Browsing by Author "Jeffs, Cheryl"
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Item Open Access 2018 University of Calgary Conference on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching: Students as Creators, Drivers, Innovators and Collaborators(2018-05) Kenny, Natasha; Jeffs, CherylThe significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. – Albert Einstein Who do we send into the world? A world that faces significant challenges and presents endless opportunities. As teachers, we now recognize that we need to nurture kind, informed and courageous individuals — innovators, creators, collaborators, producers, scholars, designers, builders — capable of understanding multiple perspectives and solving problems in order to drive positive, enduring change. Acknowledgement of this need has triggered a transformative shift in postsecondary education from “teaching” to “learning” in the last 25 years. Formerly viewed as institutions to provide instruction to consumers of information, universities are increasingly seen as places to “produce learning” — where the very purpose of education is to elicit student discovery and construction of knowledge, where success is measured in terms of the quality of student learning and of the students themselves. In other words, an approach to learning that has the student at its core. Building on a body of scholarly work and initiatives from Healey and Harrington (2016), Marquis et al. (2016), Cook-Sather (2014), Barr and Tagg (1995), the Students as Producers Initiative from the University of Lincoln, Vanderbilt University, and others, the 2018 University of Calgary Conference on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching “Students as Creators, Drivers, Innovators and Collaborators ” invites you to explore student-directed learning — and the scholarship, approaches, practices and issues that surround it — in the postsecondary context.Item Open Access 2019 University of Calgary Conference on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching: Exploring Experiential Learning, April 29 to May 1, 2019(2019-04) Snow, Jessica; Jeffs, Cheryl; Kenny, NatashaHow do we transform education, spark curiosity, drive innovation and prepare students to thrive in their chosen careers? What does learning look like in a postsecondary institution that emphasizes entrepreneurial, creative and critical thinking? How do we design teaching and scholarship that are informed by and contribute to our local, national and international communities? Increasingly, experiential learning is prioritized in higher education. Students demand relevant and meaningful learning experiences and employers expect them to be equipped with the skills required by a changing workforce. This program contains details of the three-day conference and includes biographies of the keynote speakers, session descriptions and presenters.Item Open Access Applying Felten's Principles of SoTL Practice to Transform Informal Learning Spaces for Indigenous Students(2022-11-04) Jeffs, Cheryl; Hayden, K. Alix; Beatty, Susan; Rutherford, ShaunaFelton’s (2013) Principles of good practice in SoTL were applied to a study with Indigenous students’ learning experiences in informal settings. The principles: Inquiry focused on student learning (P1); Grounded in context (P2); Methodologically sound (P3); Conducted in partnership with students (P4); and Going public (P5). P1: As a collaborative team of academic librarians and educators, we were curious “how do Indigenous students learn in informal spaces?” We set out to explore Indigenous undergraduate students’ experiences, preferences, and approaches to learning in informal spaces. P2: This SoTL inquiry was conducted at the University of Calgary, a research-intensive Canadian university, with a population of approximately 900 self-identified Indigenous students (2.7 % of the student population). Situated within our University’s Indigenous Strategy this commitment to transformation supports enhanced understanding of Indigenous students’ learning (Brown, 2019). P3: Methodologically sound: Participatory photography, including Photovoice and photo-elicitation methods, was selected as a research framework to explore with Indigenous students (Castleden et. al., 2008). As researchers and co-researchers, we learned together. Photovoice provided students the opportunity to actively engage by taking photos of spaces, documenting and reflecting on their learning and experiences. Photo-elicitation expanded on this with additional participants reflecting on how they learn in various spaces depicted in photos. P4: We intentionally recruited Indigenous students to be co-researchers and made this explicit (Cullinane & O'Sullivan, 2020). As partners we generated the research question, identified how we would work together, and planned the dissemination of our work. P5: The authors have presented at local, national, and international conferences, published two proceedings, and the open-access university platform. An e-book will be written and published by the researchers and student co-researchers. With the knowledge gained in this SoTL research we have data to implement the process of change at our university which advances the goals of the Indigenous strategy.Item Open Access Assessment: Motivating, Support and Evaluating Learning. Student and Faculty Experiences and Perspectives(Taylor Institute Teaching Community, 2014-05-14) Jeffs, CherylItem Open Access Collaborative autoethnography: Where do we start, and how did we get here?