Chang Reception
The Chang School Reception
Poster Session & Service Spotlight
Details
Time: 4:40 p.m. - Close
Location: 1st Floor Lobby, DCC
Poster Session, Service Spotlight, Drinks, Mingling, Music and More!
Please join us at the Chang School cocktail reception as we celebrate the conclusion of the 2025 TMU Learning and Teaching Conference.
This event is sponsored by the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education
Poster Presentations
Learn about exciting new research and network with fellow scholars.
The role of STEM exposure in post-secondary education: insights into equity, attitudes, and career choices
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Technology (STEM) education is crucial for preparing students to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving global workforce. Despite efforts to spark accessibility and engagement in STEM fields, significant gaps remain, particularly in fostering sustained interest and confidence among diverse student demographics. This study explores how early STEM exposure influences post-secondary academic choices, focusing on identity, career pathways, and systemic factors such as socioeconomic status and gender.
A total of 268 STEM students at Toronto Metropolitan University responded to a survey that assessed their high school STEM exposure, academic decisions, and attitudes towards their postsecondary education. Results indicate that the influences of high school experiences on academic choices are diverse and varied in international versus domestic students. Further, students from lower socioeconomic status report significantly reduced STEM exposure in high school compared to their middle and high-income peers, which has potential long-term implications for their career accessibility. There is a disparity in confidence and experienced distress among genders, with women demonstrating more negative attitudes towards STEM courses. Regarding motivations for choosing a STEM degree, the data suggests that STEM academic programs are viewed as bridges into healthcare career paths, such as medicine.
Students’ responses also show that the social status and financial security of STEM career paths hugely influence their academic decision-making.
Although interventions in other countries aimed at high school STEM programs show mixed results, results from this study suggest that high school is nevertheless a key period for academic development, growth, and decision-making. Therefore, efforts should continue to increase STEM engagement in high school. By refining early STEM engagement practices, educators can better support diverse student populations, which eventually shapes more equitable academic and career outcomes.
Presenters
Amir is an undergraduate student at TMU, majoring in Biology and minoring in Psychology. Some of his research interests include the intersection of education and mental health, particularly within the STEM context. At the conference, he will be presenting a poster based on a study that explored how early exposure to STEM and prior academic experiences influence students’ program selection, with a focus on international students and underrepresented groups. Outside of research, he is involved in mental health advocacy and several wellness programs and health equity initiatives. He hopes to pursue graduate studies that allow him to further blend his passion for public health and education.
Krystal Nunes (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biology where she works as a discipline-based education researcher. Previously, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto Mississauga in science education. Her current research is in the development of evidence-informed classroom interventions and assessments to support undergraduate student resilience through learning from failure.
Systematic Student Assessment with Zotero: Using Zotero, a Citation Management Tool, to Develop A Systematic Qualitative Assessment Framework to Improve Students’ Performance
Student assessment in postsecondary education is key to improving student academic outcomes, yet challenging to implement in a systematic manner. Developing an effective and systematic approach to assessment is beneficial to both instructors and students; providing greater transparency, consistency and opportunity for learning and engagement. This poster will report on a research study which investigates the use of Zotero, a citation management software, to develop a systematic qualitative assessment framework (SQAF) to improve student learning outcomes. The researchers developed a curricular approach to use Zotero in a graduate level thesis assignment to assess and evaluate students. This approach is designed to create greater efficiencies in student-instructor engagement, improved academic performance and student engagement.
Presenters
Cecile Farnum (MA, MISt) is a liaison librarian at TMU Libraries. In this role, she supports specific academic programs, providing instruction, reference and research support to students and faculty.
Boris Reiss, PhD, CIH is an Assistant Professor at KU Leuven and a consultant specializing in occupational and environmental hygiene. With extensive experience in higher education, research, and consulting, he focuses on quantitative exposure assessment, advanced statistical analysis, and the development of measurement tools. Boris is committed to effective teaching at all academic levels and actively integrates open-source software tools such as Zotero to enhance systematic literature reviews, qualitative research, and teaching.
