Browsing by Author "Sandblom, Nicole"

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    Active learning techniques for improving note-taking skills
    (2015-05-13) Sandblom, Nicole
    A recent study by Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014) sparked my interest into more carefully considering student note-taking. Perhaps every instructor and student has strong opinions about “notes”. What should be the instructor role in note-taking? What should be the student role? What previous experience do our students bring about note-taking and what are their expectations about our role? One of the seven research-based principles outlined by Ambrose et al. (2010) emphasizes our key role in developing self-directed learners. In this context, how can we enhance note-taking in the classroom? Bonner and Halliday (2006) recommended addressing note-taking strategies deliberately and explicitly throughout a course. This session will involve a brief presentation about my attempts to assist first-semester first-year students with note-taking in a large class lecture-based setting. An additional concern involves how students make meaning of learning activities that are not lecture-based; sometimes getting students to take notes during these settings can be even more challenging. Participants will be engaged in discussions about our own current practices surrounding notes, distinctions between our presenter notes and/or slides versus student-developed study notes, and concerns around technological issues about note-taking. Each participant will: 1. Learn about strategies for developing note-taking skills within the classroom, 2. Discuss current practices, 3. Discuss current challenges and consider strategies to identify and overcome them.
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    Enhancing course development through conversations
    (2017-11-30) Gilbert, Brian T; Musgrove-Richer, Amanda; Sandblom, Nicole
    As many undergraduates in the Faculty of Science know, the unit on buffer systems in first year chemistry is one of the toughest parts of the course. However, despite this difficulty being commonly seen, there is still a large gap in the literature on the teaching and learning of buffer systems^1. Due to the gap in literature about teaching buffer systems, this undergraduate research project built upon the work of Orgiland Sutherland^2 and looked to determine if there really is a statistical backing to the claims of difficulty with buffer systems, determine why such a difficulty exists, and attempt to address the observed issues through the implementation of a learning simulation.
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    Enhancing Course Development Through Conversations
    (2017-05) Gilbert, Brian Tidbury; Musgrove-Richer, Amanda; Sandblom, Nicole
    Using student coursework and feedback from an introductory chemistry course for engineering students, we were able to develop new materials designed to focus on improving the issues that students self-identify as problematic. In this way, our dialogue continues between instructors and students over multiple semesters.
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    Interdisciplinary courses as spaces of reflection and exploration
    (2024) Campbell, Éowyn; Gilbert, Brian; Sandblom, Nicole
    Overview of the session and topic: Reflection is an essential part of course design that supports a wide variety of learners (McRae et al. 2018). Using the DEAL model (Ash and Clayton 2009, Loy et al. 2021) in F18, we developed activities where our students considered feedback about their writing in our interdisciplinary course. In our research project, we investigated the student experience with semi-structured conversational interviews. We will share our research findings surrounding these student perspectives. Our analysis revealed how reflection influenced their progress in self-assessing their writing process. We also noted that they describe developing skills that impacted their future learning and careers. Intent for the session: Participants will consider how receiving feedback from outside of their discipline can be important for students, will examine how accessible course design can influence life-long learning, and will discover how the findings may connect to their own teaching contexts. Brief overview of meaningful inclusion: In addition to the research presentation and handout, we will use an interactive platform (e.g. Padlet) to encourage reflection about our study. This resource provides an opportunity for the participants to actively engage in our session and serves as an artefact to reflect back and connect their own learning to that of others. They can connect their own learning to the learning of others. References Ash SL, Clayton PH. 2009. Generating, deepening, and documenting learning: The power of critical reflection in applied learning. Journal of Applied Learning in Higher Education. 1(1): 25-48. Loy K, Huh R, Snow J, Redmond A. 2021. Learning Module: Critical Reflection. Available from: https://taylorinstitute.ucalgary.ca/resources/module/critical-reflection [Accessed 12 January 2022]. McRae N, Pretti TJ, Church D. 2018. Work-Integrated Learning Quality Framework, AAA [White paper, PDF file]. Available from: https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-advancement-co-operative-education/sites/ca.centre-advancement-co-operative-education/files/ uploads/files/wil_quality_framework_-_aaa_-_for_posting.pdf [Accessed 27 January 2021].
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    Reimagining reflective activities in your blended and online teaching
    (2024) Campbell, Éowyn; Gilbert, Brian; Sandblom, Nicole
    Reflection is an essential component of high-quality experiential learning for students (Kaipainen et al, 2020; McRae et al., 2018). Using the DEAL model (Ash and Clayton 2009, Loy et al. 2021) in F18, we developed activities to be included as an Online and Blended Component of learning in our course. We asked students to reflect formally and repeatedly on their feedback, and to use these activities to plan next steps in their learning. After several years of iterative improvements to these activities, we wanted to understand how students use reflection. Using thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke 2006), we are reviewing several cohorts of consenting participants to assess whether students’ perceptions of learning align with our course outcomes. Since this data involves three years of teaching in a variety of modalities, we also gain insights into student perceptions of the effects of online and blended course delivery on their learning. In our session, we will briefly review our learnings to date and then, through surveys, engage participants by asking them to examine their own experiences with reflection techniques in connection to teaching and learning in blended and online environments. Lastly, participants will have opportunities to explore developing questions that can inspire more thoughtful reflection in their own teaching contexts. At the end of the session for our session outcomes, participants will have examined how reflection fits into their own teaching practice, generated questions for reflection, and identified building blocks to incorporate these techniques. Ash SL, Clayton PH. 2009. Generating, deepening, and documenting learning: The power of critical reflection in applied learning. Journal of Applied Learning in Higher Education. 1(1): 25-48. Braun V, Clark V. 2006. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology. 3: 77-101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa Kaipainen E, Braun R, Arseneault R. 2020. Experiential learning plan for University of Calgary (2020-25). Contributors: Reid L, Stowe L, Kenny N, Barker S, Johns C, Christie C, King L, Hillmo J. Available from https://ucalgary.ca/provost/sites/default/files/EL%20Plan%202020-25.pdf [Accessed 27 January 2021]. Loy K, Huh R, Snow J, Redmond A. 2021. Learning Module: Critical Reflection. Available from: https://taylorinstitute.ucalgary.ca/resources/module/critical-reflection [Accessed 12 January 2022]. McRae N, Pretti TJ, Church D. 2018. Work-Integrated Learning Quality Framework, AAA [White paper, PDF file]. Available from: https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-advancement-co-operative-education/sites/ca.centre-advancement-co-operative-education/files/uploads/files/wil_quality_framework_-_aaa_-_for_posting.pdf [Accessed 27 January 2021].