(2021-05) Jeffs, Cheryl; Beatty, Susan; Hayden, K. AlixThrough a community-based participatory lens we conducted a study with Indigenous students as co-researchers focusing on their experience with learning spaces at the University of Calgary. We used both photovoice and photo elicitation as a means of exploring students’ lived experiences of using campus informal learning spaces, particularly library spaces. The Indigenous undergraduates were truly co-researchers, collaboratively developing the research question and determining the process of working together in a good way. As we prepared for our research, including writing the ethics application, attending Indigenous-focused conferences, and delving into Indigenous research methods, our eyes were opened to new ways of seeing and doing research. And, as we progressed through the development of Photovoice workshops, and then working with the students, we began to question our relationship with research, questioning what we know and how we know it.Item Open Access Exploring Indigenous students' perception of informal learning spaces(2022-05-03) Beatty, Susan; Jeffs, Cheryl; Hayden, K. Alix; Rutherford, ShaunaCastleden 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 discussionItem Open Access Fearful to 'Fear Less': Experiencing Feedback for Teaching Development(2019-04-30) Nelson, Nancy; Jeffs, Cheryl; Grant, Kimberley A.; Nowell, Lorelli; Paris, Britney; Viceer, NaziaFeedback about teaching in academia is a normative and expected experience, yet not everyone is ‘feedback literate’. This interactive digital poster will provide conference delegates the opportunity to experience the elements of giving and receiving effective feedback. Research project funding from the University of Calgary Campus Mental Health Strategy.Item Open Access Graduate Student Teaching Development: Creating Opportunities for Learning(2016-05) Jeffs, CherylThis poster focuses on a proposed study of a graduate student teaching program, created to provide opportunities for learning and teaching development. Graduate teaching assistants (TAs) need skills for their current teaching responsibilities, and for their future role in the academy and beyond (Osborne & Korpan, 2014; Rose, 2012). There are many pressures and time constraints for TAs (Fairbrother, 2012), and universities do provide resources, support, and opportunities for training: but what are TAs specifically learning about teaching? Boman(2013) found in her study that a TA training program enhanced teaching skills, and at the same time she identified a need for more research on the learning outcomes of TA development programs.Item Open Access Indigenizing Library Spaces Using Photovoice Methodology(2020-12-16) Beatty, Susan; Hayden, K. Alix; Jeffs, CherylPURPOSE AND GOALS: The purpose of the study was to explore and understand how Indigenous undergraduate students experience their learning within informal library spaces and other spaces on campus. The results will inform and identify steps that the library might take to make the informal learning spaces more supportive of their learning. DESIGN, METHODOLOGY, OR APPROACH: Starting in January 2020 it is expected that the data will be collected by March 2020 and initial analysis will be completed by June 2020. Because the primary researchers are non-Indigenous librarians/researchers, we wanted to conduct research collaboratively with Indigenous students. We are experts in librarianship and education, but novices in Indigenous ways of knowing. We chose a research methodology that places student voices at the centre of the research: community –based participatory research (CBPR) framework, which Castleden and Garvin (2008) note has the potential to contribute to efforts to decolonize the university researcher-Indigenous community relationship. Indigenous students were recruited to act as co-researchers. Julien et al (2013) note that “due to the unique way Photovoice participants are involved in data gathering, analysis, and sometimes even the planning and dissemination phases of the study, they become researchers in their own right” (p. 259). They were asked to take photographs of informal spaces in the library and elsewhere on campus that inform such questions as “who am I as a learner?” and also share their reflective stories about learning that grow from the photographs. Through a series of workshops designed by the students we explored the meaning and relationship of space and learning from their point of view. Photovoice is a method designed to explore and uncover individual perspectives. By focussing on the informal spaces where students learn we uncover and explore the relationship that the Indigenous students have to space and learning. Students tell their stories that accompany the photographs allowing the student to explain to the researchers what was really going on in the photo. To augment the main research question, the researchers conducted both pre and post study interviews with the students to discuss their learning and their experiences in the study. The researchers also kept field notes during each workshop to further investigate the Photovoice study process. A final element in the study is a scoping review of the current literature on learning and learning services, supports and spaces for Indigenous students. FINDINGS: Although the literature is peppered with suggestions for Indigenizing libraries, such as the personal librarian program for first year Aboriginal students at U of Alberta (Farnel et al, 2018), there has been little attention specifically on Indigenous students’ lived experience of learning within academic library spaces. Encouragingly, recent studies have investigated Indigenous students’ experiences and perceptions of academic libraries. Neurohor and Bailey (2016) conducted a photo-elicitation study that explored the role of academic libraries in the lives of native students. The results focused on the tangible such as uncertainty about library services (using the collection, signage, and printers facilitating student work). However, the researchers did not investigate the students’ experiences of informal learning within the library spaces. The findings of this study will have the following results: 1. What is the perceived relationship between space and learning from an Indigenous point of view 2. What is the value of Photovoice methodology in uncovering students’ perceptions of space 3. What is the value/learning related to students as co-researchers 4. What does the literature tell us is the current state of library and learning services, supports and spaces for Indigenous students PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OR