Learning by trial: Reimaging virtual science labs to encourage student autonomy and exploration
Failure is a key aspect of scientific exploration and innovation, yet undergraduate science students are often not provided opportunities to engage with and learn from lab-based failures. To allow students to experience failures in a safe and controlled environment, we developed two virtual labs that explore critical competencies for first-year biology and chemistry students: microscopy and titration. These labs employed a “choose your own adventure” format to create space for exploration and hypothesis-testing. Before attending the in-person lab, students used the virtual activities to navigate proper equipment setup, perform a virtual experiment, and review appropriate clean-up protocols. The goals of this research are threefold: (1) highlight for students the importance of failure in the scientific process, (2) improve comfort and confidence in core lab-based competencies, and (3) address inequities in existing high school laboratory experience that may disproportionately affect those students from rural communities and/or lower socioeconomic background.
This project was inspired by the works of Warning and Kobylianskii (2021) and Galang et al. (2022) who developed labs that highlight the value of student autonomy. Video instruction to assist students with lab procedure led to challenges in student attention when videos were beyond an optimal 6 minutes (Brame, 2016). Disseminating procedures such as titration or microscope use which take much longer to demonstrate into a series of short videos with student embedded choice will increase engagement and aid in concept retention.
The virtual titration activity is being implemented in a first-year chemistry course during the Winter 2025 semester. The virtual microscopy activity was implemented in a first-year biology course in the Fall 2024 semester. Preliminary results from the microscopy lab found that students responded very positively to the virtual activity, and student comfort in using a microscope was significantly higher than the previous year’s cohort where the intervention was not implemented (H = 142.83, df = 2, p <0.0001). These initial findings highlight the potential value of this lab in enhancing student confidence in a core lab competency.
Presenters
I am an EnSciMan student currently in my second year at TMU, interested in the pedagogy of failure as it relates to student experiences in biology labs. My undergraduate background is in Ecology & Evolutionary biology as well as Environmental Management from UTM.
Shawn McFadden (he/him) is a technical manager and adjunct professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biology. Shawn is an active contributor to lab development at TMU, championing reimagined undergraduate labs to support more authentic learning experiences for students.
Krystal Nunes (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biology where she works as a discipline-based education researcher. Previously, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto Mississauga in science education. Her current research is in the development of evidence-informed classroom interventions and assessments to support undergraduate student resilience through learning from failure.
Inclusion of People with Special Needs into the Art of Puppetry: Automating and Puppets
Marionettes are widely considered the most sophisticated, nuanced, aesthetically powerful but very difficult to learn type of performance puppetry. The marionette artist has to rehearse endlessly before one develops the sufficient level of technique of marionette’s manipulation.
Operating a marionette is a laborious and physically challenging business. Actors have to stretch their arms and remain in the same position for a prolonged time, very often on the verge of straining one’s muscles. Thus, in many countries puppeteers are legally allowed to retire after 20 years of service. This art form does not only require physical strengths but is also not available for practicing by people with special needs and physical ailments.
Presenters
Pavlo Bosyy has taught Theatre Arts, History, and Humanities for more than 30 years at the college and university level. He designed or directed for more than 200 projects at regional and academic theatres in Canada, Ukraine and the USA. Pavlo’s work has been featured in numerous international conferences in the United States and Western Europe. Pavlo has served as a Judge for The Global Undergraduate Awards for six times (including three times as Chair Judge) in the Music, Film & Theatre category. He has participated in theatre design exhibits such as World Stage Design and Ming’s Clambake portfolio review. Pavlo is a four-time participant of Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, and three-time participant of Tbilisi Biennale of Stage Design. Professional credits include Volyn State Puppet Theatre, Odessa Theatre for the Young Audiences, Poltava State Puppet Theatre (all in Ukraine), Le Ballet du Siècle de Taipei (Taipei, Taiwan), New York Fringe Festival, Equity Showcases at Take Wing and Soar company, Yangtze Repertory Company and The Billie Holiday Theatre (NYC), Michigan’s Meadowbrook Theatre, Plowshares Theatre Company and Jewish Ensemble Theatre, Texas Shakespeare Festival and Daemon Theatre (Toronto, Ontario, Canada).
