Session Descriptions
Showcase 1
Real, relatable and relevant: How to draw students into CAD (Computer Aided Design) for the real world
Janna Rosales and Caroline Koenig, Faculty of Engineering
Computer-Aided Design (CAD) is a mandatory skill for all first-year engineering students, but they don't always see the relevance of what they're doing when they are new to engineering and new to CAD. It's easy for conventional CAD teaching to pose barriers to inclusion and engagement, when students need access to specialized software and facilities and when teaching materials rely too much on generic textbook exercises that are heavily skewed towards mechanical engineering, which doesn’t meet the needs of students with interests in other fields such as civil, electrical, or environmental engineering. Our TILE project set out to level the playing field for learning CAD by designing learning resources that would provide more equitable access to CAD tools and to engage students with real-world CAD design problems. Our journey led us to collaborate with local engineering companies and to work to unleash more student self-efficacy and creativity.
Showcase 2
Community of Inquiry: How to be successful in hyflex learning - Student and teacher’s Perspectives
Sherrie Komiak and Dharini Suresh Kumar, Faculty of Business Administration
The hyflex learning mode has benefitted the learning and teaching community by providing a flexible learning environment amidst the pandemic challenges. In this project, we build on literature about student satisfaction and academic self-efficacy (ASE) in hyflex learning compared to different learning modes (distance vs. hyflex vs. traditional in-person) following the Hyflex core principles as a foundation, as hyflex mode provides an excellent alternative for the teaching and learning community even after the pandemic. We explore how experiential learning and the learning modes impact students’ satisfaction and self-efficacy mediated by the four core principles.
Two studies were conducted to understand student and teacher perspectives of hyflex classes. Study 1 focused on unveiling the challenges of implementing a successful hyflex course from a teacher’s perspective. Study 2 compared student satisfaction and academic self-efficacy in the different learning modes (distance vs. hyflex and traditional in-person vs. hyflex).
The project contributes by revealing the definition of hyflex classes, addressing the challenges faced by both the teaching and learning communities, reviewing their recommendations, and examining the pros and cons of hyflex learning. The study also talks about the challenges faced by the teaching community in implementing a hyflex course and discusses ways to better learning.
Showcase 3
Examining the potential of a Hyflex learning environment for instructors and students
Karen Goodnough, Saiqa Azam and Maurice Barry, Faculty of Education
Hyflex courses use an instructional approach that combines face-to-face and online learning. Students may choose to participate in each class session in one of three ways: face-to-face, online synchronously, or online asynchronously. Regardless of the format, students target the same learning outcomes and each format should offer the same level of engagement. Developed by Brain Beatty (2019), Hyflex learning environments should align with these core values: learner choice (different modes of participation), equivalence in terms of learning outcomes, reusability (artifacts can be used in all three modes), and accessibility (students have the technology to participate in either mode).
This project focused on determining how to design a Hyflex course (e.g., assessment and learning activities) such that students are meeting the same learning outcomes regardless of the way they access course information and learning experiences (face-to-face, synchronously, or asynchronously), and ascertaining student views on their satisfaction with participating in a Hyflex course.
Showcase 4
Renewing selected aspects of a calculus course
Ivan Booth, Faculty of Science, and Margarita Kondratieva, Faculties of Science and Education
Modern society calls for citizens who can understand and find new uses for existing mathematics. Consequently, a mathematics instructor must not only be efficient in conveying information, but also support students in developing appropriate attitudes and having the proper tools to explore and critically review the formulas encountered in lectures and textbooks.
In this talk we discuss our experience with revising and teaching a calculus course that also introduces students to the use of symbolic computations and graphical tools assisting them with visualization, analysis, and problem-solving activities. In measuring the success of our endeavour, we rely on students’ feedback and their achievements.
Showcase 5
Psychology Beyond the Classroom: Enhancing Work-Integrated Learning and Experiential Opportunities for our Students
Dr. Christina Thorpe and Alexandra Hannam, Faculty of Science
The purpose of this project is to improve the experiential component of the Psychology Department’s undergraduate program. This presentation will summarize the results of our review of experiential programs for undergraduate psychology students across Canada. This will include a) comparisons of various work-integrated learning programs; b) outline of a plan for the creation and administration of a survey of students and alumni to determine the strengths and gaps in our current program.
Showcase 6
A quest for knowledge: Enhancing learner satisfaction and engagement through gamification
Renee Crossman and Karen Dobbin-Williams, Faculty of Nursing; Upinder Sarker, Faculty of Nursing, MacEwan University
The purpose of this two-phase project was to apply innovative gamification strategies to deepen student engagement, enhance satisfaction, and foster knowledge acquisition in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at Memorial University. Gamification includes several strategies such as the narrative, levels, challenges, and the ability to re-try. The use of these strategies can create a learning experience that provides a safe environment in which learners can try and retry without ‘real-life’ consequences while still learning ‘real-life’ application. In using these strategies, gamification has the potential to positively impact the student’s ability to apply concepts in a safe and competent manner at the bedside. In this session we will report our findings from this completed project and our future plans!
Showcase 7
Education through a different lens: The use of video analysis to enhance the educational experience in physical activity courses
Jeff Crane and Stephanie Field, School of Human Kinetics and Recreation
The purpose of this project was to introduce video self-analysis into physical activity courses to increase the effectiveness of student learning for pre-service teachers. The use of technology in the learning environment has grown significantly over the past decade in lecture-based courses. However, in physical activity courses (e.g., HKR 2220, 4220), delivery methods have remained more traditional and slower to adapt to the changing landscape of education.
Specifically, in these courses, feedback about teaching performances, skill analyses, and other important information have come through various forms of written evaluation. The use of video self-analysis allows for greater opportunities to critically analyze and develop one’s own performances in conjunction with written feedback. For example, if a student is peer-teaching a lesson and that performance is recorded, in addition to the written feedback they receive from their instructor, the individual can now see their own performance. This not only provides context to the written feedback for the student, but also provide a more holistic approach to learning. This is the result of using multiple sources of information for feedback, which in turn allows for a much richer reflection and greater opportunity to learn from previous performances. In this session, we will review our finding from this project and elaborate on our future plans.