VALUE: We anticipate providing an authentic exploration of Indigenous students’ learning. Our study will help guide our library, as well as the academy, in Indigenizing learning spaces. We do believe that this research will be transformational for the students and for us as librarians/educators, the Library and the broader academic community. Our project is sustainable as it will bring to the forefront the ways in which Indigenous students learn in informal learning spaces, and will inform future initiatives on informal learning space design.Item Open Access Indigenous students’ Involvement in a photovoice study: Opportunities for mentorship(2021-05-04) Jeffs, Cheryl; Beatty, Susan; Hayden, K. AlixThe 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.Item Open Access Participatory Photography: Methods to explore diverse populations in higher education research(2022-10-19) Jeffs, Cheryl; Beatty, Susan; Hayden, K. AlixParticipatory photography methods are ideally suited to engage diverse populations in higher education research. Aligned with the goals of community-based participatory research (CBPR) to balance power, build trust, and share ownership, participants in this workshop will explore and experience the collaborative opportunities of participatory photography.Item Open Access Pinning Down What We Do: Exploring and Planning an Assessment of an Educational Development Centre(Taylor Institute Teaching Community, 2014-05-13) Jeffs, CherylItem Open Access Reading and Discussing Teaching and Learning: A Book Club Experience(2015-05-12) Jeffs, CherylL Dee Fink released a new edition of Creating Significant Learning Experiences (2013), with the message that, “the whole point of this book is to offer ideas that can improve the way teaching is usually practiced in higher education” (p. xii). The challenge to those who want to meaningfully read and learn from this 334 page book, is described by Caster and Hautala (2008), is that of time and balance. They also provide evidence that a book club is an opportunity for learning, and helps to address the challenges. Levin et al. (2007) suggest the knowledge gained from book group discussions can be shared with others, and provide a model for others to adopt the book club format. Williams et al. (2013) describe this as increasing the opportunity to build networks to enhance teaching and learning. With the idea to bring together a university community to explore teaching and learning issues, a book club was established, and Fink’s book was selected. The popularity of this format was quickly embraced by faculty, graduate students and staff from across disciplines, to discuss Fink’s ideas on teaching, and explore potential applications of the text. Topics were identified, face-to-face meetings were scheduled, and a discussion board was created in the online learning management system (D2L). A facilitator organized the group, monitored the D2L site, and Barthelmess (2014) guidelines for good book club discussion were adopted. This poster will present the process, format, membership, and experiences, with implications for applications and future development.Item Open Access A Scoping Review Protocol of the Teaching Portfolio in Higher Education: Past, Purposes, Processes, and Practices(2022-10-17) Jeffs, Cheryl; Hayden, Alix; Rutherford, ShaunaThe teaching portfolio in higher education has emerged as a common requirement for tenure, promotion, awards, and career advancement. The purpose of this scoping review is to address the broad question What is known about the teaching portfolio in higher education? The specific categories to be explored are the history and definitions, the purposes, institutional processes, and the practice of individuals developing a teaching portfolioItem Open Access Something to say: Writing for publication(2018-05) Hirst, Sandi; Jeffs, Cheryl; Arcellan-Panillio, Mayi; Hilman, Brianna; Hill, LaurieThis interactive session recognizes the need to nurture and support new writers. It is designed to cultivate a spirit of inquiry in new writers, to promote individual manuscript writing development, and to build a community of support for them as they write.Item Open Access Two Disciplines, One Common Goal: Librarians and Educational Developers Collaborating to Enhance and Advance the Practice and Scholarship of Teaching and Learning(2015-05-13) Hayden, K. Alix; Jeffs, CherylInnovate, collaborate, connect, explore, build, change, partner, lead, network - these action words are consistently being used in the literature on librarianship and educational development, with the intent to advance and enhance the practice and scholarship of teaching and learning (Mitchell & Mitchell, 2015; Sutherland, 2014; Williams, et al., 2013). This interactive workshop, developed by faculty from two different disciplines, library science and educational development, have joined together in one common goal: to build capacity in the search for teaching and learning literature and resources. Our approach is an open invitation extended across all disciplines, and applicable to all institutions (Chick & Poole, 2014). Our collaboration began with the recognition that anyone new to the teaching and learning literature search needs a starting point. Concurrently, the educational developers were building networks of teaching and learning partners. The opportunity to collaborate on professional and resource development was embraced, and as a result, workshops were implemented and co-hosted, and resource materials developed, including a teaching and learning research guide. These innovative approaches and creative resources are designed to enhance and advance the practice and scholarship of teaching and learning (Otto, 2014). Evidence from the workshop evaluations indicate the need to build capacity was being addressed. This interdisciplinary, engaging and hands-on workshop will be offered in the library computer lab. The learning outcome is: participants will explore and be able to identify, general and discipline specific, teaching and learning databases, journals, and resources.