The effect of parental comparison on self-perception and academic motivation among siblings with different academic successes
This study investigates how parental comparison affects self-esteem, academic confidence, and motivation in siblings with varying academic achievements, with a focus on cultural variations. Using self-esteem development theories and studies on parental participation in academic achievement, this study investigates the psychological and social effects of sibling comparisons. The study also draws on cross-cultural research, emphasizing the importance of collectivist and individualist beliefs in creating student motivation and academic identity.
A survey was administered to 268 undergraduate students at Toronto Metropolitan University's Faculty of Science, collecting demographic information as well as comments on parental influence, sibling comparison, and academic self-perception. Parental comparison significantly affected the self-esteem of less academically successful siblings, leading to feelings of inferiority towards their classmates. In addition, it lowered academic confidence, leading to avoidance of academic challenges. The study reveals distinct cultural patterns: students of collectivist cultures, where academic success is closely tied to family honour, experienced greater psychological pressure on less successful siblings than students of individualist cultures, which emphasize personal growth and self-improvement.
This study offers useful insights for teachers, professors and parents, emphasizing the need for teaching practices that recognize individual student abilities rather than encouraging competitive sibling relationships. Understanding the psychological and cultural ramifications of parental comparison highlights the necessity of culturally sensitive teaching methods, as students from various backgrounds may experience academic pressure in different ways. This study adds to the larger conversation about academic identity and family influence, providing a basis for educators and parents to develop supportive, inclusive, and motivating learning environments that promote student achievement across varied cultural contexts.
Presenters
I am a fourth-year Bachelor of Science student at Toronto Metropolitan University. I have a strong interest in pedagogy research, particularly in its application to improve modern education systems. I aspire to pursue a research career that uses evidence-based insights to create more effective and inclusive learning environments.
Krystal Nunes (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biology where she works as a discipline-based education researcher. Previously, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto Mississauga in science education. Her current research is in the development of evidence-informed classroom interventions and assessments to support undergraduate student resilience through learning from failure.
Beyond Barriers: How TMU’s Spanning the Gaps elevates students
Toronto Metropolitan University’s 2025-2030 Academic Plan includes a commitment to the following three of five priorities: enhancing the learning journey for greater student success, supporting people and community, and ensuring future readiness. The Chang School’s Spanning the Gaps (STG) is an access-to-education program, providing mature students facing complex barriers to post-secondary education the opportunity to achieve admissions to undergraduate programs through low-barrier and inclusive programming.
Through a holistic team-teaching approach, the STG program has created, and continues to develop, inclusive learning environments that address the diverse needs of equity-deserving students (Brush, 2024; De Weerdt et al., 2024; Mariën, 2023). The team-teaching involves the instructors of our program’s lecture and tutorial courses, as well as our staff, namely the Student Success Facilitator. All of whom collaborate to provide wrap-around support to students, excelling in the aforementioned priorities.
Our curriculum redesign prioritizes accessibility and inclusivity in online learning, standardizing high-quality course delivery to reduce barriers to engagement. Further development and continuous improvement of inclusive design in online learning environments, particularly for equity-deserving groups, ensures that more students have access to educational opportunities while prioritizing their well-being.
By integrating trauma-informed and compassionate teaching practices, the program fosters a supportive environment that promotes student well-being, self-care, and stress management (Arbour et al., 2024; Gilbert & Marine, 2022; Henshaw, 2022; Stokes, 2022) across both lecture and tutorial courses. Additionally, dedicated one-on-one support and proactive outreach through the Student Success Facilitator strengthens our commitment to personalized, compassionate and trauma-informed student-centred learning. Specifically, STG’s Student Success Facilitator supports students with a keen understanding of educational trauma, which is built upon the personalization teaching principle, positive psychology, as well as mindful and compassionate language.
