Conference on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching
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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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- ItemOpen AccessReimagining reflective activities in your blended and online teaching(2024) Campbell, Éowyn; Gilbert, Brian; Sandblom, NicoleReflection 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].
- ItemOpen AccessAdvancing Water Literacy and UN SDG6 Through Experiential Learnings(2023-04-28) Kulsum FatimaWater sustainable behaviors among the campus community are promoted and prioritized through this digital poster, which explores the experiential learning thread. This thread support research study REB20-0815, which examine how sustainability practices can be improved through knowledge dissipation. In addition, experiential learning influences user choice towards water sustainable behavior as we move through our physical & digital spaces on campus.
- ItemOpen AccessTransformational Encounters: An Online Dialogical Partnership(2023-04-28) Hart, Stephen; Williams, AbigailThis presentation explores the shared transformational encounters of two doctoral peers as they engaged in an intentional online partnership to support their learning journeys. Originally conceived as a strategy for holding each other accountable to writing goals, weekly online meetings quickly evolved into a rich dialogic space for cultivating meaning between perspectives. The exchange of ideas in this space was more than informational; it was transformational. Consistent with understandings put forward by Sinha (2010), the presenters came to recognize the transformative possibility of speaking with and listening to each other. The interaction between their stories, questions and reflections served as a “catalyst for some change in understanding” (Breault, 2016, p. 14). Through dialogue, they found that they had generated a shared space that stimulated connections, fueled inquiry, nurtured belonging and fostered well-being. Given these realizations, and drawing on previous methodological coursework, they came to understand their encounters as sites for a duoethnography in “which the reconceptualization of the meaning that one gives is reexamined in dialogue with another” (Norris & Sawyer, 2020, p. 397). With an approach that “brings together two complex beings situated within their own complex social networks” (Breault, 2016, p. 4), the presenters were able to interrogate and reconceptualize meaning. They convey their story so that session participants might also consider the transformative possibilities of online peer-to-peer dialogues. References: Breault, R. A. (2016). Emerging issues in duoethnography. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 29(6), 777–794. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2016.1162866 Norris, J. J., & Sawyer, R. D. (2020). Duoethnography: A polytheoretical approach to (re)storing, (re)storying the meanings that one gives. In P. Leavy (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research, 2nd ed., pp. 397-423). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190847388.013.1 Sinha, S. (2010). Dialogue as a site of transformative possibility. Studies in Philosophy and Education 29, 459–475. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-010-9189-4
- ItemOpen AccessAcademic libraries and the pandemic: lessons learned and future plans(2023-04-28) Mahsud, Khadija; Ansar, SumayyaIn this video poster presentation, the presenters will discuss how their library, at an overseas Canadian university, responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as share what their “new normal” looks like. While our library’s function as a physical hub was severely hampered, it continued to play its role as a resource and saw more and more patrons turn to it for academic support. Given the disruption of normal library services, including the opportunity to seek information through the physical library help desk, blended services were offered through restricted physical library access and digital resources. Parallel to online class delivery, the library introduced an increased number of electronic devices, discussion forums, course-specific digital resources and chat services for engaging our university community. Even though we are now once again engaging face-to-face, there remains a need for instruction and resources to navigate an online environment (Ziv & Bene, 2022). In the case of students, especially those suffering from social inequalities, it can be harmful to buy into the myth that they are digital natives (Enyon, 2020), with the know-how to operate in and analyze online environments. Similarly, faculty may no longer need the level of support they did during emergency remote teaching, but there is always room for improving teaching-with-technology methods. The pandemic cemented the core role libraries play in promoting and supporting information and digital literacy. The presentation will discuss the practices that the library is consciously continuing with post-pandemic. References Enyon, R. (2020). The myth of the digital native: Why it persists and the harm it inflicts. In Burns, T. and F. Gottschalk (Eds.), Education in the Digital Age: Healthy and Happy Children (pp. 131 - 143). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/1209166a-en Ziv, N., & Bene, E. (2022). Preparing College Students for a Digital Age: A Survey of Instructional Approaches to Spotting Misinformation. College & Research Libraries, 83(6), 905–925. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.83.6.905
- ItemOpen AccessInternational Students Challenges During the Pandemic in Higher Education(2023-04-28) Mushfiq, MerabThis study was conducted at a post-secondary institution in Southwestern Ontario. International students face various challenges such as language barriers, loneliness, academic challenges, and culture shock. However, these challenges have heightened during the pandemic because of lockdowns, restrictions, online classes, and various programming were either paused or cancelled. During qualitative interviews, international students expressed various academic learning challenges due to blended and/or online learning which was impacting their mental health well-being. Some recommendations are suggested to incorporate intercultural awareness in online and blended teaching. Additionally, it is important to incorporate teaching pedagogies where students can actively participate and own learning.