals and impacts of these collaborative activities. Results include that the collaboration (1) expanded pre-service teacher thinking about community resources such as museums and (2) reinforced that learning happens in various places; not simply school. Further the pre-service teachers really enjoyed the hands-on museum activities, the opportunity to observe classes of students participating in field trips and developing relationships with museum staff.

Katrina Roseler, Chaminade University of Honolulu

4:35 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. Willow Collaborating Beyond the Single Classroom

Partners in Place: SoTL Within a School-University Partnership

The purpose of our SoTL research is to investigate how Gr. 4-9 students and teacher candidates’ experiences in field studies with community partners can inform an interdisciplinary alternative experiential practicum semester based on a curriculum of place. Emerging research suggests that place-based education is limited because it does not critique colonial legacies in theoretical frameworks of place (Calderon, 2014, Gruenewald, 2003). Our interdisciplinary SoTL research explored this tension as we come to a deeper and shared understanding of our co-responsibility within Treaty 7 relationships. Our project seeks to consider varying perspectives of place as it informs educational pedagogy.

Kevin O’Connor, Mount Royal University
Tanya Stogre, Mount Royal University
Phil Butterfield, Connect Charter School

4:35 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. Lynx Involving Undergraduate Students in SoTL

Turning the Tables: How Undergrads Can Help Support Faculty in SoTL

A group of faculty members engaged in SoTL were asked about the challenges and enablers that helped or hindered them in their SoTL work, and what might help encourage their colleagues to engage. The findings were instrumental in identifying components for a guide for SoTL. Two undergraduate students took a central role guided by experienced researchers, in collating, coding and analyzing the results. In this session we will share a brief overview of the project and its outcomes, provide detail of the involvement of the students and hear from them about the experience of taking part in the project. The findings from both the original study and the student experiences will be of interest to others interested in work in this field.

Laura Farrugia, York University
Salma Saleh, York University
Celia Popovic, York University
Alice Kim, York University
Mandy Frake-Mistak, York University

POSTER SESSION and Wine and Cheese
5:20 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Castle/Assiniboine Collaborating Beyond the Single Classroom

Academic Writing: A Cross-Disciplinary Comparison of Two Writing Intensive Course Models

INTRODUCTION: Writing has traditionally been taught in freshman level composition courses.2 However, faculty in student majors often find writing deficits among students.3 There is little research on the effectiveness of writing intensive courses on writing outcomes in health professions courses.3 This study examines writing outcomes in an undergraduate interdisciplinary Global Health course implementing two different writing intensive approaches.

METHODS: An undergraduate global health course, co-taught by Nursing and Public Health faculty (n=19), shared class time but assignments were distinct by discipline. One course required weekly papers with feedback and a revised final paper and the other course required a culminating paper. Final papers were evaluated using AACU VALUE rubric criteria (1=benchmark, 2-3=developing, 4=capstone).

RESULTS: Students with weekly papers and feedback scored a mean of 0.71 points higher across all rubric domains. When examining individual rubric criteria, students completing weekly papers performed above the mean difference on the rubric domains: written communication, quantitative literacy, intercultural learning and information literacy. Outcomes were above the mean difference for the domains critical thinking and global learning.

DISCUSSION: Findings from this analysis highlight the value of regular feedback and revision as important for improved written communication and quantitative and information literacy in health professions courses.

Shannon McCrory-Churchill, D’Youville College
Lauren Clay, D’Youville College

5:20 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Castle/Assiniboine Research on Teaching and Learning

Friend or Foe? Nursing Student Experiences with Computer Based Testing

The National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) is a computer adaptive licensure examination that nursing students are eligible to write upon completion of their undergraduate nursing degree. Success on this exam is a requirement for practice. Historically, the Canadian licensure examination was a paper-based exam. In 2015 the NCLEX-RN was adopted and pass rates declined. Nursing schools across Canada have been seeking strategies to better prepare students for this exam and computer-based testing (CBT), whether linear or adaptive, may be one approach. However, CBT has not been widely used in nursing programs due to issues with space, computer availability, IT support, and faculty and student comfort levels with technology. The presenter recently integrated CBT in a third year undergraduate nursing course. The purpose of this presentation is to provide preliminary findings from a qualitative SoTL study that explores third year nursing student experiences with CBT. Data was collected from 35 participants who completed a set of reflective questions. Data was analyzed by thematic analysis. This presentation will describe the findings including benefits, challenges, and recommendations. Furthermore, it will identify next steps in the second phase of this SoTL study which considers the concepts of anxiety and test preparation.

