Chang Reception

Please join us at the cocktail reception as we celebrate the conclusion of the 2024 TMU Learning and Teaching Conference. This event is sponsored by the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education

Poster Presentations

Black Childhoods in Canada: Introducing a new course

The Black Childhoods in Canada course is the first Black Studies minor offered in the Faculty of Community Services, and one of the first of its kind in Canada co-developed by Drs. Janelle Brady and Rachel Berman. The teaching team includes a Black professor and two Black teaching assistants who focus not on the mastery of learning but on the commitment to Black Studies using decolonial pedagogies of the unlearning and relearning of Black-focused pedagogy. The teaching practice is embedded in Black feminist pedagogy and anti-racism praxis with a focus on various topics, such as Blackness and Early Childhood Education and Care and Education, Black arts and media, Black mothering and families, Blackness and disability, Black queer activism, Black ecologies, Black play, Blackness and precarious migration status, and global anti-Black racism, among others. The course also explores Black Critical Theory (BlackCrit), Critical Race Theory (CRT), Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit), and Black Queer Theory to engage with the nuances and the multiple intersecting identities of Black children in Canada. In addition, the course combines lectures, class discussions, and group discussions that engage students with various intersecting identities and social locations to share their knowledge about Black childhoods and experiences related to Black childhoods. The teaching team acknowledges that students have varied social locations and lived experiences. They provide numerous opportunities for students to contribute to their learning and each other's, such as in-class participation, on the D2L discussion board, and by sharing their reflections, resources, and events on the discussion flip chart posted in class. The Black Childhoods in Canada course has created spaces and a platform where all students can share and contribute to the learning community. Non-Black identified students have shared and acknowledged that Black students’ voices are important to listen to as they relate to the many topics discussed in class through their lived experiences, which can inform practice and theory through a Black-focused pedagogy.

Humility as my teacher, Indigenous approaches to inclusive learning

Anishinaabeg storytelling about the teaching of Debaadendiziwin (Humility) and the Anishinaabemowin language can support relationship building with Indigenous colleagues on campus. We’ll possibly also try to include Haudenosaunee teachings and stories from Indigenous colleagues about using humility in the classroom or office. We’ll provide examples to help Instructors and professors to understand that they are also lifelong learners. As teachers - we can help demonstrate that we don’t have to know everything, especially when it comes to Indigenous teachings, cultures, spiritualities, languages, and histories. We will share how to practice humility with colleagues here on campus and how practicing humility will help build inclusive spaces and classrooms. Indigenous colleagues on campus will draw from community stories of what it feels like to be included in a respectful, reciprocal manner and share about how using similar approaches can benefit the well-being of Indigenous students in the classroom. Colleagues can also share what an inclusive space does NOT feel like, and drawing upon these examples, can share what the foundations of an “Indigenous-friendly and inclusive space” might look like. By incorporating humility as a strategy, or new teaching practice can benefit Indigenous students by allowing them to remain students, and not have to teach their classmates, peers, and Instructors about Indigenous experience in Canada while attending University if they don’t want to do so. This also helps the student body at large because their instructors will have the appropriate tools, strategies, and resources to be able to educate themselves about our shared history in Canada, and demonstrate these approaches through practice and relationship building with peers.

Designing Inclusive and Equity learning activity materials for research methods and capstone courses

In this project, we developed interactive Equitable, Inclusive and Community (ECI) and lessons and learning activities to be used in research methods and capstone
courses in The Creative School. The modules, including short videos, reference materials along with interactive assessment and engagement discussions were
designed to promote the integration of ECI principles into the research process. By integrating ECI principles into research methods and capstone courses, students will be better equipped to design and conduct research that is ethical, respectful, and inclusive. Furthermore, the hands-on activities were designed to reinforce the key concepts and ideas presented in the video segments, providing students with the opportunity to apply their learning in a practical and meaningful way. By connecting theory with practice, students gained a deeper understanding of how to integrate ECI principles into their research methodology, and how to apply these principles in real-world settings. An initial version of these learning materials was developed and piloted in two courses, one in Fall 2023 and the second in Winter 2024. The result of the first pilot showed great student engagement using class assessment tools and a greater understanding of the use of ECI principles in research. We then developed the second module based on our initial learning of a new ECI principle and developed a package and framework for instructors. We then pilot both modules in the second course onboarding the instructor. The result showed the modules are stand-alone and can be used across research method
courses enhancing and complementing different teaching styles and further promoting the integration of ECI principles into the research process. 

Teaching and Engaging Mature Indigenous Students Online

This presentation is based on my experience in teaching an online introductory course in Economics to 25 mature Indigenous students. It includes my observations and suggestions, as well as students’ feedback. Online courses might pose a challenge to Indigenous students due to the lack of infrastructure and computer
literacy, but sometimes they are the only means of learning, especially for those living in remote areas. Drawing from my experience, I identified several key ingredients for a successful online course geared towards Aboriginal mature students. From an instructor's perspective, a successful, relevant and rewarding course delivery in this context must include adapting the course content to students’ abilities and advancements, providing real life examples relevant to their life experiences, setting high, yet realistic expectations and understanding students’ life and culture and the impact of colonization. Community spirit also plays an important role. Encouraging consistent support from a “knowledge keeper” attending the lectures, opens the door to meaningful learning and communication.
From students’ perspective, a useful and rewarding learning experience includes flexibility and the instructor being understanding of challenging life circumstances and students’ various commitments. Incremental learning based on material presented in a clear and accessible manner emphasizing topics’ relevance to their lives and the community is also very important, as Indigenous students are focused on the collective good rather than individual achievements. Indigenous students are determined and have a great desire to learn. Given the right learning environment and guidance, they can acquire skills to make a significant contribution to their community and to the country.

