Conference on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching

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https://prism.ucalgary.ca/handle/1880/100015
The Conference on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching offers an opportunity for academic staff, students, academic librarians and staff at the University of Calgary and the wider academic community to share, critically examine and build on our collective knowledge of teaching and learning.

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Browsing Conference on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching by Author "Beatty, Susan"

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    Exploring Indigenous students' perception of informal learning spaces
    (2022-05-03) Beatty, Susan; Jeffs, Cheryl; Hayden, K. Alix; Rutherford, Shauna
    Castleden and Garvin (2016) suggest Photovoice is an effective method for working with Indigenous populations as it facilitates “sharing power, fostering trust, developing a sense of ownership, creating community change and building capacity” (p. 1401). Neorohr & Bailey (2016), and Rix et al. (2019) outline Indigenous methodologies to ensure community involvement and good outcomes. This presentation seeks to achieve the same with the aid of its attendees. Our study explored Indigenous students’ perceptions of informal learning spaces at our university using Photovoice methodology. As co-researchers, the students were tasked with exploring non-classroom spaces where learning might occur. They were asked to take photos of those spaces and then participate in discussions on what the spaces revealed about them as learners. The purpose of the discussions was to discover how spaces across campus, including the library, could be more representative and supportive of Indigenous students as learners. The purpose of this session is to review with the attendees the results of those discussions, focusing on the student’s voice as expressed during each phase of the project from development of group norms and the research question to the discussions on representation and themes based on the students’ photos. This session will highlight how the Indigenous students were engaged through applying the principles of respect, reciprocity, and co-creation in each phase of the project. Workshop participants will aid in illuminating next steps and suggestions for change in the spaces at our university. Using Photovoice with Indigenous students as co-researchers we respectfully explored their learning and impressions of campus learning spaces. This presentation highlights how the Indigenous students were engaged through applying the principles of respect, reciprocity, and co-creation. Using the students’ photographs and commentary, attendees will participate in a similar discussion
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    Indigenous students’ Involvement in a photovoice study: Opportunities for mentorship
    (2021-05-04) Jeffs, Cheryl; Beatty, Susan; Hayden, K. Alix
    The University library’s commitment to providing informal learning spaces for all students lead the researchers to consider Indigenous students’ perspectives (Boys, 2014). Essential to the inquiry was our responsibility to ensure cultural reciprocity to learn from one another (First Nations Centre, 2007; MacDonald, 2018). Inviting indigenous students as co-researchers in a photovoice study provided the opportunity for mentorship. The Indigenous students, with little or no research experience, were recruited as both participants and collaborators. Designed to document how they learn in informal library spaces, the students “…become researchers in their own right” (Julien, Given & Opryshko, 2013, p. 259). To guide their development as researchers, the research team, including an Indigenous support worker and research assistant, designed a series of workshops to orient the students to the photovoice methodology. We provided formal and informal mentorship to the Indigenous students/co-researchers. To acknowledge the Indigenous students’ individual perspectives and lived experiences, a community-based participatory research (CBPR) framework was adopted. CBPR is designed to share power and foster trust which is necessary for mentorship (Castleden & Gavin, 2008). The outcome of the first phase of this study indicate mentorship opportunities for both the Indigenous students and the research team. As a result, the research team, including the students as co-researchers, identified ways in which we learned from and with each other about Indigenous student learning in informal spaces. In this poster presentation, we will showcase our collaborative process including our learning and mentorship experience. Participants will be encouraged to consider implications for future planning of research projects with Indigenous students.
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    Library learning spaces: fostering engagement in informal and structured learning spaces
    (2015-05-13) Beatty, Susan; Morrow, Leeanne; Tetrault, Dylan
    Much learning occurs outside of the classroom and some of that learning occurs in the library. New academic libraries are being designed for learning (Beagle, 2006; Bennett, 2006; Turner, Welsh, Reynolds, 2013) but little is known about the relationship of the space to learning and student engagement. Jamieson (2009) calls upon academic developers to consider the informal learning of students when they are planning their learning spaces. He points to the library as being “essential to the university’s status as a place of learning” in its role as a learning centre. Bennett (2014) calls for conscious academic design that fosters learning rather than just creating a space with a bunch of things. Heeding that call makes for challenging times as libraries attempt to engage students in deep learning through providing new spaces and new technologies such as display wall and 3D printing in a neutral environment. But how can learning spaces promote this exploration and deep learning without devolving into a “bunch of things”? Join a group of librarians, learning specialists and technology experts in a roundtable discussion on learning spaces in a library. Each will present a brief overview of a specific type of space. Participants will be asked to consider how these spaces can foster greater engagement with the students. Participants will gain an appreciation of the learning potential of new spaces in libraries. They will be able to apply that appreciation to the development and design of learning spaces in their own units and institutions.
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    Student Learning Behaviours in Informal Learning Spaces in the Taylor Family Digital Library
    (2016-05) Beatty, Susan; Payne, Jennifer
    To investigate student perceptions of the TFDL learning spaces, an study was conducted in winter 2016. The study involved: semi-structured interviews with 21 participants, roughly 45 minutes each, and included questions on: •students’ learning styles, •learning activities in the library •locations in which they performed these activities and why •their ideal learning space •preferences based on 15 photos of TFDL spaces The interview transcriptions were analyzed via open and axial coding, using NVivo software. Results are preliminary. Our poster highlights some student views on spaces in TFDL as they relate to their learning behaviours.