Jennifer Hooper, Mount Royal University

5:20 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Castle/Assiniboine Teaching and Learning with Technology

The Health Impact of Electronic Clinic Tools Within Primary Health Care

Electronic medical records (EMR) have become an essential part of the healthcare landscape over the past 20 years. Their ability to organize client health information and encounters, track trends in the health status of clients, and enhance clinical office workflows has greatly improved client care, both individually and on a population level. The inherent database analytic capabilities within EMR’s allows for client health information to direct care in a proactive and collaborative manner. At the present time, there is minimal research on the roles of the registered nurse (RN) in influencing client health outcomes with the use of EMRs. Hence, the purpose of this study is intended to examine the health impact of an intervention of the perceived health of clients coordinated with the aid of an electronic medical records. Utilizing both a qualitative analysis and an established health assessment questionnaire, the impact of a health intervention will be examined on a population of patients whose care is supported by an electronic medical record software. Literature search, assistance with analysis of the data and preparation of a future manuscript will employ student researchers.

Liza Choi, Mount Royal University

5:20 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Castle/Assiniboine Research on Teaching and Learning

Development of an Evidence-Based Workshop for Academic Librarians on Research Metrics

This poster describes the development, delivery and assessment of a training workshop on research metrics for academic librarians. Interest in gauging the impact of research using a variety of quantitative metrics is increasing on our campus, and those who wish to learn about these tools often turn to librarians for assistance. However, teaching on these topics requires in-depth knowledge of complex tools and concepts that must be applied carefully and critically, and many librarians express that they lack the necessary knowledge and skills. To build capacity among our colleagues for teaching and consultation in the area of research metrics, we designed and delivered an evidence-based workshop to respond to expressed needs and interests, and assessed the outcomes via two assessment tools. Our results indicate that the workshop addressed expressed learning goals and generated ideas for future educational offerings. This poster will be of interest to instructors interested in engaging their peers and building capacity in a collaborative, evidence-based setting.

Christine Hurrell, University of Calgary
Heather Granshorn, University of Calgary

5:20 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Castle/Assiniboine Teaching and Learning with Technology

Augmenting Learning with Interactive Video in Business Finance Courses

In the business classroom, you can find many ways to teach – lecture, case-based or problem-based learning (Li, et. al., 2016). Among the modes that have been proposed as effective, is the BOPPPS teaching model (Yang, 2019). In addition, interactive video has been shown as an effective teaching modality and employs the use of narrative and storytelling as an underlying feature (Wilson, 2013). Couple this with finance as the topic under discussion, which is considered to be one of the more complex topics for students to understand (Worthington, 2002) and you are left with an interesting educational dilemma. This presentation reviews the preliminary work by a Cisco Chair in E-Learning at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in the School of Business, where the researcher will analyze the student’s perception of interactive videos using the BOPPPS teaching model, within a finance context. By means of pre and post term surveys, followed up by focus group style interviews, the researcher looks to see how the intersection of BOPPPS, interactive video, active learning, and the subject of finance in as a Business School, work together to improve the outcomes of business students studying finance at a Canadian Polytechnic.

Heramb Vadalkar, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology

5:20 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Castle/Assiniboine Research on Teaching and Learning

The Impact of an English as an Additional Language (EAL) Nursing Student Support Program

EAL students in post-secondary nursing education are known to experience greater rates of underperformance and attrition compared to their peers (Salamonson, Attwood, Everett, Weaver, & Glew, 2013; Crawford & Candlin, 2013a, 2013b; Donnell, 2015). In addition to academic challenges, EAL students are often confronted with an array of psychosocial challenges that include but are not limited to: discrimination, marginalization, lack of social support, cultural discord, and psychological distress (Sacre, Nash, & Lock, 2010; Jeong et al., 2011; Olson, 2012; Malecha, Tart, & Junious, 2012; Schoofs, 2012; Evans, 2013). In an effort to support EAL students and minimize their disparity in academic performance, an innovative support program was designed at Mount Royal University (MRU) to address a multitude of issues brought forward by the EAL student. The effectiveness and impact of this support group will be examined in order to determine:

  • If this support group improves academic performance
  • Why EAL nursing students value this group
  • Effectiveness of this group as defined by the participants
  • Needs of the EAL nursing students
Research findings suggest the principles of academic safety, purposeful design, disciplinary relevance, positive faculty influence, and proactive enrollment have the most potential to facilitate EAL student success.

Liza Choi, Mount Royal University

5:20 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Castle/Assiniboine Research on Teaching and Learning

Using a Novel Interactive-Visual Approach to Teach Regulation in Genetics

Undergraduate students in biological and health sciences must learn about how gene activity is regulated by elements in the cell environment. The biological components have multiple interacting elements and function in complex ways. In a classroom setting, static images or videos are typically used to convey these biological representations, however static images fail to convey dynamic interactions and videos can become difficult to follow because of the limitations of working memory. To address this, we have designed an interactive-visual lesson with paper cut-out pieces to promote an active learning approach to teaching regulation in genetics. We have pilot-tested the learning activity in a third-year molecular biology and bioinformatics research course as we further refine the lesson for our use and for easy adoption by other teaching professionals.