These reimagined efforts empower students to build academic resilience, prioritize well-being, and sustain success in an evolving academic and career landscape. Through this approach, the key learning outcomes are: understanding how team teaching benefits equity-deserving students, developing skills to build accessible and inclusive online learning environments, and recognizing the importance of trauma-informed and compassionate education in promoting student success.
Presenters
Maria Asuncion, M. Ed., is the Student Success Facilitator at TMU's access program, Spanning the Gaps in the department of The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education. In her fifth year in the role, she has recently received the Julia Hanigsberg Make Your Mark Staff Award. Her passion in equitable education has led to the development and continuous improvement in providing accessible and trauma-informed safe spaces for mature learners from neurodiverse backgrounds.
With over four years of experience at Toronto Metropolitan University, Elisa Traficante is the Program Manager for Spanning the Gaps at The Chang School of Continuing Education. Elisa has over 20 years of experience in supporting clients facing multiple barriers, such as homelessness, addiction, and mental health challenges. Established in an anti-racist and anti-oppressive framework, Elisa is passionate about developing and evaluating social justice initiatives and programming. She graduated from the Institute of Child Studies (OISE/University of Toronto) with a Master's in Child Studies and Education, where she focused her research on developing prevention models for FASD. Elisa is also a registered PMI Project Management Professional and holds a post-graduate diploma in Human Resource Management.
Alexander Ruvuza (he/him), Contract Lecturer, Spanning the Gaps - Access to Post-Secondary Education
Alexander Ruvuza (he/him) has worked in Student Advising for over 13 years. His passion is empowering students to leverage education as a means to learn and grow their knowledge and skills so they can chart their path to a future that they envision for themselves. To date, he has attained a Masters of Education from Queen's University; a Bachelor of Commerce in Human Resource Management and a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education. Alexander has been an instructor for Spanning the Gaps for over 10 years, most recently he serves as an instructor for the CYSG 180- Academic Success Foundations VI. In 2024, he was awarded the G. Raymond Chang School Dean’s Teaching Award to recognize his teaching excellence.
Nina Sulkin (they/them) has over 9 years of experience working in higher education, and working with students from various walks of life. They are passionate about supporting students in identifying their learning goals, and then building a toolkit to attain them! Their classroom is a space where students co-create knowledge, make mistakes, learn from them, and grow toward their post-secondary goals. Nina is graduating from the University of Toronto’s Master of Education in Adult Education and Community Development in June 2025. This year (2025) is their third year with the Spanning the Gaps - Access to Post-Secondary Education program. Nina is the instructor for the tutorial, CYSG 170 - Academic Success Foundation V.
Eden Shiqiang Jing (she/her) has over 10 years of experience in International and Higher Education. She has worked closely with students and their families as both an educator and academic advisor. Passionate about fostering academic and personal growth, she is dedicated to optimizing the learning process and encourages students to build awareness of their comfort zones and expand their abilities. Eden is the instructor for the tutorial CYSG 110 - Academic Preparation. She served as an Academic and Recruitment Advisor for the STG program in 2023 and is currently a Graduate Program Administrator at TMU. She graduated with a Master's degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Queensland in 2017 and completed a second Master's degree in Child Studies from Concordia University in 2022.
Black Pain Podcast: addressing racism and reimagining futures for black people in healthcare
The Black Pain Podcast is part of the Enabling Accessible Healthcare Delivery Project (Flinn, Ignagni, Munro & Willis, 2024), an Open Educational Resource designed to help healthcare providers offer more accessible care to the disability community. This initiative explores 'Black Pain,' referring to racial injury experienced in the Black community. The speakers in this podcast are healthcare providers, community members, working professionals, and artists with their own history of experiencing and witnessing Black Pain.