Experiential Learning - Cultivating Cultural Humility in Africa

The session will share the experience of a Canadian undergraduate student at African clinics during COVID-19. The immersion in a new community to learn about different ways of care is regarded as having the most substantial impact on developing interprofessional skills in pre-licensure students. Participation in international externships allows learning and understanding of theoretical concepts, particularly cultural humility, through lived experiences. The paper builds on the necessity of developing cultural humility to improve healthcare delivery for diverse ethnic groups. Cultural humility increases patients' trust in healthcare practitioners within therapeutic relationships, thereby enhancing the quality of care. It allows healthcare practitioners to connect with patients on a deeper level, resulting in improved conformity with treatment plans. Regardless of the duration of international externships, they are crucial to the healthcare education of novice healthcare practitioners. Externships allow novice healthcare practitioners to partake in novel collaborations that enhance their competence to deliver care through cultural humility and relational practice as they glean insights with, from, and about healthcare practitioners from different cultures in new situational contexts. Short-term international placements in countries vastly different from the student's own, in terms of languages and traditions, can have life-changing effects on them as future healthcare practitioners. The student has produced two narrative threads after their international externship: Self-reflection and Care Delivery Constituents. The two threads indicate developing aspects of cultural humility. The self-reflection thread discusses how immersion in a healthcare setting different from the student's own developed their awareness of biases, improved their relational practice, and allowed for deeper self-reflection than engaging in externships in Canada. The student realized that experiences they undergo shape their thoughts; hence, the lack of exposure to diverse interactions can lead to the formation of biases. The constituents of care delivery outline the skills the student would need to acquire to be the healthcare practitioner they aspire to be in Canada. One skill is mitigating power imbalances to construct a partnership with patients. Mitigating power imbalances can promote social inclusion, removing the blinders and promoting humbleness and generosity. This can be achieved by experiencing being a minority in an international externship.

Enhancing Nursing Education with Case Studies: Open Educational Resources

This presentation introduces a novel teaching practice undertaken by educators in one of the largest collaborative undergraduate nursing programs in Canada. The educators used case studies as Open Educational Resources (OERs) to bridge the gap between theory-and-practice. Drawing on the principles of responsive teaching and active learning, this innovative technique aims to address the immediate needs of students while encouraging critical thinking. The background teaching theory includes the principles of active learning. Research highlights the effectiveness of active learning strategies in fostering deeper levels of information processing, compared to passive strategies such as traditional lecturing  (Bristol et al., 2019). A case study is an example of an active learning strategy, in which students are presented with a detailed story of a particular patient within a real-world context. The authors developed case studies as an OER that were responsive to the immediate learning needs of students, leveraging the principles of open educational practices. The OER case studies were created and made accessible through an online publishing platform, Pressbooks, allowing for real-time editing and updating. Case studies were flexible - they could be completed by students as an independent activity or as a group. This innovative teaching strategy has impacted the student experience, by enhancing their understanding of theoretical and conceptual concepts in the clinical setting, with students reporting “ah-moments.” The flexibility and responsiveness of the case studies as OERs have increased student engagement, as they were able to see nursing practice and issues encountered clinically, in the case studies. 

Emerging Technologies in Design

Emerging Technologies in Design will be shared as an example of the courses where design thinking is applied for interactive learning processes. Practiced-based design methods will be applied through design education, students will learn to research collaboratively and they will communicate with each other for interactive ideation process through Google doc. Industrial Design, Media Design & Innovation, UX /UI Design & Research through critical design thinking and creative techniques. I created assessment to this course in forms of projects to be presented by slide shows, verbal presentations and model making. As well as weekly diaries to be submitted is part of the assessment. I created formative assessment for this course and with various techniques applied. Q&As are part of assessment as well as students can book individual meetings with the instructor to discuss their ideas further if needed.

• Students created creative outcomes as project results.
• Students get connected with each other where the group dynamic has been built through the design thinking process that eliminates unstructured discussions or arguments.
• Students learned how to teach themselves research and applied thinking processes.
• Students learned to create empathy for team members
• Students learned to present, argue their point and learned to divide/share tasks during the project.
• Progressive learning and problem solving through iterative thinking processes.
• Students gained experience to prepare professional portfolio building and interactive presentation techniques.

One Year of Impact in TMU’s Active Learning Classroom

In its first year of operation, TMU’s new Active Learning Classroom (ALC) has expanded what is possible in teaching and learning at our university. Since its launch in May 2023, the ALC has been host to 23 full-term courses as well as over 15 workshops and workshop series, campus events, staff development sessions, and student programs. Making use of its flexible furniture and adaptable features, users of the ALC from across all faculties were able to experiment with a limitless range of classroom design layouts that facilitated all kinds of teaching formats, discussion methods, participatory activities, and collaborative group work. The open-concept, default-less layout and the featured mural, Unfettered Access for Our Grandchildren, enabled the classroom to be used as a dedicated Indigenous learning space for eight Indigenous courses, allowing instructors to engage Indigenous pedagogies including circle pedagogies, cultural ceremonies and rituals, and traditional crafts such as beading. This year, the ALC also hosted a generative AI workshop series, a Master of Social Work interactive multimedia showcase, and student-led science and mathematics drop-in programs. Student experience feedback overwhelmingly found the ALC to be a “novel” learning environment that inspired their creativity, academic performance, and will to learn. Visit us to learn more and see if the ALC is a suitable space for your course!