Carly Pontifex, University of Calgary
Mayi Arcellana-Panlilio, University of Calgary

6:30 p.m.   Dinner on Your Own

Saturday, November 9, 2019

7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Alpine Meadows/Castle/Assiniboine Breakfast Available Until 9:00 a.m.
8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Hotel Lobby Registration Open
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
9:00 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. Aspen Research on Teaching and Learning

Digital Literacies & Social Media Use Across Undergraduate Disciplines

This research examines undergraduate digital literacies and students’ perception of their abilities to use social media technologies (SMTs) in their university learning. Using a cross-sectional survey sent to a stratified random sample of 2,500 undergraduates representative of the overall student population at a Canadian undergraduate university, with a response rate of 19.84% (N = 496), researchers explored the ways in which students report using SMTs in their university learning, and how they perceive and rate their own abilities with digital literacies in three domains. In particular, this presentation will outline findings of the social media technologies and digital literacies that students view to be important for their learning and their lives, and compare these to the ways in which social media are being taught (or not) across and within disciplines. Based on the study’s preliminary findings, the authors will discuss specific ways that those in the higher education community can engage and foster development of the digital literacies that are valuable for undergraduate learners across the university.

Erika Smith, Mount Royal University
Hannah Storrs, Mount Royal University

9:00 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. Birch Research on Teaching and Learning

What We Learned About Our Graduate Students’ Learning Strategies in a Modern Electrodynamics Course From Listening and Observing

Much of Physics Education Research is focused on large enrolment undergraduate courses. Graduate level courses are less well researched, in part because they seem to “function” better due to student motivation, preparation and study skills, but perhaps also because they do not allow for quantitative research, due to small student numbers.

In this talk, we will report on the surprising insights into our graduate students’ learning strategies in a highly demanding graduate course on Modern Electrodynamics that was flipped for the first time, using some recommendations from [1] for upper level physics courses. We will show how the use of qualitative methods (in-depth interviews) can lead to deep insight when it is carefully designed, applied repeatedly, and triangulated with classroom observations by an experienced instructor.

We compare our findings with studies on how graduate students (at an intermediate level between experts and novices) solve a specific homework problem [2] and survey results for graduate students’ approaches to problems solving [3]. We will also show how this insight was used for adjustments to the ongoing course, and how it informs our follow-up study for the next iteration of the course that will focus on how to improve the students’ metacognitive skills.

Daria Ahrensmeier, Simon Fraser University

9:00 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. Cedar Research on Teaching and Learning

Assessing the Benefits of Two-Stage in-Class Quizzes in Business Courses

Two-stage assessments (TSA) have been utilized as a way to introduce collaborative learning and formative assessment in exams. In general, the first stage is conducted as a closed book individual attempt; the second stage allows student collaboration in completing the quiz. TSA has shown to improve performance and motivation, reduce test anxiety, and is positively viewed by students. While TSA has been used for high-stake exams, in the sciences, engineering, and nursing, there is little evidence of the effectiveness of the approach in business management classes.

Compared to a typical TSA, the implemented approach in this project significantly enhances the learning environment through immediate in-class quiz discussion and self-grading. The objective of the research program is to specifically examine the impact of the enhanced TSA approach on, i) Retention of learning; ii) Collaborative learning and classroom engagement, and iii) Impact on student stress in relation to quizzes.

The full-scale project will use multi-point, multi-method data collection (i.e., interviews, focus group, survey, and student grades) with a control group design. The presentation will showcase the ongoing project with preliminary findings in relation to the effectiveness of TSA approach for low-stake, multiple in-class quizzes in a business management course.

Uthpala Senarathne Tennakoon, Mount Royal University

9:00 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. Maple Teaching and Learning with Technology

Using Technology to Engage Students in High-Enrolment, Lecture-Based Courses

In my presentation I will discuss the strengths and limitations of using electronic Classroom Response Systems, specifically Top Hat, to engage students in a high-enrolment, lecture-based courses. First, I will address the different ways in which I utilize Top Hat, providing specific examples. Next, drawing on the existing literature and data I generated at the end of the semester, I will discuss the benefits and some drawbacks of incorporating Classroom Response Systems to increase student engagement and overcome student resistance, especially when teaching controversial topics.