The voices in this podcast encourage listeners to reimagine their relationship to pain by centering empathy, compassion, and resistance as vital steps toward a future where being Black is not inherently tied to constant pain and suffering. The poster outlines how this podcast can be considered an important tool for teaching and learning by allowing students to hear directly from first person accounts of Black Pain. It also demonstrates how the podcast promotes anti-racist education by reflecting on shared pain experiences that stem from anti-black racism, anti-black saneism and anti-black ableism in healthcare practices. Emerging from a student capstone, this podcast is an example of the pedagogical possibilities of sharing experiences of pain in the classroom.
Presenters
Flávia Luciana Magalhaes Novais: Ethel Louise Armstrong Postdoctoral Fellow - School of Disability Studies (TMU). Master and PhD in Social and Institutional Psychology at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). Dr. Novais has experience working and researching mainly on human rights; sexual, gender and body diversity; and care theories, inspired by science and technology studies (STS) and postcolonial and ethnographic approaches.
Amira Mahamud is a Research Assistant for the Enabling Accessible Health Care Project and currently works as an Access Support Worker for the School of Disability Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University. She received her Bachelors of Arts and Sciences in English Literature and Women & Gender Studies from the University of Toronto.
Skills Testing in Nursing Students: Best Practices from the Literature
Undergraduate nursing students are required to perform a high-stakes clinical skills test that determines their ability to engage in clinical practice. With intake numbers of students growing, instructors are modifying these skills tests to be shorter in duration to meet scheduled class times, decreasing the assessment's accuracy and increasing student stress. However, this process does not follow best practice.
The session will divulge the findings of our scoping review we conducted to inform the development of a new skills testing model for undergraduate nursing students at TMU. This scoping review is part of a larger project that includes an environmental scan of nursing schools across Canada and interviews through a qualitative exploration of perspectives of key players involved in skills testing: instructors and students. In the scoping review phase of this project, key scholarly and grey literature was accessed to identify best practices, logistical feasibility, scalability in such evaluations and to better understand the approaches currently used to enhance EDIA.
The scoping review was conducted using Joanna Briggs Institute method and PRISMA-ScR reporting guidelines, a protocol for which was registered with OSF Registries. JBI Sumari was used as our reference management software for duplicate removal and screening of collected sources. Two reviewers participated in the two phase review stage: title and abstract screening and full-text screening of sources. The included sources were used to map out key components of an ideal evidence-based model for skill testing.
This project aligns with the conference’s pathway of Empowering Student Voice and Agency and Cultivating Inclusive Learning Environments through the improvement of assessment strategies and promoting student-centered learning.
Presenters
Dr. Kateryna Metersky is an Assistant Professor in Nursing at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). Dr. Metersky also maintains her nursing practice in General Internal Medicine at Toronto Western Hospital – University Health Network (UHN). Dr. Metersky's program of research focuses on: 1.) international and cross-national collaborations and partnerships; 2.) persons with social, economic and health challenges; 3.) nursing and interprofessional practice and education; and 4.) intersectionality and positionality in population-centred care.
Dr. Metersky is a member of the manuscript review board of peer-reviewed journals and on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Health Trends and Perspectives and the Canadian Journal of Nursing Research. She sits on TMU's Research Ethics Board as a Reviewer and is the vice-chair of University Senate. She also co-chairs the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario’s redevelopment of the Person and Family-Centred Care Best Practice Guideline. Finally, Dr. Metersky sits on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative, is a patient-partner in education with Centre of Advancing Collaborative Healthcare and Education at UHN and is an Affiliate Scientist with the Centre for Immigration and Settlement at TMU as well as with The Institute of Education Research at UHN.