Annette Tézli, University of Calgary

9:00 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. Pine Research on Teaching and Learning

Teaching Gender in a Global Classroom: Syllabus Design and Praxis

Gender is a ‘living subject’ with relevance beyond the classroom, and often create tensions around the world. This presentation avers the teaching of gender in a ‘global’ classroom where students come from different disciplines, backgrounds, and orientation. It offers critical insights into syllabus making and the integration of varied strategies to produce a kind of embedded praxis for integrating local-global contexts and realities. The presentation invites a cross-disciplinary reflexive exercise in teaching gender and the challenges and opportunities that come along with it. Data for this presentation is based on the following: syllabus design in two courses offered in Women and Gender Studies (WGST) (i,e. introduction and advocacy), feedback from graduate teaching assistants, and student responses from fall 2017 to spring 2019. Analyses of these multiple sources of data are based from feminist pedagogy in higher learning. Discourses of gender in the academe are further situated in the politics of inclusion/exclusion that make teaching and learning related topics continuously challenging in the 21st century. How then do we make the teaching of gender simultaneously relevant in a globalizing/globalized liberal academy? This presentation provides a case narrative that seeks to engage others in continuing dialogue.

Glenda Bonifacio, University of Lethbridge

9:00 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. Willow Involving Undergraduate Students in SoTL

Keeping It Real: How a Student-Faculty Research Team Used a New Students-As-Partners Theoretical Framework to Guide Honest Reflections About Their Collaborative Work

From the moment our faculty-student research team formally entered the SaP space, we began noting the potential for tension. Even for this conference abstract, we struggled with questions, such as who would take the lead on authoring this proposal, in what order would our names appear, who would determine our next meeting date, and how committed could everyone be if our project funding for co-researcher wages did not materialize? These questions triggered, at least for some at the table, an awkwardness yet also a willingness to press forward. In search of best practices, we accessed a framework authored by McCollum, Akesson, Allen, Chen, Spencer and Verwoord whose 2019 manuscript, “Stages of Engaging Students as Partners: A Guiding Framework for Successful SoTL Activities” helped us to better situate ourselves in our collaborative work. Our presentation will include how we utilized the framework, what elements worked well for us, which elements we struggled with, and how we used guided reflection to capture some of the granular joys and difficulties. We will also share how we engaged one of the authors of the framework for regular check-ins about how the team was experiencing the stages in real time.

Sally Haney, Mount Royal University
Yasmin Dean, Mount Royal University
Amanda Creig, Mount Royal University
Michaela Chronik, Mount Royal University

9:00 a.m. – 9:40 a.m. Lynx Involving Undergraduate Students in SoTL

Evaluating Critically, the Outcomes for Students of Experiencing Different Modes of Partnership Working

Based on a detailed study in a UK university we consider if working in partnership delivers the wide range of benefits claimed – in all modes of partnerships and for all students. We are long term champions of partnership as an idea and have been practising in a range of modes for ten years in the degree course we are responsible for. There are over a hundred partnership roles that students may take and more recently we have sought to work together to co-determine curriculum in design and enactment - co-creating modules as they are undertaken. As all students share the curriculum this is intended to offer universal rather than selective partnership. We present a ‘warts and all’ analysis drawn from interviewing 14 students on depth who engage in a range of ways in these practices. Our research is still being completed but early results show how important the establishing of trust relationships and collaboration between students and staff, staff and staff and students and students is, in enabling the potential of partnership to be delivered. For some students, partnership offered positive transformation, but for others, rather less significant outcomes but nevertheless positive. Hopefully, findings that may guide future approaches.

Colin Bryson, Newcastle University

9:45 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. Birch Research on Teaching and Learning

Under the Microscope: Students’ Attitudes Toward Preparation for Laboratory Classes

Undergraduate laboratory instruction is a central component of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. Accordingly, it provides the opportunity to develop practical skills, consolidate conceptual knowledge and enhance cognitive abilities. However, the process of learning in the science laboratory has been largely unexplored.
Active learning in the laboratory requires the combination of cognitive (knowledge), affective (confidence) and psychomotor (skills) domains. Consequently, the readiness of novice learners is crucial for maximizing the benefits of practical classes. The Cognitive Load Theory would predict that poorly prepared students are likely to suffer working memory overload, resorting to solely follow the procedural instructions, while missing the opportunity to understand the relevance of the experimental work. This presentation focuses on the student’s attitudes toward pre-lab preparation activities and their impact on learning outcomes. Participants were enrolled in Microbiology I, an introductory-level course in the Department of Biology at Mount Royal University (Canada). Preliminary findings resulting from a mixed methods approach, including self-efficacy surveys, performance score of pre- and post- lab quizzes and instructors observations, will be discussed. Assessing students’ perceptions and motivations of pre-lab activities would assist in the development and implementation of more effective student-centered laboratory instruction.

Ana Colina, Mount Royal University

9:45 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. Cedar Research on Teaching and Learning

Business Beyond Borders – “Making Real World Connections in Applied Education”

As educators we endeavor to bring real world experiences into the classroom to teach and engage our students. Some strategies we employ include using technology, screening subject matter videos, short documentaries and using case studies to demonstrate real world application of concepts.

By taking students to the world, we are endeavoring to meet the following objectives: experiential learning; integrating classroom acquired skills and knowledge, providing a holistic approach to learning and fostering a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction derived from helping others to improve their quality of life.

The international setting and the unique cultural, social and environmental contexts in which the students will work helps to develop professional skills such as: resilience, adaptability, dealing with failure, taking initiative and being accountable. This presentation shares best practices for implementing applied education and creating real-world connections.

Fiaz Merani, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
Abidemi Akinloye, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology

9:45 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. Maple Research on Teaching and Learning

Supporting Teaching Through Mentorship Program in Post-Secondary Institutions – A Case Study of the University of Lethbridge

The idea of mentorship is not new to post-secondary institutions. With increased pressure on time and workload, support programs like this have faded away. In a bit to rejuvenate mentorship program for new hires, the Teaching Centre at the University of Lethbridge (UofL) reimagine what a Teaching Peer Mentorship Program could look like at the University. A Pilot Mentorship Program was rejuvenated at the UofL in Fall 2018 by linking newly hired faculty members (Mentees) with some senior colleagues who are willing to serve as Mentors. Each peer were expected to meet at least twice in fall and spring semester respectively to share teaching and learning experience and to support the Mentee in building a solid foundation for their academic career and in familiarizing them with the institutional culture at the University. We hope to make this a round table discussion in which mentor/mentee/Teaching Centre will share experience on success and failure, give honest and constructive feedback, discuss issues of confidentiality, unbiased support and encouragement while bringing their own pedagogical perspectives into discussion. There will be opportunity for participants to contribute and we believe that this may shield more light on ways to improving mentoring relationship at Post-Secondary Institutions.

Olu Awosoga, University of Lethbridge
Jeff Meadows, University of Lethbridge
Greg Patenaude, University of Lethbridge
Gülden Özcan, University of Lethbridge

9:45 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. Pine Research on Teaching and Learning

Do Students Engage in Cooperative Learning During a Group Exam? An Investigation of Post-Secondary Students’ Conversations During a Statistics Group Exam

For a two-stage exam, students first write their exam individually and then repeat it in a small group. The majority of research on two-stage exams suggest that they improve student learning because exam scores increase from the individual to the group stage. Yet, why this increase occurs and what students actually talk about during these exams has been minimally investigated. In a previous study, through the analysis of transcripts of audio-recordings of students’ conversations, we found evidence that students engage in cooperative learning during the group stage of a calculus exam and do so in multiple ways. But we were curious if this evidence would be found in a different setting. Thus, we replicated our study but this time in a statistics course. In our presentation, we will provide examples of the different ways that the students engaged in cooperative learning in the statistics course. Further, we will discuss any similarities or differences found in how students engaged in cooperative learning in the two different courses.

Collette Lemieux, Mount Royal University
Eric Roettger, Mount Royal University
Dawson LaDuke, Mount Royal University

9:45 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. Willow Research on Teaching and Learning

Participation is Predictive of Students’ Learning Achievement in the Context of a Blended General Education Course on Reasoning

Past research on face-to-face instructional delivery demonstrates that students’ participation is positively related to their achievement in a course (see Rocca, 2010 for a review), and that participation mediates the relation between attendance and course achievements (Kim, Shakory, Azad, Park, & Popovic, 2019). Given that blended learning is on the rise in higher education (Johnson et al., 2016), it is of growing interest to explore whether the positive relation between participation and achievement in a course holds in the context of blended learning. Though some studies confirm this finding (e.g., Rubio, Thomas, & Li, 2018), other research shows that only some forms of online participation are significantly related to student achievement (e.g. Cheng & Chau, 2016). Here we investigated whether participation consisting of a combination of in-class team work, requiring application of skills, and online individual reflections was predictive of students’ learning achievement in a general education course focused on critical and analytical thinking. Our results show that students’ participation grades were predictive of their course achievement (R2=0.280, p<0.001). Although caution should be taken when generalizing this finding, as the data were collected in a particular educational context, the implications inform course design in a blended context.

Alice Kim, York University
Brian Nairn, York University
Celia Popovic, York University
Linda Carozza, York University
Elaine Balidio, York University

9:45 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. Lynx Research on Teaching and Learning

Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE). Leveling the Playing Field

OSCE’s have been a staple in health care related programs as a standardized, reliable, and valid means to assess students’ clinical skills, prior to entering into practice-based experiences. OSCEs evaluate the students’ psychomotor skills as well as their knowledge, attitudes, and critical thinking abilities. The design of assessing clinical skills is complex, and as such, has many challenges. Literature suggests the structure of how clinical skills are evaluated must be carefully explored and supported by best practice guidelines to strengthen reliability and validity of the assessment.