Tommy Lin is a Master of Nursing student at Western University and a proud alumni of TMU’s nursing program. With a strong passion for advancing teaching in nursing education, Tommy is committed to fostering innovative and equitable learning experiences that enhance student engagement and professional development. Their academic journey and research interests focus on improving nursing education through evidence-based teaching strategies, curriculum development, and the integration of digital learning tools. As an advocate for lifelong learning, Tommy aims to contribute to the transformation of nursing education by preparing future nurses for the evolving demands of healthcare.
Tina Lam, RN, BScN is an alumni of TMU’s undergraduate nursing program and is currently working as a dedicated medical-surgical intensive care unit nurse with a strong commitment to advancing her clinical practice through continuous education. As an ambitious first-generation university student of immigrant parents, Tina is deeply passionate about nursing research, particularly in the areas of nursing education, curriculum development, and the creation of equitable learning opportunities for diverse student populations. Throughout her career, Tina has been inspired by the evolving landscape of nursing practice and education, driving her desire to pursue a Master’s degree and expand her own knowledge and skills. Her interests currently lie in exploring innovative teaching strategies and fostering inclusive learning environments that support all nursing students, regardless of their backgrounds. Tina is particularly drawn to the intersection of education and clinical practice, where she can apply her expertise in the ICU to inform and improve the education of future nursing professionals. By developing and implementing best teaching practices, Tina hopes to contribute to the preparation of nurses who are not only highly skilled clinicians but also culturally competent and compassionate caregivers. Through this, she aims to make a lasting impact on both the academic and healthcare communities.
Dr. Areej Al-Hamad is an Assistant Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University with expertise in health policy, nursing, and social justice research. She holds two PhDs: one in Rural and Northern Health (Health Policy) from Laurentian University (2019) and another in Nursing from Western University (2021). Her research focuses on food insecurity, women’s health, marginalized populations, immigrants, refugees, intersectionality, and social justice.
Dr. Al-Hamad has diverse clinical and teaching experiences in Canada, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. She has taught undergraduate and graduate courses, receiving the Teaching Excellence Certificate from Western University (2015/2016). She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and received multiple research grants, including the SSHRC Knowledge Synthesis Grant and SSHRC Insight Development Grant.
She has been recognized with several awards, including Best Oral Presentation at the Joint Mental Health Research and Innovation Day (2020) and selection of her PhD dissertation as one of the most impactful at Western University (2021-2022). Currently, she leads interdisciplinary and international projects on food and housing insecurity among Syrian and Ukrainian refugee women and aging migrant populations. Dr. Al-Hamad is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Calgary (Canada and Qatar).
Daria Romaniuk, RN, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing at Toronto Metropolitan University, where she has been the Associate Director of the Collaborative Nursing Degree Program since 2019. As an educator, she is committed to establishing student-teacher relationships that support learning, and to providing nursing students with learning experiences that will engage and challenge them. Since 2013, Dr. Romaniuk has worked with colleagues to create virtual gaming simulations that provide students with the opportunity to experience specific situations in nursing care. This team has received funding from Toronto Metropolitan University and the Ontario Ministry of Colleges, Training and Universities to support the development of these games, which have won prestigious international awards. She has also collaborated on game development with colleagues in Europe through an Erasmus+ Grant (Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness). Dr. Romaniuk has participated in research on virtual gaming simulation, presenting at national and international conferences, and publishing study results. She believes that virtual gaming simulation can provide a valuable steppingstone between classroom/lab learning and clinical practice, giving students a unique opportunity to practice interacting with a client in a safe environment.
Service Spotlight
Learn more about the departments, units, and networks that provide services and support to faculty and staff at TMU.
Open Educational Resources & the TMU Library
Ann Ludbrook, Copyright and Scholarly Engagement
Experiential Learning Hub & Live Actor Simulation
Experiential Learning, CELT
TMU Global
Ashley Ruffin, Global Learning Advisor
Tullia Nguyen, Global Learning Assistant
Academic Accommodation Support
Rachelle Bensoussan