During our presentation we will explore the impact on student’s learning and stress level of moving Objective Structured Clinical Examinations otherwise known as OSCE or lab testing, outside of regularly scheduled class time. Students enrolled in the Health Care Aide and Practical Nursing program were scheduled to partake in their OSCE's outside of regularly scheduled class time. Feedback related to stress levels, OSCE's effectiveness of assessing skills, and perceptions around the assessors was obtained from the students post OSCE’s. Feedback was obtained through focus groups and online surveys.

Karla Wolsky, Lethbridge College
Janet Yorke, Lethbridge College
Brad Kelm, Lethbridge College

9:45 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. Black Bear Research on Teaching and Learning

Wikipedia: Engaging Graduate Students in Employability Skills Development for the 21st Century

While content is important, process skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, self-guided inquiry, and appropriate use of resources are essential skills in this century (Simmons, 2013). However, Heil (2005) notes that students often take the route that yields the quickest information, foregoing academic journals and scholarly databases in favour of websites and Wikipedia. In addition, in 2010, Wesch questioned professors’ roles in providing information and students’ roles in knowledge creation. This caused me to think deeply about social construction and critique of knowledge and led me to give my M.Ed. students an assignment to locate an education-relevant Wikipedia page and critique it, discuss its strengths and limitations, and implement their recommendations for improvement.

In this session, I detail the findings around assignment challenges, ‘peer’ pressure online, Wikipedia as a scholarly source, and meta-cognition about knowledge use and creation. Further, I invite you to join me in examining the ways in which the Wikipedia assignment contributes to the development of graduate skills – both the Ontario Graduate Degree Level Expectations (GDLEs) (OUCQA, 2019) and The Conference Board of Canada’s (2018) Employability Skills. We will explore the paradigm shifts that can result when students engage in online knowledge critique and creation.

Nicola Simmons, Brock University

10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Alpine Meadows Coffee
11:00 a.m. – 11:40 a.m. Aspen Research on Teaching and Learning

Educating for Resilience and Coping Skills in BScN Students

The nursing literature is replete with articles discussing the issues of resilience, nursing work, and coping skills, as well as efforts to determine the most effective strategies for instilling resilience and coping skills in Nurses and Nursing Students. The stress of nursing work environments carries with it the risk of creating stress-related mental health issues in the nurses who work there. During their studies, BScN may be witness to, or the subject of, the reported 61% of nurses that have experienced abuse, harassment, or assault in the workplace. (Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, 2017).These issues of trauma are similar for all first responders. The Justice Institute of BC completed a Randomized Control Trial to determine whether an “Online Resilience Resource” (ORR) could improve resilience scores for paramedic students. With statistically significant outcomes from that study (Anderson, Vaughn, Mills, 2017) the authors, in partnership with VCC Nursing Faculty, are now evaluating the effect of the same resource for BScN students. This research study has psychosocial and pedagogical implications if the ORR can be demonstrated to be an effective tool in supporting the development of resilience and coping skills and mitigating the effects of trauma in the nursing work environment.

Adam Vaughan, Texas State University
Greg Anderson, Justice Institute of British Columbia
John Collins, Vancouver Community College
Meridy Black, Vancouver Community College

11:00 a.m. – 11:40 a.m. Birch Collaborating Beyond the Single Classroom

First-Year Undergraduate Research in Geography – A Multi-Sectioned Course Instructor Experience

Introductory courses in Geography at the University of Saskatchewan incorporate a First-Year Research Experience (FYRE), providing students the opportunity to engage in research at the outset of their post-secondary school life. However, the interdisciplinary nature of the subject requires two distinct courses which, depending on the term and year, may be offered by any of five different instructors. Although the FYRE follows a set research arc (research question – data acquisition and analysis – presentation to peers), each instructor delivers the FYRE content in a different way (e.g., set topics vs. open topics, individual vs. group projects). Although challenging to conduct, instructors unanimously agree that the benefits of FYRE are worth the effort. Student-instructor engagement was noted to increase, overall student performance was improved, and individual projects brought particular concepts into focus or introduced new content to the course. Questionnaire results suggest that students viewed FYRE as beneficial to their overall education, although some students failed to see the relationship between the research project and the course content. Continued work seeks to strengthen the teaching-research nexus in and across introductory geography courses.

Alec Aitken, University of Saskatchewan
Krystopher Chutko, University of Saskatchewan
Xulin Guo, University of Saskatchewan

11:00 a.m. – 11:40 a.m. Cedar Teaching and Learning with Technology

Teaching and Learning with Technology for the Design and Launch of a First-In-Canada Master of Nursing Program

A collaborative partnership between healthcare leaders, students, alumni and university scholars resulted in the design and launch of the Stackable Certificate MN Program. The program, consisting of one-year certificates leading to a Master of Nursing degree, is the first in Canada to be offered in a technology intensive format. It meets the accessibility needs of healthcare professionals whose work and other responsibilities prevent them from pursuing graduate education. The certificates are available in four specialization areas: contemporary topics in aging; addiction and mental health; innovations in teaching and learning; and leadership for health system transformation. Each graduate certificate can be earned alone or combined for credit towards the MN degree.

The impact of the program on educators and students is significant. Student access in the graduate programs of the Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary will increase by 300%. Teaching in the new technology intensive program requires educators to critically examine their teaching and learning practice; adopt blended T&L technologies; and closely consider SoTL principles to support student learning. Student admissions are currently underway for the first cohort to join the program in Fall 2019. We will share experiences and lessons learned including the design of 20 new graduate-level courses.

Leda Stawnychko, University of Calgary
Amber Porter, University of Calgary
Aya Hafez, University of Calgary
Nedal Marei, University of Calgary

11:00 a.m. – 11:40 a.m. Maple Teaching and Learning with Technology

Using H5P to Create Interactive Instructional Videos

A growing body of educational research is demonstrating the improvements to learning gains and student performance that can be promoted by a flipped classroom model in university courses. A core aspect of the flipped-class model is the student viewing of a pre-class instructional video, allotting time for an in-class activity during the following lecture. Flipped classroom instructional videos were prepared for a first-year general chemistry course at The University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus. Unlike the overwhelming majority of flipped-class video resources, these videos are not just narrated screen capture used for passive learning. Rather, they are anchored in live instructor recordings, supplemented by animations, narrated screen capture, experimental laboratory demonstrations, and interactive questions. Interactive questions were embedded within the instructional videos, allowing the viewer to engage with the media, and restore the active learning component intended in a flipped class delivery. The addition of the interactive technology created a learner-centered educational tool that allowed the viewer to learn at their own pace and monitor the progression of their learning. This session will provide a demonstration and an opportunity to learn how and when to utilize the interactive technology.

Riley Petillion, The University of British Columbia (Okanagan)
W. Stephen McNeil, The University of British Columbia (Okanagan)

11:00 a.m. – 11:40 a.m. Pine Collaborating Beyond the Single Classroom

Beyond the Classroom: Re-Engaging Mid-Career Faculty Using SoTL

Mid-career is described as the time after a faculty member has obtained tenure and before retirement (Grant-Vallone & Ensher, 2017). While there is relief after earning tenure, mid-career faculty members often have pressures to maintain teaching vitality while balancing pressures to publish and provide student mentoring and leadership. Baldwin, DeZure, Shaw, and Moretto (2008) note the mid-career period as the most lengthy, productive, and influential years in an academic career, but some faculty members report feeling stuck, less valued, and unmotivated.

Encouraging mid-career faculty to engage in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research is one way to reinvigorate their career and passion for teaching and learning. Mid-career faculty have a unique opportunity to focus their energy on areas of teaching and learning that are important to them (Grant-Vallone & Ensher, 2017).

In this session, we’ll discuss the common challenges mid-career faculty face. We will facilitate an open conversation about ways that mid-career faculty can re-focus their energies into engaging in a SoTL project. Using Simmons’ (2016) micro-meso-macro-mega framework, we’ll consider levels of support for SoTL and mid-career faculty along with ways to assess the impact of these initiatives. We end with a discussion of literature-based recommended approaches.

Melanie Hamilton, Lethbridge College
Nicola Simmons, Brock University

11:00 a.m. – 11:40 a.m. Willow Research on Teaching and Learning

Graduate Students’ Engagement in Learning: The Impact of Graduate Studies on Teacher Professional Practice, Identity, and Professionalism

This session will share the outcomes of researching the impact of graduate school on teacher practice. Twenty-five post-graduate, Master of Education participants within the study provided insight into their experiences as graduate students “returning to the (university) classroom." In particular, our study examined the impact of graduate school on their learning, their experiences within the graduate program, and how their new knowledge transferred back into the educational workplace. Understanding graduate students’ experiences fosters a greater understanding of student engagement within their studies, the outcomes of teaching and learning in higher education, and helps to inform planning, programs, and relevant pedagogical practice. Ultimately, these graduate students’ experiences re-shaped their personal identity as educators and provided them with a voice of confidence that enhanced their professional return to their classrooms and schools.

Brenda Kalyn, University of Saskatchewan
Lynn Lemisko, University of Saskatchewan
Geraldine Balzer, University of Saskatchewan

11:00 a.m. – 11:40 a.m. Lynx Research on Teaching and Learning

What Are My Students Thinking? Promoting Metacognition Using Weekly Reflection Activities

Students experience unique challenges during their university education, both inside and outside the classroom. Course instructors can gain insight into the student experience and mindset using structured self-reflection activities. In these activities, students are encouraged to reflect upon their overall learning experience and document challenges they are facing. By monitoring reflection responses, instructors can identify aspects of their course material or learning environment that are a barrier to student learning.

Weekly reflection activities have been offered to students in the Science One Program at The University of British Columbia. The activity is administered through our learning management system, with responses monitored by faculty and feedback provided. This activity has generated numerous insightful themes regarding learning in our classroom, as well as issues involving the transition to learning at the university level.

In our session, details of the activity and its implementation will be described. We will also discuss common themes identified in the reflection activities and their implications for student learning at university, both in our context and more broadly. We will also discuss how these structured reflection activities are versatile and can be used in any educational environment in order to gain insight into the student experience.

Chris Addison, The University of British Columbia
James Charbonneau, The University of British Columbia
Nolan Bett, The University of British Columbia
Andrea Terpstra, The University of British Columbia
Nathan Roberson, The University of British Columbia
Deb Chen, The University of British Columbia
Bruce Moghtader, The University of British Columbia
Costanza Piccolo, The University of British Columbia

11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Alpine Meadows/Castle/Assiniboine Lunch
1:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. Castle/Assiniboine Farewell Remarks
Michael Quinn, PhD
Vice-Provost and
Associate Vice-President, Academic
Mount Royal University
1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. Castle/Assiniboine Closing Plenary Keynote Presentation
Kara Loy
Thompson Rivers University

Sponsored by the Office of Research, Scholarship and Community Engagement, Mount Royal University

Harvesting SOTL from the Fields
From recent work at two distinct universities in Western Canada, I am concerned with how to effectively cultivate a culture of excellence in teaching and learning and discovery. In this address, I will share how a collaborative pedagogy of discovery invigorated first-year students, graduate student research coaches, and faculty as essential and reciprocal partners in learning, research, and scholarship. The benefits reaped are based on cooperative learning, increasing students’ skills, autonomy, willingness to fail and rebound, and a focus on having fun. As an administrator carrying out combined research, teaching & learning, and student engagement aims, I reflect on the journey taken alongside students, staff, and faculty colleagues as we raised a culture of undergraduate research as a teaching approach across the first five years of the FYRE (first-year research experience) initiative at a research-oriented university in the Canadian prairies. From this yield, I will share stories, using evidence and anecdotes, that have sown the seeds of discovery in students from the outset of their degree studies. When we start with professors willing to do blue-sky planning centered around offering students mentored yet self-directed research opportunities, we cultivate students’ scholarly and professional skills in ways that harness their appetite for discovery and knowledge building. The experience has also enhanced upper-level undergraduate and graduate students’ proficiency with providing facilitation, mentorship and formative feedback. In addition, the process of innovating teaching and learning practices has also dependably inspired professors to wade more confidently into the field of SoTL. I will uncover what challenges persist in the planning and execution stages, but mainly I will foreground how this is a deeply rewarding approach for most participants. Notably, this address will explore this question and potentiality: What can be gleaned from coordinated efforts to plant 2800 annual undergraduate research and inquiry experiences in existing classes? What of this approach might yield something of value for you and your institution?

2:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Castle/Assiniboine Symposium Closing
Michelle Yeo, PhD
Academic Director
Institute for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Mount Royal University

SESSION TYPES, TIMES AND LOGISTICS

CONCURRENT SESSIONS All concurrent sessions will occur Friday and Saturday in the Aspen, Birch, Cedar, Pine, Maple, Willow, Black Bear, and Lynx Rooms on the Main Level of the Hotel. Each session is forty minutes in length which will include questions and comments.

POSTER SESSION Although posters will be available for viewing throughout the Symposium, the formal poster session will begin Friday at 5:20 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. in the Castle / Assiniboine Rooms. Poster presenters will be available to discuss their work.

CRACKER BARREL PRESENTATIONS New to the Symposium in 2018, the Cracker Barrel is a short session repeated three times in 90 minutes. The presenter usually provides a brief introduction to the topic, and participants are invited to comment and ask questions. After 25 minutes, when the bell rings, participants will move on to another table, and the presenter will repeat the presentation to a new group. Three groups will pass by each table in a 90 minute period. Cracker Barrel presentations will take place Friday at 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in the Black Bear and Lynx Rooms.

TECHNICAL DETAILS Each concurrent session room is equipped with a screen, projector, laptop pc, and appropriate cabling (Mac users must provide their own computers and cables). There is limited technical support available. For assistance, please speak to someone at the Symposium Registration Desk.